I asked my husband to carry the grocery bags

from the couch.

“Oh please,” she mutters.

But this time Daniel turns toward her, and something in his posture is different from every other moment I have watched over the past year.

“Mom,” he says slowly, “that’s enough.”

The firmness in his voice freezes the room.

Eleanor stares at him with open disbelief.

“You’re defending this circus?”

“I’m defending my continue reading …