Aunt Lydia was the only person on his side of the family who didn’t pretend we had all imagined what he did. She came by one Sunday with store-bought cookies and gossip she clearly hated carrying.
« That man has always cared more about looking successful than being it, » she muttered when Mom was out of the room.
We still heard things about Dad, mostly through his sister, Lydia.
« What does that mean? » I asked.
Aunt Lydia pressed her lips together. « It means don’t believe the pictures he shares on Instagram. »
« We stopped looking at his Instagram a while ago. Even Nora has blocked him now, and she was obsessed with his feed at one point. »
Aunt Lydia nodded. « Good. That’s for the best. »
« Don’t believe the pictures he shares on Instagram. »
***
A year passed. There were still nights Mom got too quiet; still moments when the damage showed.
But she wasn’t broken in the same way anymore. She had her own money and her own routines. She’d rebuilt her life in a way that did not revolve around waiting to be chosen.
Then, one evening, the past came back.
Mom was baking because she wanted to, not because anybody expected dessert. The whole kitchen smelled like vanilla and brown sugar. Ben was stealing cookie dough when her phone rang.
Then, one evening, the past came back.
Mom glanced at the screen. « Lydia. » She answered the call and put it on speaker.
« Kayla, » Lydia said in a shaky voice, « you need to come here. RIGHT NOW. »
We all froze.
« What happened? » Mom asked.
There was a pause.
Then my aunt said something that made my mom go completely still.
« Remember what your ex said about your ‘expiration date’? You need to see what he looks like now. »
« You need to come here. RIGHT NOW. »
Mom said, very quietly, « We’re coming. »
She hung up.
The drive over was silent except for Owen asking once, « Is he sick? »
Mom kept her eyes on the road. « All I know is that I’m not going there to save him. »
« Nobody expects you to, » I said.
Lydia opened the door before we even knocked. She looked grim and tired. « The surgery didn’t go well. »
« Is he sick? »
Mom froze. We all exchanged glances.
« What do you mean? » Mom asked. « What surgery? »
« He spent everything on not getting old. » Aunt Lydia gestured for us to come inside. « Surgeries, treatments, injections, hair restoration, skin tightening, God knows what else. Every time some idiot promised him he’d look ten years younger, he threw money at it. »
« And Tessa? » Nora asked.
« He spent everything on not getting old. »
« She left the minute the credit cards dried up. »
Mom absorbed that without changing expression. « And now? »
« He couldn’t afford his apartment. He’s been here two weeks. »
Then we stepped into the living room.
Dad was sitting in Lydia’s recliner, and for a second, I genuinely didn’t know him.
His face looked wrong. It was tight around the mouth and strangely pulled near one eye. His cheeks were too smooth in one place and sagging in another. His hair was darker in an unnatural way.
« She left the minute the credit cards dried up. »
He looked less young than damaged. Like vanity had turned on him and left him in pieces.
Dad saw us and stood too fast. « Kayla. »
Mom looked at him. « You’ve been busy. »
He swallowed. « It didn’t go the way I expected. I made mistakes. »
Ben let out a short laugh. « You think? »
Dad ignored him. His eyes stayed on Mom. « I thought maybe we could talk. »
« It didn’t go the way I expected. »
There it was. The same arrogance, even then. The belief that she would meet him where he stood. That she had spent so many years adjusting herself around him that she would do it one more time.
Lydia didn’t say a word. She just watched him.
Mom took one step farther into the room.
« Talk about what? »
He licked his lips. « About us. »
There it was. The same arrogance, even then.
« There is no us. »
His face twitched. « Kayla— »
« No. You don’t get to come back now because your little performance fell apart. »
« It wasn’t like that. »
She gave him a look so fierce it made even me straighten up. « You told me I had expired. »
He looked away. « I was angry. »
« There is no us. »
« You were a self-centered jerk. You still are. »
Lydia folded her arms and leaned against the doorway, silent.
Dad tried again. « I just thought… I thought I could start over. »
Mom’s expression didn’t change. « You didn’t leave because I expired. You left because you thought you never would. »
The room went dead quiet.
For the first time in my life, I saw my father with no script left. No angle. No image to maintain. Just a small, foolish man sitting in the wreckage of his own vanity.
« I thought I could start over. »
Mom drew a slow breath. « I hope you survive what you chose. But I am not part of your solution. »
Then she turned and walked out. I followed her, then Nora, then Ben, and the others.
Outside, the night air felt sharp and clean. Mom stood beside the car for a moment with her face tipped up to the dark sky. She smiled, and it was the strangest, strongest smile I had ever seen on her.
For the first time in my life, she didn’t leave any piece of herself behind.
It was the strangest, strongest smile I had ever seen on her.
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