There would be paperwork, interviews, questions about school, and a hearing if Dad opposed it.

But for the first time someone was making plans that included my wishes.

Then Colleen reached into her purse and took out a faded photograph.

It showed my mother sitting at our old kitchen table with me on one knee and Tiffany on the other.

We looked impossibly small.

“Your mother hated when people decided they knew the whole story before listening,” Colleen said.

“She used to say that being older doesn’t make you automatically right.”