Phedra said the doctor wanted her to continue treatment.
Selina dismissed the doctors, then said the sentence that made my stomach turn.
“My son sends the money to my account. That means I decide how it gets used.”
Phedra pointed out the new SUV, Godfrey’s newly opened auto shop, and the remodeled house. Then she said she had been sleeping in the storage shed.
“I just want to finish my treatment,” she whispered.
Selina crossed her arms. “You should have thought about that before getting sick.”
I pushed the door open.
My suitcase hit the floor.
Godfrey dropped his glass. Selina grabbed her chest. Phedra stared at me as if I were a ghost.
“Damian…”
I crossed the yard and knelt beside my wife. She felt terrifyingly light in my arms and smelled faintly of bleach, medicine, and damp clothes.
“I’m back, honey.”
She kept repeating my name.
Selina immediately insisted things weren’t what they looked like. She accused Phedra of becoming unbearable after getting sick, demanding money, breaking things, even stealing jewelry.
I looked directly at the hummingbird pendant around my mother’s neck.
“Like that one?”
Selina covered it with her hand.
Phedra told me she’d tried to sell the necklace to pay for a doctor’s visit, and Selina had taken it.
