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Dinner Option
publish date:
2026-06-15 07:53:39
Latest chapter
Decisions I made Dad
Mom hit the kitchen first.She came around the corner in leggings and a cashmere wrap thrown over whatever she’d worn on the plane, hair half-fallen from its clip, face pale and exhausted and already wet with tears.The second she saw me, she made a sound I never wanted to hear again.Not a scream.Not even a cry.Just that sharp, broken inhale mothers make when they’ve spent an entire flight imagining the worst.“Lela.”I barely got out of the chair before she was across the kitchen, arms around me so tightly I almost lost my balance. She smelled like perfume and airplane air and the peppermint gum she always chewed when she was nervous.“I’m okay,” I said immediately, because of course that was the first thing out of my mouth.Mom pulled back just enough to cup my face in both hands and look me over like she was checking for damage.“Don’t tell me you’r
Decisions I made The Truth
I stared at Paul across the kitchen island and immediately knew there was no good answer to that question.Because the truth?The truth made me look stupid.Weak.Embarrassing.Like one of those women everyone swears they’d never be—the ones who keep too much to themselves, make excuses for too long, and wait until things are bad before admitting just how bad they’ve gotten.I looked down at the table instead of at him.“I don’t know.”Paul gave a short, humorless laugh.“You don’t know?”“No.”“Lela.”I sighed and rubbed both hands over my face.“I don’t know what you want me to say.”“The truth would be a good place to start.”Jack stayed quiet beside me, but I could feel him listening. Not in a nosy way. Just there. Present. Waiting to understand the pieces I hadn’t given him yet.I folded my arms over my chest and leaned back in the chair.“It didn’t happen all
Decisions I made Long Night
Paul didn’t wait for anyone to answer him.The second he stepped away from the table with his phone to his ear, the entire kitchen seemed to change.The room got colder.Quieter.Like the text message had sucked all the air out of it.I stayed frozen in my chair, staring at nothing while Jack stood beside me with my phone still in his hand.**I know you’re home. We need to talk.**I could still see the words in my head.Over and over.I know you’re home.Not *Can we talk?*Not *Please call me.*Not *I miss you.*Just that.A statement.A warning.A way of letting me know he was still there, still pushing, still trying to get inside my life no matter how many times I shut the door.My hands were shaking again.Not as badly as before.Worse.Because the adrenaline from the break-in had nowhere to go now. It had settled into somet
Decisions I made The Text
For a second, nobody said anything.The silence was so complete I could hear the kitchen clock ticking over the refrigerator.Jack stayed perfectly still beside me.Not stiff.Not panicked.Just very, very still.I looked at Paul.“What do you mean he was asking about Jack?”Paul leaned back in the chair, exhaustion and irritation written all over his face.“I mean exactly what I said. Chris has been asking around about the guy you’ve been seeing.”My stomach dropped.“How does he even know I’m seeing someone?”Paul gave me a flat look.“Lela.”I stared back at him.“No. Seriously. How?”He folded his arms across his chest.“You think you’ve been hiding this?”I blinked.“Yes?”Jack actually laughed under his breath.I turned to glare at
Decisions I made Tears
I cried harder than I meant to.Not dramatic sobbing.Not the kind where you collapse onto the floor and can’t breathe.Just that awful, quiet kind of crying where the tears won’t stop and your chest hurts and you’re trying so hard to pull yourself together that it almost makes it worse.Jack didn’t say much.Thank God.He just held me.One arm around my shoulders, the other resting at the back of my head, keeping me tucked against his chest while I stood there in the middle of my parents’ kitchen crying in an oversized t-shirt and pajama shorts at three in the morning.Belle stayed pressed against my legs like she was personally offended that I was upset.After a minute, Jack guided me toward one of the kitchen chairs and sat me down.Then he disappeared for all of thirty seconds and came back with a wet paper towel and the box of tissues from the powder room.I laughed through my tears the second I saw the paper towel.He looked at me carefully.“What?”“That is the most dad thing I
Decisions I made Why?
For a second, nobody moved.Nobody spoke.The name just hung there in the middle of the foyer like smoke.Dugan.Uncle Carmen’s right-hand man.Not some random drunk.Not a burglar looking for jewelry.Not a kid trying door handles in the neighborhood.Dugan.I stared at Paul, waiting for him to laugh and say he was kidding.He didn’t.My mouth went dry.“What do you mean it’s Dugan?” I asked, even though I had heard him perfectly the first time.Paul’s jaw tightened.“I mean it’s Dugan.”“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Why would Dugan be here?”“That,” Paul said flatly, “is exactly what I’d like to know.”Belle was still pacing in circles around my legs, whining now instead of barking, like even she could feel the tension in the room. I bent down automatically and ran my hand over her head just to give myself something to do besides panic.Jack’s hand stayed at the small of my back.Quiet.Steady.Grounding.I looked up at my brother again.“Did he say anything?”Paul laughed once, b
Decisions I made A Blast From The Past
After finishing my coffee, I headed upstairs to change.The restless feeling hadn't gone away.If anything, it had gotten stronger.I needed movement.I needed fresh air.I needed time to think.Running had always been my way of sorting through life. Whenever things became overwhelming, I laced up
Decisions I made Breath of Fresh Air
The next morning, I woke up in my childhood bedroom.For a few moments, I just lay there staring at the ceiling.The room looked almost exactly the same as it had years ago.The same dresser.The same photographs.The same quilt folded neatly across the end of the bed.The same feeling of comfort t
Decisions I made The Talk
As I walked up the driveway, the front door opened before I could reach it.Of course it did.My mother stood there smiling.My father stood a few feet behind her.Both pretending they hadn't been watching out the window.I held up the white rose."Seriously?"Mom laughed."What?""You were spying.
Decisions I made The Drive Home
We stood by the water for what felt like forever.Neither of us seemed interested in leaving.The city lights reflected across the lake like scattered diamonds, and every now and then a cool breeze would roll across the water.I wrapped my arms around myself.Not because I was cold.Because I was t
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