« Your blood pressure pills, Walter, » I said.
« I don’t want you struggling, hon. »
He turned.
« They’re on the counter. »
For a second, shame crossed his face. Then he tucked the bottle into his pocket and left.
I waited until Marcy’s car pulled away before I took the bank card and put it in the cookie tin above the stove.
Then I washed my teacup by hand because once I started crying, I was afraid I wouldn’t stop.
Shame crossed his face.
***
For five years, I learned how to stretch grocery money, fix a running toilet with a video on my phone, and smile when people at church asked if I was « adjusting. »
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