At Thanksgiving Dinner, My Daughter Yelled, ‘Where’s the Woman Dad Keeps in Our Barn?’ — The Room Fell Silent
Thanksgiving dinner was supposed to be warm, filled with laughter, food, and the sound of family chatter. I had been planning it for weeks, making lists, cleaning the house, and even polishing the old silverware that was only brought out once a year.

My husband, Patrick, had promised to handle the turkey, and I took care of everything else: pies, casseroles, sides, and decorations. Our farmhouse had always been the family gathering spot, surrounded by golden fields and a red barn that stood like an old sentinel behind the house.

This year, it felt essential to make everything perfect. It was our first Thanksgiving since Patrick’s mother had passed away, and he hadn’t been himself since. He threw himself into chores, spent long hours in the barn “fixing equipment,” and came home late, covered in dust and smelling faintly of hay and something else I couldn’t quite place.

Our daughter, Lily, was eight, curious, talkative, and too observant for her own good. Lately, she had been asking strange questions, things like, “Why does Daddy lock the barn at night?” or “Who does he talk to out there when no one else is around?” I brushed it off as imagination. After all, kids make up stories when they see adults acting oddly.

But a part of me, one I didn’t want to admit existed, was uneasy.