Chapter 3
Daniel followed the delivery men into the dining room as if our argument had already ended.
The last chair opened with a metallic snap beside the extension table.
"I'm taking my flight tomorrow," I said.
Daniel looked up from the catering brochure.
"Claire, don't be dramatic."
"You can stay and host your family."
He flattened the brochure against the table.
"At least prepare dinner before you leave."
"I won't cook this dinner."
"Mom has already bought the food."
"Then you and your mother can decide what to do with it."
His mouth tightened as he reached for his phone.
My screen lit a few seconds later with a message in the family chat.
Don't worry. Everything is still on. Claire will have dinner ready.
I held my phone toward him.
"I just told you no."
"You're angry."
He placed his phone facedown beside the brochure.
"We'll talk when you've calmed down."
His mother replied before I could answer.
I knew Claire would understand. She always puts family first.
Daniel turned his phone over, read the message, and left it there.
I went upstairs without saying anything else.
My airline app was still open from the call with Dad.
I touched our reservation to check the departure time.
A red notice appeared across the screen.
ITINERARY CANCELED.
The cancellation had been made four minutes earlier.
The refund would return to our shared card.
My seat was already gone.
I went back downstairs with the phone in my hand.
"Did you cancel my ticket?"
Daniel glanced toward the delivery men near the front door.
"I canceled our trip."
"I told you I was going without you."
"We can visit Peter after Christmas."
"You canceled my seat after I told you I was leaving."
He lowered his voice.
"I can't let you walk out before sixteen people arrive."
The word let settled between us.
He had heard my decision and removed it with a button.
I carried my suitcase upstairs and locked the bedroom door.
A dull thump came from the workroom across the hall.
I opened the bedroom door.
Daniel had set a bag of toys on the clear corner of my drawing desk.
He was sliding my portfolio off the desk with one hand.
"Megan's kids need somewhere to play tomorrow," he said.
My portfolio tilted toward the floor.
I caught it before the drawings slipped out.
"Don't move my work."
"I'm making room for the children."
Half the room already held Megan's storage bins and Margaret's serving dishes.
The corner he wanted was the part of the desk I could still use.
"Use the guest room."
"Linda's staying there."
He lifted a folded play mat from the hallway.
"It's only for tomorrow."
"I haven't agreed to this either."
Daniel looked at the suitcase behind me.
"If you really go to your father's, you won't be here to use the room."
I carried the portfolio into my bedroom and closed the door before he could move anything else.
The original flight no longer had an available seat.
Only one place remained on the six-forty morning flight.
The fare was almost twice what we had paid.
I entered the number of a credit card in my name and bought a one-way ticket.
The confirmation arrived under my name alone.
I saved it to my phone and set an alarm for three thirty.