But no, they were up to see her off. They did that. Her mother was wearing her sad face. Because her mother loved her, Cara reminded herself, and was disappointed that she’d be away for Thanksgiving. It grated on Cara, though, the cognitive dissonance required to be upset that Cara was traveling over the holiday and to simultaneously be looking forward to a big Thanksgiving dinner in the house Cara paid for. Not that she begrudged them the house or the dinner—or anything. Never that. Just that for someone who had struggled a lot in life, her mother sure had selective memory. What about all those years her mom had encouraged her dad to pick up shifts on Thanksgiving, or even Christmas, because he got time-and-a-half for them?

“The person who was supposed to go has shingles,” Cara said for the tenth time.

“I know. I just don’t understand why you have to be the one who takes his place. You’ve given so much to that company for so many years.”

“And ‘that company’ has given so much to me.” To us. She tried to say it without any censure in her tone, in a way that wouldn’t offend her mother’s robust sense of pride.

It didn’t work. “I know. I know,” her mom said quickly, turning away and aggressively stirring the pot of oats she cooked every morning, though not usually at four a.m., and Cara felt like shit. As usual, her mother could read her mind. Being so close to one’s parents was a double-edged sword.

Cara started over. “I have to go because this is a big, important project, and I’m the one who knows it best, after the guy who’s sick.” She was his boss, and that’s what you did when you were the boss. At least that’s what you did when you were a senior associate who was someone’s boss. She reminded herself that she loved her job. She loved the travel that came with it, too. At least historically, she had. But she’d been on the road so much lately; she’d only just gotten back two days ago from a monthlong stint in San Diego. She was tired—like, in-her-bones tired.

“Honestly, I’d never even heard of Eldovia before last week,” her dad said, setting down his copy of the Daily News. As was his endearing way, he was oblivious to the undercurrents swirling around Cara and her mother.