Daniel closed the notebook.
He was trembling.
“I don’t have $130,000 to pay you.”
“I know.”
“I don’t even have 20,000 in savings.”
“I know that, too.”
“So what do you want?”
“The house.”
“Are you going to kick us out onto the street?”
And there it was.
The million-dollar question.
“I want,” I said slowly, “you to understand what you lost. It wasn’t just a house. It wasn’t just furniture or money. You lost your mother. You lost me.”
“I haven’t lost you. You’re right here.”
“When was the last time you asked me how I was? How I slept? If my back hurt from cleaning so much? If I missed your father? If I felt lonely?”
Silence.
“When was the last time you hugged me without it being in passing? That you sat down with me for coffee? That you really looked me in the eyes?”