Mom nodded.
“So that was never about groceries.”
“No.”
“I found an apartment closer to town.”
“What was it about?”
She picked up a roll of packing tape.
“Being able to leave without arranging my life around somebody else’s schedule.”
“You never had to worry about my schedule.”
“That’s exactly the point. If I wanted coffee, an appointment, or a visit with Ryan, I called one of you first.”
Mom sealed the box.
“What was it about?”
“I want to drive when I’m comfortable. I want to decide where I live without arranging everything around you.”
“And you were just going to do all this without telling us?”
Her hands stilled.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“When I was sure.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“Why wait?”
She looked at me.
“Because I knew you’d start fixing things before I finished explaining what I wanted.”
I looked at Dad’s jacket and the solutions already lining up in my head.
