Chapter 10 - The Interview
I almost canceled the Harper interview myself.
Not because Lauren had won.
Because I was exhausted from proving I deserved things nobody else had to defend.
Grandma Ruth drove in Sunday night and stayed at a hotel near us.
She took one look at me and said, "Your mother would be furious if you quit because somebody lied about you."
"That's manipulative."
"Yes. Runs in the family."
I laughed for the first time in days.
Monday morning, I sat before six scholarship committee members in a conference room downtown.
Lauren's boss was not present. He had recused himself after the committee learned of the conflict.
They asked about my grades.
My volunteer work.
My essay about growing up after my mother's death.
Then one woman asked, "Claire, what has this week taught you?"
I could have given a perfect answer.
Resilience.
Integrity.
Perseverance.
Instead I said, "That being quiet isn't the same as being kind."
They waited.
I continued.
"I spent years thinking keeping peace made me mature. Mostly it taught people I would absorb whatever they handed me. I don't want to live like that anymore."
Nobody wrote for a moment.
Then the chair smiled.
"Thank you."
Outside, Dad was waiting.
He did not ask how much the scholarship was worth.
He asked, "How do you feel?"
That mattered more than he knew.
Then his attorney called.
Lauren had filed for divorce.
No surprise.
But she was also asking for temporary exclusive use of the house and claiming Dad had created an unsafe environment by destroying Mia's handbag and forcing them out.
Dad looked at me.
For the first time since graduation morning, I saw uncertainty.
"I shouldn't have destroyed the bag," he said.
"No."
He nodded. "I was angry. It was wrong."
I appreciated that he said it without a "but."
Then the attorney added something else.
May you like
Lauren claimed I had assaulted Mia first.
And she said she had video.
