Sara was always the loving, devoted daughter, but her loyalties are tested when her mother's midlife crisis shatters the family... and threatens her marriage.
How did weekly catch-up calls with her mom spiral into infidelity?
******
Previously on Daughter:
Sara and Jon meet her family for their usual Sunday brunch, but something feels off. Sara's father, Tony, is tense, distracted, and exhausted, and her mother, Julie, is noticeably absent. Then, Tony drops a bombshell...Julie has been cheating on him, and he's filing for divorce.
The revelation sends shockwaves through the family, especially Sara, who had unknowingly been keeping her mother's secret. As the weight of her silence crushes her, Tony's disappointment cuts deep, and Jon struggles with his own fears about trust and marriage.
With tensions high and relationships fracturing, the once-stable foundation of Sara's family is crumbling beneath her.
******
SUNDAY April 14, 2024 | 1 PM | Going Home
The clouds moved swiftly across the sky, swallowing the last traces of the early spring sun, leaving Sara in silence. A silence that echoed between her and Jon... cold and unforgiving as winter's deepest chill.
Jon's knuckles whitened against the steering wheel, his face unreadable... a mask of controlled silence that made Sara's stomach twist. She recognized that look... it was the same one he wore when talking about his own parents' marriage. She never thought she'd be the one to put that look on his face.
Jon, however, was reexamining past conversations with Sara. Had she misrepresented her values toward marriage and fidelity? They had talked about this multiple times before getting married. Had something changed? Could he build a family with Sara if she now thought about relationships the same way as her mother?
Sara turned as her fingers curled around her pendant, hoping that her grandmother's wisdom might break through to help her as she stared out the window, stewing in the mess of her own making.
"Mom said she finally felt alive again," she recalled bitterly. That she deserved to experience more before it was too late. That's what women do now, Sara. We don't let marriage define us anymore. We define marriage.
Sara had pushed back... hard. Told her she was wrong, that vows weren't just suggestions. But now, the words looped in her mind, twisting into questions she didn't want to ask. Had I been naïve? Was her mother right? Was monogamy becoming a relic of the past?
She turned back to glance at Jon. He had always been so sure. So steadfast in his beliefs. She envied that certainty.
Then the reality of the situation clawed its way back up.
Her mother had lied to her. Again and again. That hurt... like a mirror fracturing inside her all at once, each lie splintering deeper into her heart.
But it couldn't mask how disappointed she was in herself. She should have told her father about her mother's delusions before it was too late. Instead, she had let her fear, or something else, silence her, and now that silence had been mistaken for support.
Her mind replayed the brunch like a film reel she couldn't pause. Her father's face when he realized she knew... something more. His eyes transitioning from realization to shock... sadness, then anger. She had to turn away, shriveling under the intensity of that stare.
And now Jon was involved. She had tried so hard to keep this away from their marriage... to keep her mother's mistakes from touching them. But in doing so, she had let them in.
She wished she had time to call Em. Her best friend had a way of cutting through drama with brutal honesty... a skill she had mastered growing up in Hollywood's unforgiving spotlight. But no... she would face Jon on her own.
******
They passed the unmanned gatehouse, and Sara's eyes drifted to the flower beds where the grounds' crew were planting vibrant blooms. As a child, she loved the pull of spring renewal, her favorite season, but now, all she felt was the inevitable weight of the conversation ahead of her.
Their building stood at the edge of the development, quiet and apart, like they'd wanted. The small westward-facing balcony had been a promise of days winding down with sunsets shared over wine.
Her cheeks warmed at memories of her and Jon on the balcony... his hands gripping her hips, the slow, intoxicating rhythm between them, or the way his mouth would leave her breathless beneath the stars.
Stars that twinkled into life behind his sparkling eyes, matching the millions of tiny stars exploding across her vision. He had a way of making her feel so safe...
But how safe was anything, really?
******
The elevator ride maintained the suffocating quiet, the hum of machinery filling the space where words should have been. Her pale reflection stared back from the polished steel doors, a silent judge she couldn't escape.
As the doors opened, Sara followed Jon into the hallway to their apartment. He held the door for her, then placed his keys in the bowl on the kitchen counter as he continued walking towards the bedroom hallway. She was about to call out to him, but heard the door shut behind him.
Frowning, she stepped into the kitchen and placed the take-home containers in the fridge. She prepped the coffee maker, set it to brew strong, took out two mugs, then sat on the counter waiting for him.
She watched the coffee drip steadily into the pot. The rhythmic sound, a contrast to the chaos in her mind.
"We agreed... one and done. No excuses." Jon's words from their engagement played in her head. She had believed them then. But now? Now, everything felt messier, uncertain.
"Would Mom have cheated if she and Dad had... adapted?"
The thought came out of nowhere, curling uncomfortably in her gut. "If she had been honest about what she needed, would things have turned out differently?"
She hated she was even thinking about it. Hated that her mother's voice was in her head, making her question things she had never questioned before.
Sara's hand drifted to her pendant as she stared at the wall in silence.
Her thumb traced the raised gold etching of the tree, just like when her grandmother used to hold her close. Telling her stories of resilience and strength. The pendant's warmth, as always, brought a fleeting sense of peace.
Her grandmother's passing affected Sara deeply, and she was surprised that her grandmother entrusted the pendant to her instead of her mother. It felt almost like an unspoken bond between them, a legacy of silent support. She tucked the pendant back under her blouse as she heard the bedroom door creak open.
"This sucks..." thought Sara. "we rarely fight about anything." Their disagreements were usually about airing frustrations and then finding quick, loving resolutions. This was different... like the first true fracture in their marriage. Jon had been avoiding her eyes all morning, barely speaking at the diner or during the drive home. That never happened before.
And what was he doing in the bedroom?
******
Jon took his time choosing, and then carefully folding each piece of clothing into the small suitcase on the bed. He was determined to pack light, fewer pants, and more shirts. Workout tank tops for sure. Enough to last a week. His work things were already packed in his computer bag.
The news about Julie still gnawed at him, an ache just beneath the surface that brought up memories of his childhood. After his parents became dead set on destroying their marriage through infidelity, Tony and Julie Williams became his models for what a loving marriage should be. The way they spoke and cared for each other, the open expressions of love, the little touches of affection, were everything he hoped he could have with Sara.
They welcomed him into the family like a long-lost son. They celebrated his scholastic and athletic accomplishments alongside Sara's, and were thrilled when Sara announced their engagement. Jon knew he could talk to them about anything. Julie became his second mom. Tony his dad. He felt loved.
But now that was gone, or at least tainted. The family was in turmoil, and Sara found herself caught in the middle. He didn't want to be mad at Sara, but he couldn't stop feeling that she didn't do enough to protect the family. He was losing a second set of parents at the time that he and Sara were considering becoming parents themselves.
He wanted their children to enter the world surrounded by love... not divorce.
Jon's hands hovered over the suitcase zipper, his gaze snagging on the heart-shaped frame on the nightstand.... a heart-shaped picture of him and Sara wrapped in a kiss on the kissing bridge at a local Ren fair.
It felt worlds away...
******
The rumblings in the bedroom died down, and Jon strode out into the dining room area. Sara's heart dropped as he placed the suitcase and his computer bag by the front door. Turning into the kitchen, he paused before pouring himself a coffee as memories of happier moments of enjoying meals together with Sara entered his mind. He sat next to Sara on their island counter.
"Thanks for making coffee."
"You're welcome. Figured we'd need it." Sara's eyes lingered on the packed bags by the door. "What's with the bags?"
Jon didn't look up, his fingers tracing the rim of his cup. "Later. Not important."
His response hit her harder than it should have. Sara's chest tightened, the weight of his tone pressing down like a lead blanket. He never spoke to her like this... so distant, so dismissive.
"You surprised me today... and that's on top of the crazy news about your mom. We spoke extensively about monogamy and infidelity before we married. Especially because of my parents' situation. We agreed it was a one and done. No excuses. What's changed?"
"Nothing's changed."
"Then how could you accept what your mother was doing? How could you disrespect your father and not tell him?"
