Three Baby Cribs and a Missing Set of Car Keys
“He looks very comfortable,” she said, her voice dropping into a soft, maternal tone. “While you are here counting ounces of formula.”
“I am going to move to Elm Lane,” I said, my voice steady. “I cannot stay in this marriage.”
My mother looked up from the phone, her eyes searching my face. She adjusted her glasses again, a familiar gesture that always signaled her hesitation.
“It is a big step, Chloe,” she said. “A house that has been empty for years, with three infants, on your own.”
“Shaun says he can fix the plumbing,” I said. “But I need to know you will stand by me if Ryan tries to fight this.”
She looked down at her hands, her fingers tracing the edge of the placemat.
“Your father and I always believed in staying,” she said quietly. “But I also remember what it is like to feel entirely alone in a full room.”
“Is that a yes?” I asked.
She did not answer immediately, her gaze drifting toward the hallway.
“We will have to see what the lawyer says first,” she whispered.
