Jason looked away.
“Before surgery?”
A voice came from the stairs.
“Yes.”
Mom stood there with one hand gripping the railing.
“You did.”
“Mom,” Jason said.
I moved toward her to help, but she shook her head.
She came downstairs slowly on her own.
When she finally reached the kitchen, she looked directly at him.
“You asked me before the surgery.”
Jason stared down at the table.
“And what did I tell you?”
He didn’t respond.
Mom waited.
“I said no.”
Jason closed his eyes.
“I was desperate.”
“Helping me would have meant listening to that.”
His face tightened.
“So after I said no, you waited until I was sick and brought papers into my bedroom.”
“I didn’t plan it like that.”
“You lied about what I was signing.”
“I thought I could pay it back.”
Mom’s voice remained remarkably calm.
“That wasn’t your decision to make.”
Jason suddenly slammed his palm against the table.
“Because I’m tired of being the worst of the bunch!”
Nobody answered him.
He looked at me.
