Alex came home at five-thirty carrying a box of pastries from a bakery he knew I liked. Another apology without words. He found us all in the living room: Jenna on the sofa, Lorraine in my armchair, Carl standing near the window, Mia on the floor, Tyler leaning against the kitchen counter, and me at the dining table with the blue folder in front of me.
“Mom?” Alex said.
I looked at the box in his hands. “Put those in the kitchen.”
He did.
When he returned, his face had changed. He saw the binder on the coffee table. Jenna saw him see it.
“Margaret,” Lorraine began gently, “I think emotions are running high.”
“They are not,” I said. “That’s why this will go quickly.”
Jenna crossed her arms. “We were trying to make this work for everyone.”
“No. You were trying to make it work for you.”
Alex looked at her. “What is she talking about?”
I opened Jenna’s binder and turned it to the room assignment page.
Alex read it.
His face lost color.
Jenna reached for the binder. “That was just planning.”
I moved it out of her reach.
“You planned my bedroom. My furniture. My utilities. My deed.”
Carl cleared his throat. “Now, let’s not make this bigger than it is.”
I looked at him. “You are sitting in my husband’s chair.”
He stood.
The room shifted.
A small thing, but it mattered.
Lorraine’s voice cooled. “Maggie, you’re going to push your son away over a room?”
I opened my blue folder and placed the deed on the table.
“No,” I said. “I’m going to keep my home.”
Alex sat down slowly.
“Mom, I didn’t know about the deed thing.”
“But you gave them your key.”
His eyes dropped.
“You moved me into the small room.”
“I thought it was temporary.”
“You let them believe temporary could become permanent.”
He swallowed. “I was trying to keep peace.”
“At my expense.”
He did not answer.
That silence hurt more than denial would have.
I turned to Jenna. “You and your family will pack your things tonight. Denise from property management will be here in twenty minutes. You are no longer approved guests in this building after tomorrow morning. The locks will be changed at nine.”
Mia gasped softly.
Tyler muttered, “This is ridiculous.”
I looked at him. “Your shoes have been on my couch for six days. Do not test how much I have left to say.”
For once, he looked away.
Jenna stood. “You can’t do this ten days before the wedding.”
“I can.”
“You’ll ruin everything.”
“I am saving what belongs to me.”