Chapter 6 - The Barricade
Two days before the grand gender reveal party, my phone rang while I was sitting at the kitchen island folding tiny baby socks. I picked it up, expecting it to be Theo checking in from work. Instead, Belle’s name flashed across the screen.
Her voice didn't sound like a joyful expectant mother preparing for a party. It sounded furious, sharp, and laced with panic.
“Jo! Why aren't you coming on Saturday? What is wrong with you?”
I stopped folding, the tiny sock clutched tightly in my fist. My voice trembled as I repeated the exact words Mom had drilled into me. “Belle… Mom told me you asked me to stay home. She said my pregnancy would attract too much attention, and that you just wanted one day where the focus was entirely on you.”
There was a long, dead silence on the line. When Belle spoke next, her voice was barely a whisper, vibrating with sheer, unadulterated rage.
“I never said that.”
The words hung in the air between us like broken glass.
“What?” I breathed.
“I never said that, Jo!” Belle shouted, her voice breaking. “Mom told me that you called her to say you weren't coming! She told me you thought gender reveals were tacky, that you refused to drive three hours for a balloon, and that you didn't want to be around a crowd because you were too proud to share the spotlight with me!”
The kitchen seemed to spin around me. The tiny sock slipped from my fingers, fluttering silently onto the hardwood floor.
“Why would she lie to both of us?” I whispered, the horrifying realization dawning like a physical blow to the stomach.
May you like
Neither of us could answer. The dark machinery of our mother’s manipulation was suddenly laid bare, stark and terrifying in the daylight. Mom hadn't been protecting Belle’s feelings. She hadn't been keeping the peace. She had systematically constructed a wall of lies between us, telling Belle I despised her celebration while telling me Belle had banished me from her life.
“I want you there,” Belle demanded, her voice thick with tears of betrayal. “I want my sister standing right beside me when we set off that cannon. You are my best friend, Jo. You get your husband, you get in your car, and you drive down here on Saturday. And don't you dare warn Mom—let me handle her.”
