The chocolates looked extraordinarily expensive, but when I lifted one toward my mouth, decades of maternal habit stopped me. I thought immediately of Laura and my grandchildren, Anne and Charles, especially Charles, who adored sweets.
Rather than keep such an extravagant gift for myself, I carefully retied the ribbon and drove to Thomas’s house. Laura answered the door with the same strained politeness she had shown me for months, clearly surprised to see me standing there unexpectedly.
“Thomas sent these for my birthday, but they’re much too fancy for me to eat alone. I thought you and the children might enjoy them.”
For a brief moment, something strange crossed Laura’s face, almost as though the gift confused her. She accepted the box, however, thanked me, and once again found an excuse not to invite me inside.
I drove home slightly disappointed but satisfied that I had done something kind. I had no idea that by giving away those chocolates, I had unknowingly changed what was supposed to happen next.
At exactly seven the following morning, Thomas called.]
“Mom, how were the chocolates?”
The question immediately struck me as unusual because Thomas rarely followed up about gifts. Still, I answered cheerfully while pouring my morning coffee.
