He Chose Her Over Me So I Chose Myself Chapter 38
The stained-glass installation took two full months.
When I fitted the final piece into place, Eli stood below the ladder with his hands at my waist to steady me.
“A little to the left.”
“Are you sure?”
“Not at all.” He looked up at me. “You’re the artist.”
I laughed and turned the glass half an inch to the right instead.
Winter afternoon sunlight poured through the front entrance, and blue and gold spilled across the library lobby. Children chased patches of color over the floor. Eli’s brother stood beneath the open door at the center of the window, lifting his face quietly toward the light.
At the unveiling, no one asked me to tell a story about gratitude.
The host introduced only my name and my work.
“Stained-glass designer, June.”
Not the Mercer family’s lucky charm.
Not Camille’s sister.
Just June.
After the ceremony, the library gave me the small classroom next to the arts section to use for weekend glass workshops. On the first day, Eli’s brother arrived earliest.
He set out each chair, then placed smooth-edged pieces of glass on the tables.
“They should choose for themselves,” he said.