She stepped out like she was arriving at a photo shoot, expensive coat, perfect hair tucked beneath a hat, sunglasses still on like the weather wasn’t real. She took one look at the property and stopped cold.
“What… the…” she breathed.
“Paula?” Kylie moved fast, shock cracking her polished posture. She knelt by the passenger door, staring at the cast. “Oh my God. What happened to your leg?”
My mom tried to smile. “I slipped a few days ago.”
Kylie’s face tightened with anger. “And you’re out here? In the cold? Like this?”
Dennis shoved himself between them. “It’s not what it looks like,” he said quickly. “She insisted on doing things. I told her to rest.”
Kylie stood up slowly, eyes locked on her father. “Are you seriously saying she chose to scrub floors and shovel snow with a broken leg?”
Dennis stammered. “She said she could handle it.”
“Don’t,” Kylie snapped. “Don’t put this on her.”
The inspector stepped forward and opened his folder. “Sir, we received a report about unsafe conditions and potential neglect. We have photographic documentation and a witness statement. We need to assess the situation.”
“Careful,” I said, voice flat. “You left your injured wife alone and went fishing. If you want to keep talking, do it in front of the inspector.”
Dennis started pacing, flailing, trying to turn outrage into power. “This is insane! Everyone shovels snow!”
“Not everyone shovels snow with a broken leg,” I said.
Kylie looked at my mom again, and her anger shifted into something else—shame, maybe. She took my mom’s hand gently.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.”
My mom’s voice was small. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Dennis, still red-faced, threw one more line like a weapon. “You embarrassed me.”
Kylie turned on him. “You embarrassed yourself.”
We didn’t stay to argue. We didn’t need to. The inspector had what he needed. The nurse had what she needed. Kylie had seen enough to stop playing along. Continue reading…
