Chapter 3 - NOAH DOESN'T APOLOGIZE ANYMORE
Noah had overheard enough to understand the argument.
When Ethan left again, Noah stood in the doorway.
“Claire?”
She looked at him.
“What's wrong?”
“I feel like I caused all this.”
Claire shook her head.
“You didn't.”
“If I hadn't reached for the chicken…”
“This would've happened eventually.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it didn't start with you.”
Noah walked into the kitchen.
“What did it start with?”
Claire thought about it.
“Years of small things.”
“What kind of things?”
“She criticized everyone.”
“She made rules that only other people had to follow.”
“She acted as though helping people gave her the right to control them.”
Noah nodded slowly.
“She never liked me.”
Claire smiled sadly.
“She didn't know you.”
That afternoon, Noah's college orientation ended early.
He returned home carrying a campus map.
“I have classes all over the place.”
Claire laughed.
“Welcome to Chicago.”
He sat at the island.
“Ethan called me.”
Claire looked up.
“What did he say?”
“He apologized.”
“For what?”
“For letting Mom talk to me like that.”
Claire smiled faintly.
“That was necessary.”
Noah looked down.
“He asked if I wanted to stay somewhere else.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him no.”
Claire blinked.
“No?”
“This is your house.”
He shrugged.
“I don't want to leave because she made me uncomfortable.”
Claire felt proud.
The boy who had apologized for wanting chicken was finally beginning to understand that he had done nothing wrong.
That evening, Noah cooked spaghetti.
He used too much garlic.
The entire kitchen smelled like a restaurant.
Claire laughed.
“Did you put the whole jar in?”
“I was improvising.”
“It shows.”
He grinned.
Then asked:
“Is Ethan coming home tonight?”
“I don't know.”
Noah nodded.
“Do you still love him?”
The question caught Claire completely off guard.
“Yes.”
“Then why are you angry?”
“Because loving someone doesn't mean accepting everything they do.”
Noah thought about that.
Then said:
“That's probably important.”
Claire smiled.
“Very.”
For the first time, they ate dinner without Diane.
No one watched Noah's plate.
No one judged him.
No one told him what piece of chicken he was allowed to take.
And Claire realized how strange it felt to sit in her own home without feeling nervous.
That night, another message arrived.
From Ethan.
Can we talk tomorrow?
May you like
Claire replied:
Yes. But not about your mother first. About us.
