“Your mother has become unreasonable.”
We heard Mom laugh.
For the first time since I returned, the future entered the conversation.
Not the inheritance.
Not the past.
The future.
Over the next week, the house slowly became my parents’ home again.
Veronica found a small rental nearby.
It was modest, but she liked it because sunlight reached the kitchen.
Derek tried to refuse when Dad offered to help with the deposit.
Dad refused his refusal.
“This is help,” he told him. “Not control. Learn the difference.”
Derek accepted.
I stayed in Carmona longer than planned.
My office could tolerate remote work for a while.
More importantly, I did not want to leave before I understood what had actually happened to my family.
One evening, Veronica and I sat on the back steps.
She surprised me by bringing up the sentence I had heard through the window.
“We’re in charge now.”
