“Come with me for a minute?” she asked. “Let them finish licking their wounds.”
I followed her down the hallway and into the small study just off the guest room. It was the one room Joel never touched, so it still felt like mine. The door closed with a soft click behind us.
We sat across from each other, knees almost touching. The afternoon sun filtered through the curtains, casting a warm, golden wash over the bookshelves and desk. Rhea looked around the room, then back at me.
“This is a beautiful house,” she said. “But what you’ve created in it… that’s the real beauty. The food, the warmth, the little details. That wasn’t Joel. That was you.”
I didn’t say anything at first. I wasn’t used to being seen like that. I wasn’t used to being acknowledged without being framed as helpful or supportive, or as Joel’s wife.
“I love Miles,” Rhea sighed. “I really do. But if he ever stood up in front of a crowd and dismissed me the way Joel did to you today?”
She shook her head and gave a crooked grin.
“I’d have thrown his butt into the fire. Right next to those ribs.”
I laughed, an actual, full laugh. It felt like something uncoiled inside me.
“Leona,” Rhea leaned forward. “You don’t owe him your invisibility. You deserve more than to be the woman behind the curtain making magic while someone else takes the bow.”
I blinked fast, swallowing against the tightness that returned to my throat.
“You’re not crazy for feeling what you feel. You’re not sensitive or dramatic. You’re just awake. And I think maybe today woke a few other people up, too.”
I nodded slowly, more grateful for her words than I could say aloud.
“Thank you,” I said finally. “That means more than you know.”
“Come back out when you’re ready,” she said, squeezing my hand. “I’ll make sure no one corners you with small talk.”
When I returned to the yard, Joel was slouched on the porch, beer in hand, staring at the ruined grill like it had personally betrayed him. The once-patriotic apron lay in a heap beside him, singed and stiff.
“I can’t believe the grill did that to me,” he muttered without looking at me.
I sipped my sangria and studied the scorched metal, its legs now uneven, the lid lopsided.
“Maybe the grill just wanted some credit too, Joel.”
He didn’t laugh. But he also didn’t apologize.
Not that night. Not even the next day, when I spent hours cleaning up alone, again. The air still reeked of smoke. The tarp was too melted to save. The plastic chairs had bubbled like burnt sugar. Joel stayed in the den, playing video games, as if the entire ordeal had never happened.
A week later, he finally asked, offhandedly while scrolling through his phone.
“Do you want to skip hosting next year? My parents can have a swing at it.”
I looked up from my book and said yes. Not out of spite or drama, just a calm certainty. And for the first time in over a decade, I meant it.
This year, I think I’ll go to the fireworks show by the lake. Just me. I’ll pack a fold-up chair and a mason jar of sangria, maybe make a batch of brownies and a pie if I feel generous. I’ll wear something light and easy, and I’ll let the breeze play with my hair and cheer when the sky lights up, all glitter and boom and color.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll sit in the quiet after the last firework fades, letting the smoke drift over the water.
Because this time, I’ll know I didn’t burn myself out trying to make someone else shine.
