Congratulations — I don’t claim it anymore.
What I brought, I’m taking.
What you owe me, my lawyers will collect.
From here on, the two of you can be your own perfect family.” His eyes filled and he reached for my hand, and I stepped back from it the way you step back from something that has already died.
Marlene threw herself to the floor, wailing to the ceiling that her daughter-in-law was torturing her and her son wouldn’t defend her, that she might as well die right there.
This time, not one person moved to pick her up.
I lifted the terracotta pot with my jade plant in it and walked out.
Wanda stepped aside to clear my path and gave me a wink.
“That’s a good strong tree you’ve got, Lorna.”
“I gave it new soil,” I said.