Chapter 12
Mom recovered enough to visit Boston in spring.
She arrived with one suitcase, three opinions about my apartment, and enough homemade cookies to bribe an army.
Daniel picked her up at the airport.
I worried.
For no reason.
When they entered my apartment, Mom patted his cheek.
“You look thinner. Guilt burns calories.”
Daniel blinked.
Sofia, on video call, laughed so hard she dropped her phone.
Mom stayed for two weeks.
She and Robert met for coffee.
I did not expect that.
Neither did Daniel.
Robert returned from the meeting looking shaken.
“What happened?” Daniel asked.
Robert sat down.
“She asked why I let another woman decide what kind of wife deserved respect.”
Daniel went still.
“What did you say?”
Robert’s eyes filled.
“That I was a coward.”
It was not enough.
But it was honest.
Mom had that effect on people.
She did not shout.
She simply asked questions that removed hiding places.
During her visit, she came to therapy with me once.
She held my hand while I said something I had never said aloud.
“I thought if I missed your death because of Linda, I would never forgive myself.”
Mom cried.
“You came.”
“I almost didn’t.”
“But you did.”
I shook my head.
“I needed someone to help me get there.”
She squeezed my hand.
May you like
“Then remember that needing help did not make you weak. It made the lie fail.”
That sentence stayed with me.
