Soon after, Molly ended the call on the pretext of needing to leave for an appointment. As she hung up, she realized she and Julia didn’t have anything in common anymore.

She was supposed to see her mother that week, but when Wednesday arrived, she decided to call instead. As Gloria answered, she said, “Hi, Mom, Just wanted to let you know I won’t be coming to see you today.”

“Austin said you filed for divorce.” Gloria’s voice sounded cold and flat, the way she did when she was disappointed in Molly. “In spite of my best efforts, you’re intent on ruining the best thing that ever happened to you.”

Just a couple of months ago, Molly would have clenched from the stress of confronting her mother. She had heard that divorces divided friends and family, and Gloria always had liked Austin better.

Now she put her feet up on the coffee table and watched a sparrow nesting in a maple tree outside the rental’s window. The sun was shining through the leaves, and she felt like she was immersed in a sea of gold-dappled green.

It was a damn beautiful day.

“You’re wrong, you know,” she told Gloria cheerfully. “Filing for divorce is the best thing that ever happened to me. I’m going to change my name too, but not back to my maiden name. I’m going to pick an entirely new name, just for me. You will hate it, of course, and I don’t see why I need to drive forty-five minutes for us to have this talk in person. In fact, I don’t see a reason for us to have any further conversations at all.”

“You’re an embarrassment,” her mother snapped. “I don’t have any idea what to say when my friends ask about you. I tell them you’re having a midlife crisis and you’ve lost your damn mind. When you come to your senses, Austin will be long gone, and you’ll be sorry, aging, and alone.”

“Thank you, Mom. Thanks for making it clear that I’m making the right choices.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t support anything you’re doing!”

“I know. And that’s okay. You get to be you. But you know what? I get to choose to not be around that—and I get to be me.”

“What are you saying, that my only daughter is going to abandon me?”

“I’m not abandoning you. In spite of everything, I love you. But you’ve been verbally abusive and controlling my whole life. In fact, you set my expectations so low it’s no wonder I got entangled with someone like Austin. And I’m no longer going to put up with someone who treats me like that.”