Mom returned to her SUV without saying goodbye.
For almost four months, we didn’t speak.
Dad sold the family house in March, cleared the home-equity line and credit-card balances, and moved into a two-bedroom condo ten minutes from his office.
He and Mom didn’t divorce, at least not then, but they separated their finances completely.
Mom moved into the condo as well after realizing that renting an apartment alone would strain her budget.
Lauren sold her car and started repaying Dad.
Our relationship didn’t magically repair itself.
We met for coffee once each month.
Sometimes our conversations were uncomfortable. Sometimes we argued.
But for the first time, we argued about real things instead of competing for a position our mother had assigned us.
In April, Lauren apologized directly to Lily.
She didn’t make a dramatic speech.
She sat beside our kitchen table while Lily colored a picture and said, “I was mean to your mom at Christmas. I shouldn’t have been.”
Lily considered the statement with the seriousness only a five-year-old could manage.
“Grandma was mean too.”
“Yes,” Lauren said softly. “She was.”
Mom sent birthday presents to Lily in May.
I returned them unopened.
In June, Dad asked whether I would consider allowing Diane to write Lily a letter.
“Not yet,” I said.
He nodded.
He no longer tried to mediate.
That made trusting him easier.
By Thanksgiving, nearly eleven months after Christmas dinner, Mom finally emailed me.
