CHAPTER 48: The First Anniversary
The first anniversary of my discovery arrived on a Thursday.
I had marked the date in my head without intending to.
That morning I woke early and expected the same knot of anger that had followed me through the first months.
Instead, I felt tired and a little sad.
I made coffee and opened the windows before leaving for work.
At the volunteer center, Mara was sorting archived photographs into sleeves.
She asked whether I wanted to join the weekend repair crew.
I said yes and helped move a cabinet into the storage room.
She noticed I was quieter than usual and asked whether something was wrong.
I told her the date brought back an unpleasant memory.
She did not press for details.
At lunch, Aaron called and suggested dinner.
We met at the diner where I first spoke to Caroline about the historical records.
The manager had replaced the old broken clock, and the study room across the street had been renovated.
Aaron asked whether the anniversary made me want to call Jessica.
I said it did not, though I wished her well.
He asked about Richard.
I told him I had no interest in knowing where Richard was living or whom he had begun seeing.
Aaron nodded as though testing whether I meant it.
Then he told me the workshop had won a contract to restore wooden windows in an old schoolhouse.
We spent the rest of dinner discussing hinges, paint, and the strange demands of historic preservation.
The conversation was exactly what I needed.
When I returned home, I opened the drawer containing the old wedding photograph.
I looked at it briefly, then put it away without feeling the need to destroy it.
The image belonged to a real part of my past.
It no longer commanded my future.
CHAPTER 49: A Small Ceremony
The former Alder House residents organized a private gathering to acknowledge the correction of their official records.
The event took place in a community hall rather than at the old school.
Tessa said she wanted a room that did not force anyone to revisit the building where they had once felt powerless.
Samuel brought Owen, and the brothers sat together near the entrance.
Leah attended with a friend and asked that no photographs be taken of her.
Everyone respected her request.
Lillian spoke briefly about the responsibility adults had failed to meet.
She did not use her speech to ask former residents to forgive the staff.
