“I came here wanting answers. Then I learned the truth. Her parents threatened her. They told her she would be homeless if she refused the adoption. She spent decades trying to find my mother.”
I looked at Marjorie.
“Why did you stop coming outside?”
Her eyes shifted toward the medication tray.
“Because I am sick.”
Owen picked up a folder from the dresser and handed it to me. Inside were test results, hospital notes, and an appointment schedule.
Pancreatic cancer.
Advanced.
I read the words twice before they made sense.
Marjorie watched my face and whispered, “I didn’t want the neighborhood to know.”
My throat tightened.
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want to become the dying woman at the end of the street.”
She gave a faint smile.
“I wanted to remain the woman who baked peach pies.”
I looked at Owen. “And the curtains?”
Someone Left a Giant Block of Ice on My Lawn Overnight – When It Melted, It Revealed Something That Brought the Authorities to My Door
I Sacrificed My Mother’s Most Precious Keepsake for My Husband’s Business – Then I Accidentally Heard the Truth and Couldn’t Believe What He’d Done With It
My Mother-in-Law ‘Gifted’ Me Her Broken Armchair – When She Saw What I Turned It Into, She Demanded $480 from Me
