The night everything changed started like any other. Linda had been feeling unwell, or at least that’s what Matt claimed. “She hasn’t eaten anything all day,” he said, his brow furrowed with concern.
That evening, we were supposed to meet with the real estate agent to finalize the purchase of the house we’d been renting for five years. It was supposed to be a milestone moment for us. A dream we’d worked toward for so long.
“We’ll have to reschedule,” he said. “Mom’s really not doing well.”
“Reschedule?” I asked. “Matt, we’ve been waiting for this moment for years.
Can’t we check on her after the meeting?”
“She hasn’t eaten all day, Demi,” he repeated, his tone sharper this time. “I’ll take care of her. Can you bring her some of your lasagna?
You know how much she loves it.”
“What about the house?” I asked. “We need to finalize everything tonight.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, brushing me off. “We can do it another day.”
Something about his tone felt off, but I pushed the thought aside.
I figured that if making it for her when she was at her lowest could help mend the tension between us, it was worth the effort. So, I sighed, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work. As the lasagna baked, I couldn’t help but think about the sacrifices Matt and I had made to save for the house.
We had skipped vacations, turned down fancy dinners, and worked overtime to make this dream a reality. The house was supposed to be a fresh start for us. Legally, the house would be in Matt’s name because of some complicated inheritance issues, but it didn’t bother me.Continue reading…
