On My Birthday I Stood In Front Of Everyone With A Black Eye

the cake, my cheek swollen, my eye purple, my hands folded in front of me.

Daniel looked at me with disgust. “You’ve been difficult for months, Mom. Paranoid. Forgetful. Angry. Vanessa has been patient.”

Patient.

That was what they called it when Vanessa moved into my guesthouse after my husband died. Patient, when Daniel convinced me to “simplify” my continue reading …