“Hi, honey,” I managed.
My voice somehow steady despite the earthquake happening in my chest.
“Hey, Mom. Listen, I’ve been thinking about what we discussed yesterday, and I want you to know this is really for the best. Nova’s been doing some research on elder care, and she found some really nice assisted living communities back in Richmond, close to us, so we can visit more often.”
Elder care at 62.
After working 43 years, saving every penny, finally buying my dream home.
“That’s thoughtful of her,” I said carefully.
“She really cares about you, Mom. I know you two got off on the wrong foot, but she just wants what’s best for the family. She says it’s not healthy for someone your age to be isolated out there by the ocean. What if you fell? What if you had a medical emergency?”
I’d been handling medical emergencies for four decades, but I didn’t point that out.
“She’s also concerned about the financial burden,” Randall continued. “Maintaining a house that size, the property taxes, the insurance. Wouldn’t it be smarter to sell now while the market’s good and use that money for your future care?”
There it was.
The real plan.
Convince me I was too old, too fragile, too financially irresponsible to keep my own home.
Pressure me to sell and move into some depressing facility while they took over my beautiful beach house.
“Have you and Nova been looking at houses in the area?” I asked, keeping my voice light and curious.
A pause.
“What makes you ask that?”
“Oh, just wondering. You seem to know a lot about the real estate market here.”
“Nova might have looked at some listings online. You know how she is with research. But that’s just… well, we thought maybe someday when you’re ready to make a change, we could help you find something more suitable. Maybe even move down here ourselves to be closer to you.”
Move down here.
Into my house after pushing me into assisted living.
“That’s so sweet,” I said.
And I meant it.
The sweetness was nauseating.
“So, you’re okay with the reunion plan? Nova’s family is really excited to see the ocean. Some of them have never been to the beach.”
“Of course. When exactly are they arriving?”
“Friday afternoon. Nova thought it would be easier if you were already settled in the cottage before they got there. Less confusing for everyone.”
Less opportunity for me to object in front of witnesses.
More likely.
“And how long will they be staying?”
Another pause.
“Well, that’s the thing. Patricia, Nova’s mom, she’s been having some health issues. Her doctor thought the sea air might be good for her. So, they might stay a bit longer than usual, maybe through Thanksgiving. Nova thought you wouldn’t mind since you’ll be moving back to the city anyway.”
Thanksgiving was 2 months away.
“I see.”
“You’re being so great about this, Mom. Nova said you would be. She always said you were more reasonable than most mothers-in-law.”
Most mothers-in-law.
I was being compared to other women Nova had manipulated and discarded.
After I hung up, I sat in that shed for a long time.
Pieces of the puzzle clicking into place.
The distance over the past 3 years.
The comments about my age and health.
The financial concerns.
Nova hadn’t just been isolating Randall from me. She’d been preparing him for this moment, training him to see me as a burden, a problem to be solved.
And the solution was simple.
Take my house, warehouse me in some institutional setting, and live happily ever after on my dime.
I thought about calling Randall back, confronting him with the real estate listings, demanding answers.
But I’d spent enough years in crisis situations to know that panic led to mistakes.
This required strategy.
I gathered up the papers and walked back to my house, my house, and spread them out on the kitchen table.
Then I made a pot of coffee and really studied what I was dealing with.
The financing calculations assumed a significant down payment.
Where would that come from?
The sale of my house, obviously.
The mortgage applications were in both Randall’s and Nova’s names, but the income listed was inflated.
They’d included projected rental income from investment properties.
Investment properties, plural.