He sighed.
“Because I didn’t want another argument.”
“So you let me have it instead.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No?”
He was silent.
Then he surprised me.
“No,” he said quietly. “Actually, it is.”
I sat on the edge of my bed.
His voice sounded tired.
“We should never have left without you.”
“Thank you.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“Brenda thinks you’re selling because you’re angry.”
“I’m considering selling because I’m thinking.”
“About what?”
“My future.”
Another pause.
“Does that include us?”
The vulnerability in his question caught me off guard.
“Of course it includes you.”
“But differently?”
“Yes.”
He took that in.
“Maybe it should.”
I looked at Robert’s photograph on my dresser.
My son continued.
“There’s something else I should tell you.”
“What?”
“I have the new key.”
I frowned.
“You told Brenda you didn’t.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because after you called the realtor, everything changed. Brenda wanted me to open the house and pretend none of it was happening. Jennifer said we should leave. I agreed with Jennifer.”
