She smoothed the blanket with both hands.
Then she noticed me in the doorway.
“I used to think saving people meant preventing them from feeling discomfort,” she said.
I leaned against the frame.
“What do you think now?”
She tucked the corner of the sheet.
“I think maybe discomfort is where some people finally meet themselves.”
That sounded like something Mr. Gideon would say.
I told her so.
She made a face.
“Please do not tell him. He is already insufferable.”
I smiled.
For the first time in a long time, being in a room with my mother did not feel like bracing for impact.
It felt like standing near a stove that had finally been turned down.
Still hot.
But not burning everything.
Elowen found us there.
She looked around the little room.
“Wren picked the purple blanket,” she said.
“It’s nice,” I said.
Elowen nodded.
Then her eyes filled.
