Jason stared at me.
Then, despite everything, a tiny laugh escaped him.
Melissa glared.
“This isn’t funny.”
“No,” I said.
“It wasn’t.”
A neighbor nearby muttered:
“Seems fair to me.”
Melissa’s face went crimson.
She turned to Jason.
“I needed money.”
“You could have told me.”
“You already said we were overspending.”
“So you billed my mother?”
“She stayed here!”
Jason stared at her.
“She came because you said the kids missed her.”
Melissa said nothing.
He looked at me.
“Is everything on this list true?”
I nodded.
“She cleaned the house?”
“Yes.”
“Watched the kids?”
“Yes.”
“Cooked?”
“Every day.”
“Laundry?”
“Several loads.”
Jason looked at Melissa again.
“Why?”
She folded her arms.
“She likes helping.”
That sentence made something in his face harden.
I stepped forward.
“I don’t want $4,845.”
Melissa looked at me.
“I don’t want any money.”
I held up her invoice.
“And I’m not paying this.”
Jason nodded immediately.
“Obviously.”
I looked at Melissa.
“What I want is an apology.”
She opened her mouth.
“Not now.”
I held up one hand.
“Not because your neighbors are standing here.”
She glanced toward them.
“Not because Jason came home.”
I lowered my voice.
“When you can tell me you’re sorry because you understand what you did, then I’ll listen.”
For once, Melissa had nothing to say.
Then the front door opened.
Lily came outside in pajamas.
Noah followed behind her.
“Grandma?”
I turned.
Lily ran down the steps.
“Are you leaving?”
I knelt and hugged her.
“Later.”
Her face fell.
“But pancakes?”
I smiled.
“What about pancakes?”
“You promised.”
I looked toward Jason.
He looked tired.
Confused.
Embarrassed.
But when he spoke, his voice was warm.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
