I Came Home After Four Years Working Abroad and Found My Wife Starving in Our Backyard—Then My Mother Asked About the Money I Hadn’t Told Her Was Fake

“Good answer.”

“She did this to you.”

“Yes.”

“And she’s still my mother.”

“Yes.”

“I hate that both are true.”

Phoebe squeezed my hand.

“Both can be true without changing what happens next.”