Mom's Done Being Nice

For twelve years, I’ve lived without my husband—killed in a work accident—and every penny of his compensation and my twenty years at the textile mill went into this south-facing, three-bedroom river-view apartment. Then my son Miles and his wife Katie took turns persuading me to move back to Clearwater County for retirement and hand the city apartment to Katie’s parents. I smiled and said yes. Then I listed the place and sold it for 2.8 million. I bought a small unit, changed the locks, and moved out. When Katie’s parents pulled up with a car full of luggage and blocked the door, their key wouldn’t fit. The phone rang. I said nothing. This home is the work of my lifetime. No one takes it from me.