“Anna! Where is the food?” she cried. “I gave you the list!”
Michael came in right behind her. The moment he saw the bare table, a dark red flush rushed up his face.
“Anna, have you completely lost your mind?” he snapped. “People came here for our anniversary, and there’s nothing on the table!”
His voice thundered through the whole house. The guests suddenly became fascinated by their plates, their phones, the windows—anything that spared them from watching the scene unfold.
“What are you doing? Are you even sane?”
Anna waited until he ran out of breath. Then she set her glass down on the table with quiet precision.
“This is my surprise.”
The silence dropped like a curtain.
“In honor of our anniversary, I’m announcing our divorce.” Anna slipped off her wedding ring and placed it on the white tablecloth. The small sound it made seemed louder than a shout. “I’m leaving. Today. Right now.”
Michael’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.
“You’re doing this in front of people? You decided to put on this circus with guests here?”
“I decided to tell the truth.” Anna picked up the bag she had packed earlier. “For seven months, I was your maid. I cooked, washed, scrubbed, cleaned. From five in the morning until midnight. And you never once asked how I was doing. Not once did you help. You simply used me. Both of you did, because I was convenient. That’s all.”
Susan, one of Linda’s friends, muffled a snort into her fist. Carol gave the tiniest nod, barely visible, but Anna saw it.
“Anna, sweetheart, wait, let’s talk this through,” Linda said, stepping toward her and reaching out with those perfectly polished hands. “You’re just exhausted, I understand. We’ll hire help. We will, won’t we, Michael?”
“It’s too late,” Anna replied, and headed for the door.
Michael lunged after her and caught her by the elbow.
“Stop. You can’t just walk out like this.”
“Yes, I can.” Anna pulled free. “Watch me.”
She opened the front door. Behind her, Michael’s panicked voice was already barking into the phone.
“Hello? Is this the restaurant? I need delivery for eight people immediately. Right now. I’ll pay whatever it costs, just hurry!”
Anna shut the door behind her and stepped out onto the landing. She took out her phone and texted Megan: Can I come over?
The reply arrived almost instantly: Get over here, idiot. It’s about time.
Anna stayed with Megan for a week. She slept on a folding cot, went to work, came back, and sat staring out the window. Megan didn’t press her with questions.
Michael called for three days. At first he yelled, ordered her to come home, called her ungrateful. Then his tone changed. He pleaded. He promised everything would be different. Anna listened in silence and ended the calls. On the fourth day, a message came through: Mom is bedridden now. She’s really sick. Happy?
Anna blocked his number.
Then Carol, the same guest from the dinner, wrote to her: Anna, forgive me for bothering you. You did the right thing. I lived thirty years with a mother-in-law just like that and never found the courage to leave. You are brave.
After that, Susan messaged. Then someone else did. The messages kept coming from all of them.