And most horribly, part of Mary wished that she could still be that young-twenties version of herself that her mother had so adored. The apologetic, shrinking, soft-spoken girl she’d been. The one who’d let the world walk all over her, tell her what to do. Well, that girl had met Cora. And spent time with Tiff. And now this woman, the woman that Mary was now, was all that she had left of either of the strongest women she’d ever known. She wasn’t going to let some crocodile tears make her regret who she’d become or the women who’d helped her get there.

“Mom, I’m getting in a cab and going home. If you want to share that cab with me, then you’d better come now.” She turned on her heel and strode back toward the entrance to the cemetery. For some reason, the sedate clopping of her mother’s heels behind her made sharp tears spring into Mary’s eyes.

BY THE TIME her first guest arrived on Saturday afternoon, Mary figured she was as recovered as she possibly could be from her mother’s hit-and-run of a visit. She’d had no choice but to just shove the whole encounter to the back of her mind, which was where it should have been anyway, considering there was a very good chance that she’d never fully understand her mother.

Either way, Mary swung open her apartment door and grinned at her neighbors from down the block, Josh and Joanna Coates, and their daughter, Jewel. “You made it!”

“Wouldn’t miss it!” Josh chirped, nearly bowling Mary over in his quest to get indoors.

“Our air-conditioning is out,” Joanna explained with a wink.

“Gimme the baby, Jo,” Josh called from where he stood over the air vent in Mary’s floor, his shorts billowing in the breeze. “I’m just gonna post up right here.”

“Not a baby,” Jewel grumped, a pattern of lines pressed into her cheek from where she’d obviously been sleeping not long ago. But even so, she toddled over to her dad, her arms up, wanting to be cuddled in the cool air.

“Sorry, we’re not...” Joanna started to apologize for her family and then sort of gave up, shrugging. She laughed. “It’s been a long few days with our A/C out.”

Mary tugged Joanna inside, took her by the shoulders and pointed her toward the kitchen. “Please, my climate control is your climate control. Plus, there are yummy drinks and snacks in the kitchen. And, I might add, a guest bedroom down the hall if you want to stay with me while your air-conditioning is out.”