Everyone turned.
He stood, and he did it well.
I’ll give him that.
His voice was warm and heavy with feeling.
“Friends. Family. I want to thank you all for coming tonight to welcome our mother home.” He smiled down the table at Lenora. “Mom has been through so much. And Carrie —” He gave me a soft, sad look. “Carrie has done what she could. But we all know she’s stretched thin.”
Kristen nodded.
A few of the neighbors looked at their laps.
“So Kris and I have made a decision. For Mom’s safety. On Monday morning she’ll move into Brookhaven Memory Care. It’s a lovely place. Twenty-four-hour nursing. And Mom has agreed to it herself.”
“She hasn’t,” I said.
“Carrie.” He lifted a hand. “Please. Let me finish.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Mom even recorded her consent, so there’d be no confusion later. She’s been so sweet about it.” He looked directly at me, with something almost like pity. “I know it’s hard to hear. But she wants this.”
