I didn\u2019t cry. I didn\u2019t call back. I walked slowly out of the terminal, past the arrivals lane where I should have been picked up next week, and drove home in silence. The suitcase stayed in the trunk. The cookies sat wrapped in foil on the passenger seat, untouched. I didn\u2019t even take off my shoes when I stepped inside. In the darkened living room, I opened my banking app. The cabin deposit\u2014$3,800\u2014still showed as sent.<\/p>\n
It had been Nolan\u2019s idea to rent the cabin. \u201cJust us, Mom,\u201d he\u2019d said over dinner last spring. \u201cNo big reunion, no fuss. Torch Lake is supposed to be beautiful in late August.\u201d Ivette had chimed in then, mentioning how the kids could use the lake air and how hard things had been at her job lately. She looked tired. I remember I offered to take the kids for a weekend, but she waved it off with a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll make this trip work together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A week later Nolan called. The cabin was more expensive than they\u2019d thought. \u201cWe\u2019ll figure it out,\u201d he said, but I heard the hesitation\u2014that quiet, practiced pride he inherited from his father. I interrupted and told him I\u2019d cover the deposit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just to take the pressure off,\u201d I said. \u201cNo one enjoys a vacation that starts with stress.\u201d<\/p>\n
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