“Kuwait, Germany, it makes no difference to the floor plan,” Richard said.

“The house was sitting empty except for your mother and me dropping in to get the mail.”

“You were supposed to get the mail and pay the fifty-dollar monthly utility baseline out of my account,” I said.

Evelyn waved her hand as if brushing it off, her pearls catching the bright light under the stove hood.

“We took care of all of it,” she said, her voice thick with warm motherly cheer.

“We didn’t want you fretting about household details while you were off doing your service.”