Chapter 6 - Lauren Comes BackSix months passed.
Lauren didn't contact us.
Then one rainy evening, someone knocked on the door.
It was her.
She looked different.
No makeup.
No designer coat.
No arrogance.
She stood on the porch holding a cardboard box.
“I need to talk to you.”
I stepped outside.
“What happened?”
She looked down.
“I lost my apartment.”
I sighed.
“Lauren…”
“I know.”
She swallowed.
“I didn't come here for the house.”
I waited.
“I came to apologize.”
I didn't answer.
She looked at the ground.
“I was cruel to Grace.”
“Yes.”
“I broke her glasses.”
“Yes.”
“I made her scrub the floor.”
“Yes.”
“I told myself it was discipline.”
She looked at me.
“It wasn't.”
I nodded.
“No.”
She began crying.
“I don't know why I became like that.”
“You were afraid.”
She looked surprised.
“Mom told you?”
“She didn't have to.”
I paused.
“You've spent years believing control was the same thing as respect.”
Lauren wiped her eyes.
“Can I see Grace?”
I hesitated.
Then I called my daughter.
Grace came downstairs.
She saw Lauren.
She stopped.
Lauren immediately knelt.
“I owe you an apology.”
Grace stared at her.
“I broke your glasses.”
Grace nodded.
“You hurt my hands.”
Lauren's face collapsed.
“I know.”
“You scared me.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Lauren cried.
“Because I was angry at myself.”
Grace frowned.
“Why were you angry?”
Lauren looked at me.
Then back at Grace.
“Because I thought everyone loved your mother more than me.”
Grace thought about it.
Then said,
“That's not my fault.”
Lauren began sobbing.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“It wasn't.”
Grace looked at me.
Then back at Lauren.
“Are you going to break my glasses again?”
Lauren shook her head.
“Never.”
Grace nodded.
“Okay.”
Lauren stood.
“Can I hug you?”
Grace looked at me.
I nodded.
Grace stepped forward.
The hug lasted only a few seconds.
But it changed something.
Not everything.
Not immediately.
But something.
Lauren didn't move back into the house.
She found work.
She started therapy.
She paid back what she owed.
She earned forgiveness slowly.
May you like
And most importantly, she stopped demanding it.
That was the difference.
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