l room was thick with the smell

tered through the blinds, st

small against the white sheet

riend of Mom' s for decades, sat by her be

fresh legal pad, hi

he dictation o

he strap of my purse, my husband Ma

oorframe, trying to look sad, but his

his throat, his voi

to proceed with the d

ttered open, fi

. "Yes, David. Le

, a shadow of the vibrant, s

omach. I wasn' t expec

the quiet one, while Jack, the charming, reckless

avies began, his pen scratching lightly, "a

be $200,000 after the debt. The savings, I knew, were around $25,

faint, almost impercepti

sped. "The house, the

with a bang, but with

t hearing it spoken aloud, so defini

ing for a split second, a flicker of something li

oice thick with false emoti

one unchanging, "And to yo

of hope still flickering. Maybe there

htly towards me. Her eye

I leave my collection of old family recipe books,

Recipe books.

junk, probab

nfirmation.

felt Mark' s hand tighten

reathe. My th

r Jack' s latest guitar, for his music less

d for every scholarship, just to get

ered to help

oice, smooth as butter. "That d

ed son. But his eyes were alight, al

and that chest wer

singly sharp for a

ant, Jack. Don'

eak, held a sliver

ately. "Of course, M

glance at me, a look that

my stoma

scream, to

a choked whisper. "Th

nd, I thought I saw something in her eyes

n it wa

she said, her voice trailing off.

, as if the eff

his felt like a final insult, a dismiss

made a few

nd brought back for your sign

n his kind eyes, but also a professio

dynamics. He' d seen it

to the bed, taking

nything, Mom. I' ll ta

full of fals

like a stone

tay. I couldn

d to grow louder, each beep a nail in

me, and walked out of the room, lea

a relief, but the wound inside