Chapter 21 - MARINA’S BIRTHDAY
Marina’s birthday had always been hard.
Before Adrienne, I took Ilaria to the cemetery.
After Adrienne’s manipulation, Maya suggested we stop treating grief as a required ceremony.
“What does Ilaria want?”
She wanted cupcakes.
“Mom liked strawberry.”
True.
So we made strawberry cupcakes.
No cemetery that year.
I showed one photo.
Marina covered in flour while baking.
Ilaria laughed.
“Mom messy.”
“Extremely.”
“Did she say bad words?”
I paused.
“Occasionally.”
“How bad?”
“Classified.”
She giggled.
The goal was not to make Marina sacred.
Adrienne had tried to erase her.
I could react by turning her into a saint.
Both distort.
Marina was impatient in traffic.
Hated folding laundry.
Excellent at crossword puzzles.
Loved Ilaria ferociously.
Dead.
Still part of us.
Not competition.
Ilaria eventually asked:
“If you marry later, can Mom still be Mom?”
May you like
“Yes.”
That answer should have been obvious to every adult from the beginning.
