“Jane is here with me too. She has something to say.”

I take a breath and hold it for a second and then the words roll out. “I lost my job. I’m going to do something else, but I’m not sure what that is yet.”

I’ve barely finished the sentence when she starts speaking. “I would say I’m surprised, but I’m not. You girls always did need a strong hand at your back to keep from quitting things. Good thing I’m here to keep you from making mistakes.”

I blink. But mistakes are how you learn.

“I’ll speak slowly so you both can understand.” Her words are crisp and enunciated with care. “The solutions here are simple. Eloise, you will go back to Stanford and try again next term. Jane, you need to start looking for a decent job. I have some friends I can call.”

Did she even hear what I said?

Eloise shakes her head. “No, Mom, I won’t.”

“And neither will I,” I add. “You can’t tell us what to do. We aren’t puppets for you to manipulate however you think is best. We’re your daughters. And we’re adults. If you can’t support our choices, even if they’re mistakes, maybe we shouldn’t talk anymore.”

“I’m your mother. I only want what’s best for you. Sometimes you can’t see it, but that’s what I’m here for. What I’ve always been here for since I brought you two into this world. You can’t just throw away everything I’ve worked so hard to give you.”

Here it is, the guilt trip. She gave us life and now we owe her all of it.

“Actually, we can do what we want. What you want isn’t what’s best. How many times have we told you we’re miserable? But you’re not listening. You’re too busy directing. I can’t speak for Eloise. For me, I would love to have a relationship with you, Mom, but it has to be a healthy one. And this isn’t.”

More silence. I wish I could see her reaction, but at the same time I’m glad I can’t.

“I agree,” Eloise says. After more silence, she adds, “Maybe we could do family therapy.” She shrugs at me.

I shake my head back and forth so hard it’ll fall off in a minute.

There’s a click and silence on the other end. The call on Eloise’s phone drops off the screen.

She stares down at the blank screen. “She . . . she hung up on us.”

I nod. “I think it went well.”

A small pause and then Eloise bursts out laughing, falling over onto her back on the floor.

Once the laughter subsides, Eloise wipes her eyes. “Do you think we did the right thing?”

“Having regrets already?”

She snorts. “Always.”