walked beside me.

My father finally spoke.

“Wait a minute. Let’s not ruin Christmas over this.”

I stopped.

For a moment, I wanted to turn around and explain everything.

I wanted to remind him of every Christmas when my mother had humiliated me and he had asked me to ignore it.

I wanted to ask why keeping the peace had always been my responsibility.

Instead, I said, “Christmas isn’t ruined because I walked out. It’s ruined because everyone thinks kindness is optional as long as the decorations look good.”

My