I walked to the window and looked out at the small garden along my walkway. Robert had planted those roses. We’d chosen every stone in that path together.
“I’ve been awake all night,” I said, “thinking and calculating.” Jennifer didn’t answer.
“Do you know what I realized?”
She shook her head, lips trembling.
“If I continue at this rate, I’ll be broke in seven years. Maybe less. The money your father and I saved for forty years—gone. My retirement security—gone.”
“Mom, we’re not—”
“I saw the Bermuda photos, Jennifer,” I said, and my voice didn’t shake at all. “Last month. While you were asking me for money for ‘emergency’ dental work.”
Silence.
I turned to face her. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m cutting you off completely. No more checks. No more wire transfers. No more emergencies that only I can solve.”
“You can’t,” she whispered, and then her voice rose. “We’ll lose everything.”
“Then you’ll figure it out like adults do.”
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