At My Baby Shower He Celebrated Another Woman’s Child Chapter 32
I heard it, and I forgot it.
His regret had come too late. However long the rest of his life was, it had nothing to do with me.
That night, after I finished leading the last family support group of the week, June was waiting outside with a bouquet of irises.
“Tomorrow is Iris’s second birthday.”
“Have you decided where to go?”
I nodded.
“To the lake.”
Early the next morning, we brought the white box to the shore of Lake Michigan.
The wind was gentle. The water was dappled with gold from the rising sun.
I took out the glass urn. For the first time, it didn’t feel cold.
“Iris.”
I said her name softly.
“Mommy took you to see the sea, and Mommy brought you to a new city.”
“Now, Mommy is going to let you be free.”
As I had long ago arranged, I kept a small portion of her ashes and scattered the rest into the lake.
The fine white ash lifted on the wind and vanished into the morning light.
June stood a few steps away, giving me my space.
I had thought I would cry until I couldn’t stand.
But when I finally let go, all that remained was a long, quiet peace.
I hadn’t lost her.
She had become the name above the center’s door, the sound of the wind chime, the words so many mothers were finally brave enough to say aloud: *my child*.
The lake washed over the tips of my shoes, then drew back.
I laid the last iris flower on the water.
“Happy birthday, my daughter.”
The flower drifted out into the light.
June came to stand beside me.
“Ready to go home?”
I looked toward the city skyline behind us.
My work was there. My friend was there. The new life I had built with my own two hands was there.
“Home.”
We turned and walked away from the shore.
The sun climbed over the high-rises, casting our shadows long and certain before us.
This time, no one was choosing my direction for me.
And no one ever would again.
I was no longer someone’s wife, someone’s daughter, or the person who was supposed to see the bigger picture.
I was Nora.
And my life was my own.
The End