Chapter 17 - Walking Away With Nothing to Hide
On the third anniversary of my divorce, I did something symbolic.
I sold the last piece of jewelry Lukas had given me.
Not my wedding ring.
That had been handled long ago.
This was a diamond bracelet from our tenth anniversary.
The anniversary three weeks before Sunday dinner.
For years it remained in a drawer.
I didn't hate it.
I simply never wore it.
The jeweler asked whether I was sure.
“Yes.”
“What will you do with the money?”
I hadn't decided.
Then I knew.
I booked a trip.
Not romantic.
Not dramatic.
Just somewhere I had always wanted to go.
The coast of Maine.
I rented a small cottage.
Walked beaches.
Read novels.
Ate too much lobster.
One evening, I watched the sunset alone.
And I realized I no longer described myself internally as divorced.
I was simply Evelyn.
The absence of Lukas was no longer the defining feature of my life.
That was freedom.
Walking away hadn't made me empty.
May you like
It had made room.
And life had slowly filled that room with things I had chosen.
