“Okay, what’s up? Is everything okay with Elijah?”
“Yes, he’s fine. It’s just… I need to find a job,” I confessed, bracing myself for her reaction.
“Mom, this is exactly why you shouldn’t have divorced Dad,” Terri snapped, her voice rising with frustration.
“I have money saved, and I have a retirement income. But remodeling a home takes money, and I might as well work since I’m still able.”
“You wouldn’t be in this mess if—”
“Terri, that’s not fair,” I replied, my heart sinking at her harsh response. “I’m doing my best to start over. I need a job, which means I’m going to need to send Elijah back as soon as possible. I need your support moving forward.”
“Support?” she scoffed. “You’re going to go back into the workforce, expose yourself to germs and bad attitudes and stress. You are retired. You’re supposed to be volunteering, traveling, playing bingo. But you can’t because you divorced Dad at the last minute. How is that a story anyone would want for their mother? I can’t support it.”
“Terri, there is no shame in working and providing for myself,” I countered, glancing down at theStrengthbracelet Richard had given me earlier in the night. I clung to that word as I faced my daughter’s judgment. “I don’t have a problem getting up and going to work every day, so long as it’s for a good reason.”
“Whatever, Mom,” she muttered, clearly uninterested in seeing things from my perspective. “Do what you want. I’ll ask Dad if Elijah can go there sooner.”
“Good. Your father should be happy to spend a little more time with EJ. He is a delightful child. You and Chris are doing an excellent job.”
She skipped over my compliment. “But this is not the example I want to set for Elijah. We’re teaching him that if he works hard in school and gets a good job, one day he will retire and enjoy his senior years because of the education and the dues he paid. Seeing his grandma, who has a master’s degree, get up every day to work for minimum wage does not support our theory.”
“Terri. Dial it down a notch. Elijah is ten. He knows nothing about minimum wage or degrees or how the real world works. And you’re not serving him well with this fairy tale you’re painting, by the way. The economy can be rough. Plenty of people my age are still working. My friend Richard—”
“Richard? You have afriendnamed Richard?”
“Yes. And I have a new friend named Gabriella, and another one named Eileen, too, since you’re askin’.”
She made that tooth-sucking sound. “I gotta go, Mom. Bye.”
“Terri, please—” I tried to appeal to her one last time, but she had already hung up, leaving our conversation unresolved.
My heart ached at the disconnect between us, but I couldn’t let her negativity dictate my choices. I needed to forge my own path, even if it meant facing some disapproval along the way. Besides, I realized that Terri’s problem wasn’t with me, exactly. She was more upset that her ideas about how life should go were crumbling before her eyes.
Join the club, Terri. I’m the president.
“Grandma?” Elijah’s voice wobbled as he stood in the doorway, clearly having overheard our tense exchange. “You’re sending me away early?”
His wide, fearful eyes tugged at my heartstrings, and I immediately crossed the room to pull him into a tight embrace. “Oh, sweetheart,” I murmured into his hair, stroking his back to sootheboth his worries and mine. “I have to find a job. You need supervision throughout the day while I look and when I start working, so you’ll have to go to your grandfather sooner than we planned.”
“What if Grandpa won’t let me come?” he whispered against my chest, his small frame trembling ever so slightly.
“I’m sure he will,” I cooed.
“My mom sounds mad about it.”
“Your mom is just…worried about me, and sometimes that comes out as anger,” I explained gently, rubbing his back. “But I promise you, it has nothing to do with you. We both love you so much, and we want what’s best for you. It has been great having you here for most of the month. And I’ll be sure to get a schedule for you and Grandpa, just like I told you before.”
“Really?” He pulled away, searching my face for reassurance. “No one’s mad at me?”
“Really. No one has any reason to be upset with you,” I confirmed, offering him a smile that I hoped conveyed certainty. That’s the funny thing about children—they somehow feel responsible for what grown-ups do.
His expression lightened, and he wrapped his arms around my waist once more. “I love you, Grandma.”
“I love you, too, EJ.”
Chapter 12
The day before Elijah was scheduled to leave, Gabriella and I busied ourselves making a special meal for him. My chest ached at the thought, but I kept telling myself that I had to do what was best for myself this once. Tomorrow would be a difficult day for all of us, including Gabriella.
