Chapter 14
Delia stopped wearing the Montoro brooch for a year.
Then she asked if she could have it back.
Not role.
Object.
The brooch belonged to our grandmother.
I thought.
Then asked Sofia.
Not because Sofia owned it.
Because Delia had used it while mistreating her.
Sofia shrugged.
“It’s jewelry.”
Good.
I returned it.
Delia stared at it.
“Does this mean—”
“No.”
She stopped.
Good.
No automatic authority.
She wore it to one family dinner months later.
Nothing happened.
No one deferred differently.
The brooch had become jewelry again.
That mattered.
Then Aunt Teresa asked whether old women were still allowed to teach younger wives recipes.
I laughed.
“Yes.”
She looked offended.
“We’re not monsters.”
“No.”
I smiled.
“Just ask before turning instruction into law.”
May you like
She muttered something about modern people.
Progress.
