Mom picked up the largest shard.
She held it up to the light.
"Better this way," she said. "Clean."
Dad didn't come home for days.
Mom cooked and cleaned as usual. She even signed up for a baking class.
"I'm going to learn how to make your favorite strawberry cake," she told me.
She burned several pans' worth.
But she didn't give up.
Not until she pulled out a soft, perfect chiffon.
She piped the frosting carefully, arranged the strawberries just so.
"Does it look right?" she asked me.
I nodded.
She smiled. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes deepened.
"Your grandma was the best at making these."
The cake sat on the table, waiting for Dad to come home.
He never showed.
On the third night, the phone rang.
The hospital.
Mom listened quietly until the end.
"Understood," she said. "I'm on my way."
Grandpa and Grandma Abbott's remains had already been cremated.
Two small boxes, side by side on a shelf.
Mom touched them gently.
"No more fear," she whispered. "No more pain."
On the way home, she bought a bouquet of white chrysanthemums. She arranged them in the vase that had sat empty for a long time.
Dad finally came back.
Reeking of liquor.
"All taken care of?" he asked.
Mom was ironing clothes. Steam billowed up, veiling her face.
"All taken care of."
Dad nodded, satisfied.
His gaze caught the cake on the table.
"What's this?"
"Try some." Mom cut him a slice. "Just learned how."
Dad took a bite and frowned.
"Too sweet."
"Is it?" Mom tasted a piece herself. "I think it's just right."
She ate slowly. Every bite chewed with deliberate care. Like she was savoring something precious.
Dad went upstairs to sleep.
Mom sat in the dark.
Moonlight fell across the cake in her hands.
She pressed her palm to her mouth.
Her shoulders shook violently.
But she didn't make a sound.
She didn't go upstairs until nearly dawn.
She sat at the edge of my bed for a while. Her hand brushed through my hair, feather-light.
The lawyer came in the morning. Mom went to meet him.
"Dirk Dickerson—are the documents all ready?"
Dirk didn't answer.
Two people trailed behind him.
"Mrs. Fox," he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "you're being accused of extortion."
The smile on Mom's face froze.
"What did you just say?"
Dirk pulled a file from his briefcase.
"The evidence you asked me to gather—" He flipped to a page. "—was fabricated by you."
Dad descended the stairs and clapped the lawyer on the shoulder.
"Appreciate the hard work, Dirk."
Mom stared at the lawyer.
"My grandfather helped you," I shouted.
Dirk looked down and adjusted his cuffs.
"Old Mr. Abbott was kind to me," he said. "Which is exactly why I'm telling you—don't fight this."
Dad produced a check.
Dirk took it without hesitation.
Mom laughed suddenly.
"How much?" she asked Dad. "I can match it."
Dad shook his head.
"No. You can't."
He stepped closer.
"Every account under your name was frozen yesterday."
Mom gripped the edge of the table. Her knuckles went white—translucent.
"The house?"
"Mortgaged," Dad said, his tone light, almost casual. "The company needed the liquidity."
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
"You have half a day to move out."
Mom stood perfectly straight.
"I want to see the documents."
Dad gestured to the lawyer.
A thick stack of papers was handed over.
Mom flipped through them fast.
Her hands were trembling.
She reached the last page—and stopped.
