“Do not thank me. This suits us all.”
“When are you going to move in?”
“I do not know yet. I need time to think.”
The truth was that I liked the independence of the hotel. For the first time in a long time, I had a space that was completely mine, where no one could enter without my permission, where I could make decisions without consulting anyone.
“Mrs. Emily,” said Robert, “my son Michael called last night from the States.”
“Oh yes? And what did he say?”
“He is very ashamed of what Sarah did. He says he never asked her to get us a house, and that he did not know she had done all this without consulting you.”
“Michael is returning soon?”
“No, ma’am. He got a good job there and plans to stay at least two more years. But he says when he returns, he is going to be responsible for us.”
“And what do you want to do?”
Linda and Robert looked at each other.
“Mrs. Emily,” said Linda, “if you allow us to stay here those two years, we would save enough to put down a deposit on a small apartment when Michael returns.”
“That is a long time.”
“We know. If it seems too much, we can look for something else.”
I looked at both of them. In two days, they had demonstrated more consideration and respect for me than my own daughter in years.
“Let’s see how the first month goes,” I told them. “If we are all comfortable, we can talk about extending the arrangement.”
Their faces lit up.
“Really?”
“Really.”
That afternoon, while Linda cooked and Robert worked in the garden, I sat on the front porch reading a book I had bought at the hotel. It was a novel about a woman who traveled alone through Europe after being widowed. It had been years since I read for pleasure.
David appeared in his garden and greeted me from the fence.
“Mrs. Emily, how are things going?”
“Very well, David. Have you met Linda and Robert?”
“Yes. They are very pleasant. Robert offered me help with pruning my trees.”
“They are good people.”
David approached the fence that separated our gardens.
“And how do you feel about your decision?”
“I feel good. I feel as if I had recovered control of my life.”
“And your daughter?”
“Sarah still does not understand what she did wrong, but that is her problem, not mine.”
David nodded.
“Mrs. Emily, can I say something?”
“Of course.”
“Since I met you, which has only been two days, I have seen you change. Yesterday you looked like a defeated woman. Today you look like a woman who knows what she wants.”
His words reached my heart.
“Thank you, David.”
“Are you going to move in?”
“I still need my space.”
“Seems very wise.”
That night, while I was dining in the hotel restaurant, the young receptionist who had attended me the first day approached me.
“Mrs. Emily, how is your new life?”
“Going very well, thanks.”
