Chapter 17 - THE OCTOBER EIGHTEENTH DINNER
The first family dinner after the trials took place on October 18.
Teresa invited Mateo, Rafael, Gabriel, Arthur, Lucy, and several longtime employees.
Not everyone came.
That was acceptable.
Teresa prepared mole with white rice.
She did not cook alone.
Rafael chopped vegetables.
Mateo burned the sesame seeds.
Gabriel set the table incorrectly and blamed the new silverware.
Lucy laughed until tears filled her eyes.
The dining room looked different without Veronica’s authority controlling every chair.
A restored portrait of Isabel hung beside Manuel’s.
Teresa lifted her glass.
“To Isabel.”
Lucy raised hers.
“To every letter that should have been delivered.”
Arthur added,
“And every document that should have been read.”
The family ate.
They spoke honestly about Manuel.
He had been kind to Teresa.
He had also failed his sister.
He corrected part of that failure.
He could not erase it.
They spoke about Veronica too.
No one pretended she had been born evil.
No one used her childhood to excuse her choices.
Teresa accidentally spilled a drop of wine near her plate.
The room became silent for one second.
Then Lucy handed her a napkin.
“Careful.”
“That tablecloth is expensive.”
Teresa looked at her daughter.
Everyone began laughing.
May you like
The sound filled the room where three drops of wine had once ended Teresa’s job.
This time, no one was fired.
