My Belongings on the Floor
When we reached the master bedroom, Darlene was already opening the closet doors.
She ran her fingers along the wooden shelves and looked toward the wide windows overlooking the ocean.
“This room is perfect,” she announced. “I’ll take it.”
For a second, I thought she was joking.
“No,” I said firmly. “This is the room Grant and I share. Your room is across the hall.”
Darlene looked offended.
“That room faces the trees,” she complained. “I traveled all this way to be near the ocean. Why would you put me in the worst room in the house?”
“It isn’t the worst room — it has its own bathroom and a large closet.”
Grant let out a dramatic sigh.
“Tessa, Mom has been under a lot of stress lately. Let her enjoy the better view.”
I turned to face him.
“Where exactly do you expect us to sleep?”
He hesitated only a moment.
“I’ll stay in here with her so she doesn’t feel lonely,” he said. “You can use the sofa downstairs until we figure something out.”
I stared at him, waiting for him to smile and say he was only teasing.
He did not.
Darlene began taking my dresses out of the closet.
She draped them over one arm and carried them out into the hallway, then dropped them beside the stairs as if they were dirty laundry.
My jewelry box, shoes, books, and overnight bag followed.
“Please be careful with those,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady.
Darlene opened another suitcase.
“You have far too many things anyway,” she said. “A simpler lifestyle might actually do you some good.”
Grant stood by the window, looking out at the water.
He did nothing to stop her.
That was the moment something inside me went completely calm.
