Chapter 15 - After the Chandelier Went Dark
The chandelier was still on but turned down low. The table that had been set for twelve was empty now except for the two places at the end. My pink dress felt wrinkled from sitting so long and my feet hurt in my little shoes. I could hear the front doors closing down the hall and cars pulling away on the gravel outside, one after another, until the house got quiet.
Dad was standing by the window watching the last lights sweep across the lawn. Ellis stood by the dark doorway where he'd been all night, his hands clasped in front of him, not saying anything. The polished table reflected the crystals above us, all those little lights doubled on the wood.
Dad turned around then and walked back to me. He didn't sit in the chair next to me. He knelt down right beside it, so his knees were on the rug and his face was level with mine, just like he had upstairs when he'd asked me where I'd seen the clutch. His black shirt was a little creased and his watch caught the low light.
"Hey," he said softly. "Are you okay?"
I tried to nod. My throat did that tight thing again and I had to breathe before I could talk. Ellis didn't move, but I felt him listening without staring.
"I thought maybe I was staff," I whispered. I hadn't meant to say it out loud. My voice came out smaller than I wanted it to. "When she said it. I believed her for a minute."
Dad didn't tell me I was silly. He didn't rush to fix it. He just looked at me and let the pause sit there. His eyes were watery but he wasn't crying. He nodded once.
"I know," he said. "I heard her. And I should have stopped that word before it ever reached you. This is your home, Emma. No one gets to tell you you're staff in your own dining room. Not tonight, not ever again."
I felt my shoulders drop a little. The big room didn't feel so cold.
"Where is she?" I asked, and I meant Lorraine.
Dad's voice stayed even. "She's going to live somewhere else for a while. She packed a bag and Ellis walked her to her car. She won't be telling anyone what to do in this house anymore."
I looked over at Ellis by the doorway. He gave me a short, quiet nod. He'd been there the whole night by that strip of light, not leaving, and now he was still there when everyone else had gone.
"Ellis stays?" I asked.
"Ellis stays," Dad said. "If you ever feel scared or confused, or if someone says something that doesn't feel right, you find him. Or you find me. You don't have to figure it out alone."
Ellis's mouth softened just a little. "Always, Miss Emma," he said. It was the first time that night he'd called me that instead of nothing at all, and it didn't sound like staff-talk. It sounded like he was on my side.
I reached out then. My small hand found Dad's left wrist, right where his silver watch was. Earlier I'd tugged at his sleeve because I was afraid and didn't know where else to hold on. This time I just rested my palm there, feeling the cool metal and the steady tick under it. My hand looked so little against it, but I didn't pull away.
"I want to keep my chair," I said. I was surprised at how clear my voice sounded. "For next dinner. Just us. Can it still be mine?"
Dad covered my hand with his. His ring was warm.
"It was always yours," he said. "We just made it official tonight. Next time we eat in here, that's your chair. No one moves it."
I believed him. Not because he said it loud, but because he'd knelt down twice now to make sure I heard it at my own height.
We sat there a second longer while the house hummed. The chandelier above us buzzed very faintly. The table was so polished I could see us in it, two small reflections side by side, his dark suit and my pink dress with the bow I couldn't see but knew was there.
"Wanna help me turn it off?" Dad asked.
I nodded. He stood and lifted me out of the chair, then kept his hand on my back as we walked to the light switch by the wall. Ellis stepped aside to let us pass. Dad put his hand over mine and guided it to the dimmer.
We pushed it down together. The crystals dimmed slowly, light by light, until the room was just the blue night coming through the big windows and the soft glow from the hall.
May you like
The table was still there in the dark, reflecting the window and the two of us standing together.
We didn't need to say anything else. We just stood there, and it felt like home.
