Chapter 14 - The Day I Returned to the Restaurant Where Everything Began, I Finally Understood Why Maya Saved MeSix years after the restaurant incident, Maya asked me to return to the place where everything had changed.
Maison Rouge had been renovated.
No longer exclusive.
The foundation owned part of it.
It offered free dinners for families.
The old table seventeen remained.
Maya sat there.
I joined her.
She smiled.
“Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“You were furious.”
“I was.”
“Chloe slapped me.”
“I remember.”
“The lights went out.”
“Yes.”
“I disappeared.”
“You terrified me.”
She laughed.
“You deserved it.”
I smiled.
She touched the locket.
“I wore this because I wanted you to recognize me.”
“I did.”
“Eventually.”
I looked at her.
“Why did you choose that night?”
“Because I knew you would defend someone being mistreated.”
“What?”
“I watched you for months.”
“You watched me?”
“Yes.”
“You wanted to know who I'd become.”
“What did you think?”
She smiled.
“You were still my brother.”
I felt tears.
“I thought you were hiding from me.”
“I was hiding from everyone.”
“But not forever.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom asked me to come home when I knew you were ready.”
I looked around the restaurant.
Families ate.
Children laughed.
A waitress carried dessert.
The same kind of waitress Maya had been.
Except now nobody feared being humiliated.
Nobody was above anyone else.
I understood.
Maya had chosen the restaurant because it represented everything our family had been.
Power.
Cruelty.
Fear.
And what we could become.
She raised her glass.
“To coming home.”
May you like
I raised mine.
“To staying.”
