Mom, Rick, and I ate dinner together around the dining table today, and it was a rare sight seeing all of us in one place. Mom was overjoyed to eat with us, and her happiness made my insides rejoice. It wasn’t every day I saw her smile since she worried about dad most of the time.
Rick excused himself after dinner, going upstairs in a flash. He hadn’t talked to mom much, but neither of them minded. Mom gave him some money to take with him to college tomorrow, and I hid my scowl. She was spoiling him in a way that blinded her. Rick was nearly twenty-two, and he should be on the search for a job to pay for his own textbooks, tuition, and college fees.
I helped mom wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen before we called it a day. She went straight to bed, and I could see her tiredness thr
