I ARRIVED AT MY BEACH HOUSE EXPECTING PEACE-YILUX

something, to make up for something he couldn’t undo.

“And you’re not,” I added, still calm, still not raising my voice, but firm in a way that didn’t invite negotiation.

He blinked, surprised, the words clearly not what he had expected, not what he had hoped would come next.

“Mom,” he started, but I lifted a hand slightly, not to silence him, but to continue reading …