Then their SUV.
Then back at Sarah.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
David shifted.
“You’re doing this to punish us.”
“No.”
“Of course you are.”
“I am doing exactly what you requested.”
Sarah shook her head.
“We asked you to stop hovering.”
“Then I stopped.”
“You don’t have to twist everything.”
“I’m not twisting anything.”
My voice stayed even.
“You said my involvement was suffocating. Money is involvement.”
David exhaled.
“This is financial manipulation.”
“I have no interest in manipulating either of you.”
I met his eyes.
“But I also will not finance people who do not want a relationship with me.”
Sarah reached toward me.
“Mom, can we just go inside?”
I stayed where I was.
“We can talk here.”
Her face fell.
That was hard.
For years, the slightest disappointment on Sarah’s face made me rush to make things easier.
I didn’t enjoy resisting that instinct.
