I took a shaky breath, then another. The tears receded. In their place came something cold and steady.
I wasn’t going to sob in the bathroom while she held court in my dining room.
I wiped my face, straightened my shoulders, and walked back out.
As I rounded the corner, I realized the room was already quiet.
Richard was sitting very straight, staring at Diane.
“Diane,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Enough.”
She blinked. “What?”
“I said enough,” he repeated. “I have listened to you insult her all day. I’ve listened to you insult her for years. I’m done.”
She laughed nervously. “Oh, Richie, don’t be so dramatic. We’re just teasing.”
He shook his head. “Throwing away the turkey she made? Calling her an orphan like it’s a punchline? That’s not teasing. That’s cruelty.”
Her smile slipped. “We can talk about this later,” she said through her teeth.
“No,” he said. “We’re going to talk about it now. In front of the people you’ve been performing for.”
My heart pounded. Jason’s hand found mine again under the table.
Richard took a breath. “I have watched you tear people down for years,” he said. “Waiters, cashiers, neighbors, your own son, and now his wife. I’ve stayed silent. That’s on me.”
“Richard,” she hissed. “Stop.”
He went on as though she hadn’t spoken. “I looked the other way when you spent money we didn’t have. I paid off the credit cards you hid. I even pretended not to know about the affairs.”
Everyone stiffened.
Jason’s sister whispered, “Affairs?”
Diane went pale. “You are not doing this here,” she said. “This is not appropriate.”
“You want to talk about appropriate?” he asked. “You cheated on me. You gambled with our savings. You treated my son’s wife like trash. And for what? So you can feel superior for five seconds?”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “I made a mistake,” she said. “You can’t throw away our marriage over one bad holiday.”
“One bad holiday?” he repeated. “Diane, this is just the moment I finally woke up.”
He looked at me. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have stopped this sooner.”
I couldn’t even speak. I just nodded.
He turned back to her. “I’ve already talked to a lawyer,” he said. “I’m done. I’m filing for divorce.”
The words hung in the room like a shockwave.
Jason’s fork slipped from his fingers and hit his plate with a clink.
Diane stared at her husband. “You can’t be serious,” she whispered.
“I am,” he said. “I deserve peace. Jason deserves peace. She deserves to be treated with respect in her own home.”
“You’re overreacting,” she snapped. “Because of her?”
“Because of you,” he said quietly.
She shoved her chair back. “I will not be ambushed like this,” she said, eyes shining. “Not in front of outsiders.”
I tilted my head. “Outsiders?” I said.
She looked at me, then looked away.
Jason spoke up, voice low and angry. “She’s not an outsider,” he said. “She’s my wife. This is our home. You threw away her food and then tore her down like she was nothing. I should have stopped you a long time ago.”
Diane opened her mouth, then closed it. No one else said a word.
Eventually, people started eating again, in awkward silence. The turkey she’d brought tasted like salty sponge. My sides were the only things anyone complimented.
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