PART 7 — What an Apology Could Not Repair

Mom came to the hospital before I had decided how to answer her messages.

She stopped just inside the room, her purse still on her shoulder.

“I saw the broadcast.”

“I thought you might.”

I moved the water cup away from the folder so it would not leave a ring on the papers.

That small action gave me time to look at her.

She seemed older than she had in my last memory of her.