“She said you worried too much. That you always wanted to know where she was, who she was seeing, and whether she had paid her bills.”
Sarah sighed.
“I suppose I did.”
“You were her mother.”
“Sometimes I wonder whether I helped create the person she became.”
I shook my head.
“You didn’t make every choice she made.”
“But I kept fixing things for her.”
She looked at the empty container in her hands.
“Every time she got into trouble, I told myself she was still learning. I paid her debts. I made excuses. I thought if I loved her enough, she’d eventually understand what it meant to be responsible.”
“And did she?”
Sarah looked at me.
“I think she learned that I’d always pay the price.”
Neither of us spoke for a moment.
Then I reached for the trash bag.
“On the bright side, you’ve already improved my life. My refrigerator is now less likely to qualify as a biological experiment.”
