“He’s evasive.”
“I trust him, Avery.”
“Mom, I want to trust him too. I want that for you. But a grown man with no wife, no kids, no roommate, and no reason to be anywhere at 7:30 p.m. on a Sunday…”
“Maybe he has reasons I don’t need to know yet.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
She looked at me then, and I saw something under the defensiveness. Mom knew it too. She just wasn’t ready.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
“Please,” she said quietly. “Let me have this. Even if it turns out badly, let me have the part where I still get to hope.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. So I dried a plate.
***
Later, on the porch, Chloe sat on the top step with her knees pulled up. I sat down beside her.
“Grandma knows something’s up. She’s just scared.”
“Let me have this.”
“Chloe. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.”
