There were permits to file.
A roof to repair.
Clients to invoice.
There were Sunday dinners.
Dad’s doctor appointments.
Mom’s sewing group.
Derek and Veronica learning how to live in their own small apartment again.
My own life changed too.
I stopped sending my parents four thousand dollars automatically.
Not because they didn’t deserve support.
Because we finally discussed what they actually needed.
The answer was far less money.
Dad still earned income from occasional design consulting.
Their house was paid off.
Their living expenses were modest.
Most of the money I had sent had simply accumulated until Derek redirected it.
“What do you want instead?” I asked Mom.
“Dinner.”
“What?”
“Come home for dinner more.”
That request cost me more effort than a bank transfer.
Which was probably the point.
So I changed my schedule.
Twice a month became once a week when possible.
I learned the road from my city to Carmona in every kind of weather.
