She snapped that she had already looked there, but then she softened as she caught herself. She apologized and explained that she was just late for her project group meeting.

I raised an eyebrow as I flipped a waffle and asked if she could believe it was a Saturday morning. She reminded me about her veterinary classes and the Treating Stray Animals Project.

I nodded as I remembered how determined she had been ever since George gave her that wild animal book for her tenth birthday. I suggested that she check the laundry basket in the bathroom in case I forgot to hang it up.

She dashed off and returned a minute later with the sweater in hand. She thanked me and called me the best before pecking my cheek and grabbing a waffle straight from the pan.

Melinda’s sharp voice made me jump. She never called me Mom and instead used my name, Adelaide, as if we were coworkers or strangers.

She stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and her slim figure looking immaculate. She managed a self service laundromat and always dressed as if she were heading into an executive board meeting.

Her blonde hair was pulled into a severe bun that sharpened her already sharp features. She asked if I had moved her things in the bathroom again.

I replied that I just wiped down the shelves and that all her jars were exactly where she left them. She squinted at me and said she could not find her hand cream.

It was the one Phillip gave her for their anniversary. I suggested cautiously that it might be in the bedroom while I continued to flip waffles.

She snapped that she always kept it in the bathroom drawer with all her other things that I was always moving around. Jace snorted softly behind me while his eyes remained glued to his tablet.

Skyler rolled her eyes. She told her mother that she saw the cream on the nightstand before she stuffed the last bite of waffle into her mouth and left.

Melinda pursed her lips and offered no thanks to her daughter or to me. She simply turned and left, trailing expensive perfume and unspoken grievances behind her.

I placed the finished waffles on a large plate beside the maple syrup. Phillip appeared just as I finished washing the pan.

At forty two, with a receding hairline and a slight paunch, he still looked like the little boy I used to carry in my arms. He was my only son, my pride, and my pain.

He yawned and called me a miracle as he looked at the waffles. In moments like these, I wanted to believe that not all was lost.

I wanted to believe my boy was still in there beneath the tired and passive man who let his wife rule his mother’s house. I told him with a smile that his father always said a Saturday without waffles was not a Saturday.

Phillip nodded but avoided my gaze. We both knew he did not like me talking about George.

It reminded him how much had changed since his father’s death five years earlier. Melinda returned to the kitchen and held the hand cream out demonstratively.

She announced that it was on the nightstand just like Skyler said. She glanced at me and told me not to touch her things next time because everyone needs personal space.

I nodded silently though a thousand replies screamed in my head. My personal space had been violated long ago.

This apartment was my property, and I was still paying the mortgage on it. I had let them move in after Phillip was laid off because I thought it would be temporary.

I thought it would be a year at most until they got back on their feet. Three years had passed.

I poured myself more tea and walked to the window. From the eighth floor, I had a sweeping view of the city and the distant hills.

Phillip mentioned that he and Melinda were going to a birthday party tonight. He asked if I would stay with the kids, but it was really a statement.

They never asked if it was convenient. They simply presented me with a finished decision.

I turned to him with a manufactured smile and said I had a new book I wanted to read in peace. Melinda pulled a yogurt from the fridge and said that was great.w

She then mentioned that she noticed I used her French shampoo again. She asked me not to touch it because it was expensive and she bought it specifically for her hair.