They were at rooftop bars, wineries, beach resorts. Dad bought new clothes, whitened his teeth, and got an expensive haircut. Nora checked his social media every day.
“You’re really going to keep watching this?” Ben asked once.
“I want to know what kind of person he thinks he is now,” Nora snapped.
Meanwhile, Mom kept cooking for seven. The first time I saw her do it after he left, I nearly broke.
She set the plates on the table automatically, then stood there staring at the extra one. I quietly got up and removed it. She turned too quickly.
“I know. I know.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
“I’m fine,” she always said, but she wasn’t fine at all.
One night, I came downstairs and found her holding an old photo from when I was little.
“Do I really look that different?” she whispered. “Is that all I am now? Something that got old?”
I felt a chill. “Mom.”
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