For me, Thanksgiving dinner with my family was supposed to be a happy and bonding time. Instead, it was scary and upsetting when I found out my partner was hiding something that would eventually lead to our breakup.
At first, Thanksgiving was supposed to be the perfect holiday. The room smelled strongly of turkey while the table was being set with fine china, and laughing could be heard from everywhere.
While I made sure everyone was okay, my husband Peter finished cooking the turkey. There were more surprises during the holiday than I thought it would be. I had no idea it would go this way.
Emma, who is eight years old and naturally interested, had been very quiet late at night. She kept looking out the window, even though her fingers were getting tired from holding up the bottom of her dress. She also couldn’t stay sitting still any longer.
It was pretty normal for Emma to want to keep her head in the clouds. I found out that she was either just excited about the Thanksgiving dinner or looking forward to her family coming to visit. Even though Peter smiled at her from across the table, she didn’t smile back, and her discomfort began to catch my eye.
I was about to cut the turkey after everyone had sat down when our daughter jumped up from her chair. Peter was just getting ready to start passing out parts next to me. After that, I began cutting the turkey. Everyone in the room was aware of how short she was in some way.
Even though her speech didn’t change, it was loud enough to drown out all the other presentations.
