His Love Is Not Visible Chapter 34
In the spring of the next year, I bought a house.
I didn’t use the money from the divorce settlement. The down payment came from my own savings, and the rest was a mortgage.
The house wasn’t big, but it was close to my office.
My parents went to see a lot of places with me.
My mother said the kitchens were too small. My father complained the light wasn’t good enough.
The one we chose in the end had a big balcony.
My mother could grow flowers there, and my father could sit in the sun.
On moving day, Megan and Ethan both came.
Megan carried a money tree in her arms.
“To our boss getting rich and paying off her mortgage early.”
Ethan brought a floor lamp.
I loved the warm yellow light it cast beside the sofa.
My father cooked dinner in the kitchen.
My mother stood beside him, directing traffic and complaining that he chopped vegetables too slowly.
The house was full of voices. Standing on the balcony, I understood for the first time what kind of home I wanted.
It didn’t need to be expensive, and it didn’t need anyone else to give me an identity.
I only needed to know that no matter how late I came home, I could turn on the light here myself.
At dinner, my grandfather video-called.
He refused to come stay long in Salt Lake City, saying the tomatoes he’d just planted needed tending.
I carried the phone around the new house.
“Come stay for a while after the harvest.”
My grandfather smiled.
“Okay.”
“Our Laura’s really something now.”
My eyes grew hot.
I raised my glass.
“To moving into my new home.”
Megan clinked hers against mine.
“And to your promotion.”
My mother added, “And to everyone staying healthy.”
Ethan raised his glass last.
“And to Laura finally living the life she chose for herself.”
The glasses met with a clear, bright sound.
I thought of the Independence Day fireworks in Iowa.
A new beginning doesn’t start on some date on the calendar.
It begins the moment you make a decision for yourself.