Chapter 22 - The first holiday
Rachel did not come to Thanksgiving the year of the assault.
Her choice.
I invited her.
She said:
“I’m not ready to sit under that camera.”
I had replaced it.
Same location.
Different model.
I understood.
Christmas:
She came for dessert.
Forty-five minutes.
No Trent.
The security camera existed.
No one mentioned.
She stood beneath the brass plaque when putting on her coat.
Then looked up.
“Is that the new one?”
“Yes.”
“Cloud?”
“Yes.”
She winced.
I said:
“It’s a camera.”
She looked at me.
“Just a camera?”
“Most days.”
That mattered.
Objects can become witnesses in our minds long after they return to ordinary purpose.
Rachel nodded.
Then:
“Can I hug you?”
I almost cried because she asked.
“Yes.”
We hugged.
Short.
Careful.
I did not say:
Everything is okay.
Everything was not.
May you like
But consent had returned even to touch.
That was enough.
