"I’m happy to see you like this. And the activities?"
"We play cards now, dear! You’d love it." I arch an eyebrow. She laughs at my skepticism. "One of the neighbors learned a new game on a video channel... it’s called Strip Poker."
"Mom!"
"What? We cover the cameras when we play!" She points to the cameras placed in the corners of the rooms. "I'm not dead, my love!"
I pinch the bridge of my nose with my index and middle fingers. Imagining my mother playing strip poker. Or rather, trying to get the image out of my mind. I finally raise my hands in surrender.
"Okay! Fine! Let's get to your present before we talk business."
She opens the box with the eagerness of a child, lifting the shoes to the light.
"Manolos? Always welcome, darling. You have impeccable taste."
She runs one hand over my face and smiles. We chat about pleasantries, Mom tells me about her daily routine, how the nurses attend to her every day, about her appointments with psychologists and other doctors. The enormous financial reserve my father left behind is being used primarily to provide her with peace of mind and security. Her meals are served in the common dining room or at home. They vary depending on what she requests and what the doctors recommend.
“I know you love then”
"I asked for tea. Now... how is Peter?"
"He’s likely fine. We’re divorced."
The air in the room shifts. I’m certain the tea will go cold now.
"What? Megan, how could you leave him? He is a man of integrity. Handsome, courteous..." I'm rolling my eyes. Every compliment makes me want to sink into the armchair until I tear the upholstery.
I feel my blood pressure rising. Every compliment is a needle. I pull out my phone and text Sarki: She’s blaming me for the divorce. Again. Like a broken record.
“Mom…”
"Put that phone down and look at me, Megan."
"I stopped listening at 'integrity,' Mom. Sorry for the rudeness." I cross my legs and rest my hands on my knees. “The last straw was the forgery. He was signing my name on petitions and court rulings behind my back, taking advantage of the remote system.”
"Oh, please. Do you honestly think I never signed your father's name on a check?" she asks, her lip curling into a pout.
"But that money was always yours, Mom. Peter was hijacking my authority to win cases for his own firm. He was unilaterally withdrawing child support orders—it’s a goddamn laundry list of absurdities."
Her posture remains stiff; she’s still struggling to accept that her 'perfect' son-in-law could be so duplicitous.
"He even reduced bail for criminals who should’ve been rotting in a cell," I continue, my voice dropping. "He was doing favors for the cartels and almost put my head on a silver platter. You realize how that could have ended for me, right?"
She nods slowly, the gravity of it finally sinking in. "And did you have to... vacate those rulings?"
"No. It would have been too obvious. Vacating them would have triggered an internal investigation immediately. That’s why the only clean break was a divorce."
"And he just accepted it?"
"Hardly. He threw a tantrum like the spoiled child he is. He was actually shocked when I told him I’d stay in Jacksonville despite the split. He still thinks I care about his family’s social standing."
She shrugs, a cynical gleam returning to her eyes. "Men... they still think they can hide the world from us."
"Exactly. But the silver lining is that I’ve accepted the appointment in Washington." My mother claps her hands in triumph. "I’m spending these last few days in New York—you know how much I love the city. It’s the perfect base to enjoy the party’s year-end galas, align our interests, and visit you. It’s only a four-hour drive from New York to D.C. We’ll be much closer now."
"You truly are the perfect blend of your father’s ambition and my beauty and intellect." She smiles, resting the back of her hand against her chin in a practiced, elegant pose. She really is stunning; she has the same eyes and strawberry-blonde hair as mine, though hers is styled in a sophisticated short cut. "Is there anything else he's done that could compromise you?"
"He’s clinging to me like a shadow. And now, he’s officially announced his candidacy."
