Chapter 3 - The Empty Driveway
When I drove back to my house in the quiet suburbs, the sun was dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of violet and gray.
Arthur’s dark green sedan was parked in the driveway. The house looked dark, save for the single porch light I always left burning.
I unlocked the front door, stepped inside, and tossed my keys onto the oak entry table. The house was dead silent—no radio playing, no footsteps, just the familiar, comforting hum of the refrigerator.
For thirty years, coming home meant walking into a conversation. Arthur would usually be in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, or tinkering with something in the garage, ready to ask how my day had gone. Now, I walked through the rooms alone, turning on lamps, feeling the heavy, hollow ache that never truly went away.
I poured myself a glass of water and sat at the kitchen table.
My phone buzzed. I picked it up, expecting a furious text from Vanessa or a defensive message from Brenda.
Instead, it was a text from Liam:
LIAM: Mom, what happened at the planner's office? Vanessa is hysterical, and Brenda is calling me saying you threatened to pull out of the wedding over a seating chart. Can you just write the check? It’s not worth ruining my relationship with my future in-laws.
I stared at the screen, a cold, heavy sadness settling into my chest.
It’s not worth ruining my relationship with my future in-laws.
He hadn't asked how I was. He hadn't asked why I was upset. He hadn't even wondered why his own mother’s family had been uninvited from his wedding. To him, keeping the peace meant surrendering to whatever demands Vanessa and Brenda made, so long as it required zero friction on his part.
I typed out a reply, erasing it three times before finally sending what needed to be said:
May you like
ME: Liam, your future in-laws aren't the ones being erased from your life. Call me when you have a free minute to talk about who is actually standing beside you at the altar. Not via text. Call your mother.
I hit send, placed the phone face down on the table, and closed my eyes.
