Chapter 7 - Walter's Confession
Walter admitted that silence had been his survival strategy for most of his marriage.
Virginia pushed.
Walter yielded.
Virginia criticized.
Walter joked.
Virginia became angry.
Walter left the room.
Justin had watched that pattern throughout childhood.
"I thought I was keeping peace," Walter said.
Justin gave a sad smile.
"Apparently that's hereditary."
Walter looked at me.
"I'm sorry you inherited the consequences."
Virginia overheard the conversation.
Instead of exploding, she sat down.
"What would you have me do?" she asked.
Walter answered gently.
"Listen before defending yourself."
For Virginia, that might have been harder than any medical test.
But she tried.
Justin told her what childhood had felt like whenever disagreement became disloyalty.
I told her what her first week in our home had felt like.
Walter admitted how often he'd let her behavior continue because challenging it was exhausting.
Virginia cried.
Then became angry.
Then cried again.
But she stayed.
She listened.
The next morning, she asked if she could make breakfast.
"Absolutely," I said.
She hesitated.
"Where do you keep the skillet?"
I almost smiled.
"You mean you're asking permission?"
Her mouth twitched.
"Don't make me regret personal growth."
It was the first joke we'd shared in days.
Then she made eggs.
They were too soft.
I ate every bite.
But rebuilding trust wasn't going to happen through breakfast.
Because later that week, Brenda returned with another piece of information.
Virginia's phone call hadn't been the first time she'd discussed our marriage with relatives.
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And Justin was about to discover just how long his mother had been trying to influence the way his family saw me.
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