What I don’t say is that getting her added to my insurance after she lost her job nearly broke me. Forms. Appeals. Phone calls that went nowhere.
I’d had to check a box that said she couldn’t care for herself anymore.
Had to declare her medically dependent.
Unfit to work.
I’d signed my name beneath it and watched something dim in her eyes.
I still hate that I was the one who had to do it.
The phone rings.
I don’t recognize the number, but my stomach clenches anyway.
“Lucy Bennett,” I answer.
“Lucy, it’s Karen,” my boss says.
I glance at Mom. She’s already watching me, concern flickering across her face.
“Do you have a minute?” Karen asks.
I step into the hallway and close the door behind me. “Of course.”
“We’ve got a new client,” she says. “Corporate. Big one.”
I close my eyes.
“Karen, I... today’s not great. I was actually planning to work from home. Emily is in class all day today...”
“I know,” she says gently. “And I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
Karen knows about Mom. Not because I asked for special treatment, but because two years ago, I’d disappeared from work for a week when Mom was hospitalized. I’d told the truth then because I had no choice. Karen hadn’t pried. She’d just covered my clients and told me to take the time I needed.
Trust earned quietly.
“It’s already signed,” Karen continues. “They just need someone to run it. Maisie was supposed to be on it, but she had to back out.”
I lean against the wall, staring at the framed photo of Em on her undergrad graduation day, cap crooked, smile proud and fierce.
“What kind of event?” I ask.
“Internal corporate,” she says. “High budget. Clean execution. Minimal emotion.”
Not my usual world.
“And the payout?” I ask quietly.
There’s a pause. Intentional.
“It would cover a chunk of what you need for the trial,” she says.
My breath catches. I have to blink back the tears. I close my eyes and breathe through it. I see Mom’s hands swelling again. Hear the word “progression.” I see the red circle around the specialist’s name.
I don’t speak for a long moment.
“Lucy,” Karen says with quiet care, “I wouldn’t put this on you if I didn’t think you could handle it. I know you have a full roster of clients... but this could be good for you.”
