The basement flooded a little in a hard rain. The cloth on the chair got wet. Derrick dried it. Patrice said throw the cloth out. He threw it out. The chair stayed a chair, uncovered, in a stack. Uncovered was fine. It was not in the dining room. Location was the truth. Vanessa, told, said good. She did not come to witness. Witnessing was the old tool. Sitting was the new one. She sat at her own table. That was enough witness.
Five years after Vanessa stood behind the chair, the table was loud again in the correct way. Kids. A game. A pie already cut. Derrick at the head because somebody had to be. Patrice with the towel, this time setting slices down. Vanessa seated, coat off. No empty place set for a secret. The secret had a name and a city and a first of the month and a one-line text. The text came. Proud, Patrice wrote back, sparingly. Imani sent a pie emoji. Emoji was the new amen. Patrice showed Derrick. He laughed once. The laugh was not a scene. It was a kitchen. Kitchens were allowed to continue. The chair in the basement held nothing. Nothing was correct. The people who were supposed to know, knew. That was the grace after the grace that had been refused. She ate. The pie was sweet. The sweet was only sweet. The day proceeded.
June’s spare room became Imani’s once a year without becoming a bedroom. A toothbrush appeared and left. Patrice saw the leaving and understood it better than she wanted to. Leaving a toothbrush was the opposite of a hidden one. She did not say that to Derrick. Some sentences were hers and June’s. June washed the towel after. Washing was the host. Hosting was not mothering. The line held. Imani thanked June in a text. June said anytime and meant once a year. Once a year was a boundary with a bed. Boundaries with beds were adult. They were all, finally, adult.
The warehouse holiday party invited spouses. Patrice went. Nobody there knew a chair. She preferred the not-knowing. Not-knowing in a office was correct. Knowing was for the table. She ate a cookie and left before the speeches. Speeches were contaminated. Derrick did not mind the early leave. Early was a text that said now. He had practice. They drove home. The house was the bank color and quiet. Quiet was not a lie. It was a evening. She cut a leftover slice. He ate half. Half was a ordinary intimacy. Intimacy of pie. She could do that. She did.