Mark’s face changed.
All that calm went right out of him. He reached over and put the silver dome back on the tray. Like that would help.
“Claire,” he said. “Uh. Let me explain.”
“Explain what?”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“The condo was ready two weeks ago,” he said. “The builder finished early. Mom wanted to stay here. With us. With Noah. And I told her she could. I told her to go ahead and rent the condo out. For the income.”
I stood very still.
“You told her she could stay here,” I said. “Without asking me.”
“I thought we’d all get used to it,” Mark said. “And then, after a while, once everybody was settled, we could talk about making it permanent.”
Permanent.
I thought about the little dollar store calendar hanging inside our bedroom closet door.
Every single night for five weeks, I’d crossed off another day with a red pen.
And every single night, he’d watched me do it. And said, almost there.
I thought about the winter coats I’d moved out of the hall closet to make room for Diane’s things. They were still stacked in a pile in the corner of our bedroom. Because there was no point finding them another place for just six weeks.
“Did you know,” I said quietly, “when you asked me to be patient last week?”
Last Wednesday, I’d finally broken down in our bedroom after Diane ate out of the mashed potatoes again. And Mark had held my hand and said, “Just be patient, babe. Two more weeks.”
He looked down at the table.
“Yes,” he said.
Diane folded her arms across her chest.
“My son promised me a home,” she said. “And now you’ve turned this whole situation hostile.”
I looked at that breakfast tray.
A moment ago, I’d wanted to thank him. A moment ago, I’d thought he was finally on my side.
“So what was all this supposed to fix?” I asked him.
“The food,” Mark said. “I thought if Mom finally understood about the food, you wouldn’t be so uncomfortable having her here. And then it could work. She helps with Noah. You wouldn’t have to rush to pick him up. And Mom would have family around.”
“And what if I still didn’t want to live together?”
He hesitated.
“We hadn’t gotten that far.”
Ethan Blake is a skilled Creative Content Specialist with a talent for crafting engaging and thought-provoking narratives. With a strong background in storytelling and digital content creation, Ethan brings a unique perspective to his role at TheArchivists, where he curates and produces captivating content for a global audience.
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