“And you don’t have to destroy her to establish boundaries.

Just be accurate.”

Graham was the only one who had openly objected when my mother tried to control his wedding arrangements a decade earlier.

At the time I thought he was unnecessarily difficult.

Now I understood that refusing interference could look like disloyalty only to someone who depended on it.

Meanwhile, Elena was showing Willa how to mark dates on a paper calendar.

My next visit was a yellow star.