“And then what?”
“I’d have proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“That you weren’t safe anymore.” Her voice cracked. “That your eyesight was getting worse. That you couldn’t keep taking care of Walter alone.”
I never thought you’d actually drive that far.
“So you took my glasses to make me look incapable.”
“I needed something people couldn’t dismiss.”
“And instead, I nearly died.”
“I didn’t know you’d crash.”
“But you knew I couldn’t see.”
Proof of what?
She had no answer.
“So this was never about keeping me safe.”
“It was about Walter.”
“And the trust,” I said.
“I would’ve taken care of him.”
I needed something people couldn’t dismiss.
“That isn’t the same as wanting him.”
“Mom…”
“Leave.”
“Please.”
“Leave.”
I would’ve taken care of him.
“What about Walter?”
“For once, don’t put his name next to something you want.”
Walter had been listening from behind the wall.
The moment Lisa left, he ran to me. “Is she coming back?”
“Not tonight.”
He hesitated. “So… am I still going to live with you?”
Leave.
My chest tightened. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
He wrapped his arms around me.
A few days later, my attorney spoke plainly. “Lisa’s guardianship attempt is over.”
“And the trust?”
You’re not getting rid of me that easily.
“Independent management. She can’t control it.”
“Good.”
Lisa would never control his safety or his money again.
Weeks later, Walter caught me searching the kitchen. “You’re doing it again.”
He held up my glasses. “Beside the toaster.”
Lisa’s guardianship attempt is over.
“I knew that.”
“You checked the refrigerator.”
“I was looking for milk.”
“We don’t need milk.”
I grabbed the glasses. “Go get your backpack.”
You’re doing it again.
He grinned. “One day you’ll lose me like you lose your glasses.”
I put them on and pulled him close. “No chance.”
His face came into perfect focus.
My eyesight had been bad for years, but what I’d failed to see had never been blurry.
