Flying back felt like time travel.
My hometown had shrunk in my memory, but as we landed, my body still reacted like it recognized danger.
My mother met us at the airport, hugged me so hard my ribs protested, then pulled back like she needed to memorize my face.
“You look…happy,” she said softly.
“I am,” I said. And for once, it wasn’t a performance.
David charmed her immediately—carried her suitcase, complimented her earrings, asked real questions and listened to the answers. My mother watched him like she was quietly taking notes.
At dinner she gave context I hadn’t asked for.
“Your father looks older,” she said. “And…empty.”
“What about Jessica?” I asked.
“She’s changed,” my mother admitted. “The divorce cracked the pedestal.”
“And Alex?”
My mother’s mouth tightened. “He looks tired.”
The rehearsal dinner was at the same country club—polished wood, warm lighting, steak and wine, laughter echoing like my past on surround sound.
Michael ran to me first, hugged me so hard my feet almost lifted.
“Toronto suits you,” he said.
I teased him back, and for a while, it felt easy.
Then I felt it—the prickling awareness at the back of my neck.
I turned.
My father stood near the bar, whiskey in hand, in the same expensive suit style he’d always worn. His hair was grayer. His posture less certain.
He was watching me.
Our eyes met.
For a heartbeat, something thin flickered across his face.
Shame.
I lifted my chin, held his gaze for one steady second, then looked away.
I didn’t owe him anything. Not even my reaction.
Later I saw Jessica and Alex at a corner table—sitting apart, no casual touch. Jessica looked thinner, like she’d been living in exhaustion. Alex looked…smaller. Like someone who’d taken the wrong exit and spent years pretending it was the right road.
Jessica saw me and froze.
Alex followed her gaze—and went pale.
My pulse jumped. But I didn’t flinch.
I lifted my glass slightly—not a greeting, not a toast—just acknowledgment.
I see you. I’m not afraid.
Then I turned back to David.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“Perfect,” I said.
And it startled me that it was true.
