But eventually she became independent.
Oddly enough, it was the healthiest thing that had ever happened to her.
Meanwhile my parents faced difficult financial realities.
Legal expenses.
Repayments.
Damaged relationships.
Community embarrassment.
For the first time, favoritism carried a cost they couldn’t ignore.
One autumn afternoon, nearly eighteen months after the lawsuit ended, my mother visited the cabin.
Alone.
I found her standing near the dock where Grandma and I used to fish.
She looked nervous.
“I wasn’t sure you’d let me come.”
“I almost didn’t.”
She nodded.
Fair enough.
