out.
She learned to stretch a grocery budget in ways she had never needed to when Walter was bringing home a paycheck. She learned to watch online videos and fix a running toilet herself on a Sunday afternoon, which she found deeply satisfying in a way she didn’t entirely understand. She learned to say “I’m adjusting” at church when people asked how she was doing, because adjusting was the word people used when what they meant was surviving but didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.
She adjusted. She got good at it.
Her children called.
Adele called every few days and listened in the particular careful way that told Sylvie she was being assessed. “Mama, you sound tired.”
“I’m seventy-four,” Sylvie would say. “Tired is part of the package.”
Jeremiah called and found reasons to show up. “I’m going to be in the neighborhood Saturday. Thought I’d check the gutters.”
