“Change the water for the parakeets twice a day,” Chloe said, still staring at her phone.
“Don’t give the rabbit lettuce. The cat gets stressed, so don’t let him out. And make sure to clean up properly because it smells awful afterward.”
I looked at her.
“Chloe, I just buried my husband.”
She sighed like I had interrupted her vacation.
“Oh, Mrs. Theresa, everyone has problems.”
Austin did not blush.
He did not correct her.
He only shrugged and said, “Besides, that’s why you’re here, Mom. You’ll get bored all by yourself.”
The parakeets kept screeching.
The candle flame beside Ernest’s picture bent and straightened.
For the first time in my life, I did not feel anger rise.
I felt calm slide into place.
I looked at the cages.
I looked at my son.
Then I smiled.
“Of course, sweetie. Leave them with me.”
Chloe paused, surprised that I folded so fast.
“We also left you the spare key to our apartment in case you need to fetch more food.”
Austin kissed my forehead the way people pat a counter before leaving a room.
“Thanks, Mom. We can always count on you.”
After the door shut, that sentence stayed in the living room.
They could always count on me.
That was the problem.
I had been an open wallet, an extra bed, a stocked fridge, a hand reaching for everybody else’s mess.
But that night, I did not cry.
I walked to the closet, pulled out my blue suitcase, and packed three dresses, sandals, Ernest’s last bottle of perfume, my passport, and the legal folder my attorney had prepared without Austin knowing.
Then I called Mrs. Mary next door.
“Is your nephew still able to come pick up the animals?”
“Yes, Theresa. He already has the shelter ready.”
By four in the morning, the living room was clean.
The cages were empty.
The air no longer smelled like fear and birdseed.
Ernest’s candles were blown out, and my house keys were on the table beside one folded note.
It did not say I was sorry.
It said, “Austin, when you read this, do not call to complain. Call your lawyer.”
At five-thirty, I got into a taxi headed for the Port of Miami.
The sky was black, the road was wet with early mist, and my hands held nothing but my passport for the first time in years.
