« She’s tired, Brenda. We’re all tired. »
« Margaret, you need to come home. Right now. »
I kissed her cheek and stepped out into a perfectly ordinary morning.
Two months later, the call came while I was halfway through a stack of invoices at work. Brenda’s voice was shaking so badly I almost didn’t recognize it.
« Margaret, you need to come home. Right now. »
I gripped the phone tighter. « Brenda, what happened? Is Mom okay? »
« Your mother let me go. » A sob broke through. « There’s a man here. I don’t know who he is to her, but she chose him over me. Twelve years, Margaret, and she chose him. »
I marched straight to Mom’s bedroom and threw open the door.
« What are you talking about? Brenda, slow down. »
« Just go. Just see for yourself. I can’t be the one standing here when you do. »
