Amber approached then with those high heels that had no place on a farm and made her walk like a duck.
“Mother-in-law, I think there was a misunderstanding. We never meant to hurt you.”
I looked at her directly for the first time. Her eyes were swollen. She had probably cried during the trip, but they weren’t tears of remorse. They were tears of frustration for having lost.
“A misunderstanding. Is that what you call planning to sell my house behind my back?”
“We just wanted what was best for you.” Catherine had stayed by the car, as if ready to flee at any moment. But her voice carried clearly to the porch. “Margaret, a woman your age, shouldn’t be alone in such an isolated place. It’s dangerous.”
I got up from the rocking chair for the first time since they arrived. My legs felt solid, firm, as if they had regained a strength I had forgotten I had.
“Dangerous? You know what’s dangerous, Catherine? Trusting family who plan to rob you. Signing papers without reading because you think your own son would never harm you.”
David stood up, too. In his eyes, I saw something I had never seen before. Fear. Fear that his plan had completely failed.
“Mom, the papers you signed were just to protect you so that if something happened to you, we could help you.”
“protect me by calling me crazy, by telling people in town I’m losing my memory.” The color drained from his face. He didn’t know that I had heard that conversation last week when they thought I was napping.
“I never—”
“Yes, you did. You told Mr. Henderson that I was starting to show signs of dementia, that sometimes I didn’t remember things, that it was necessary for you to have legal control over my decisions.”
Amber took a step back. Her heels sank into the soft garden soil.
“David, maybe we should go. She’s upset.”
