I swallowed.
“But Evelyn needed help too. She was lonely. Sometimes, I’d stay after cleaning just to talk.”
I swallowed.
Mom encouraged her to keep working toward opening the hotel. “I told her losing the life she’d planned didn’t mean she had to stop living.”
I remembered the newspaper quote.
“When the hotel opened, Evelyn invited me to visit. She offered me a room for free.”
“Why didn’t you go?”
“Because I was ashamed.”
I remembered the newspaper quote.
Mom explained that she’d already accepted help with rent, food, and clothes.
Accepting a vacation felt unbearable.
“I promised I’d come when I could afford to pay.”
Evelyn kept writing.
Mom kept postponing the trip.
Evelyn kept writing.
As the years passed, my mom felt increasingly guilty.
