What Happened After the Applause
Later that night, Brianna exploded at home.
She insulted my mom’s past.
Called her a mistake.
Mike stood up.
Calm. Firm. Unmovable.
He grounded her for the summer.
Took her phone.
Demanded a handwritten apology.
He didn’t waver.
My mom cried — not from pain, but from release.
The photos from that night now hang in our living room.
Not as a trophy.
But as proof.
Proof that she was never invisible.
Never a mistake.
Never someone who missed out on life.
She created something extraordinary.
And now, everyone knows it.
