Chapter 4 - My Mother Had Started Sending Messages That Did Not Sound Like Her
The first concerning message arrived eight months before her stroke.
Do you know how to remove someone from a joint credit card?
I called immediately.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Mom.”
“Frank keeps using it for things we didn’t discuss.”
“What things?”
“Car stuff.”
“How much?”
“Not enough to matter.”
That phrase.
Not enough to matter.
A month later:
Can one spouse change a home-equity line without the other?
I called.
She said Frank wanted to renovate:
the garage,
kitchen,
roof.
Nothing inherently alarming.
Then:
“He gets angry when I ask what things cost.”
“How angry?”
“You know Frank.”
I hated:
that.
Because yes.
I did.
I asked:
“Do you feel unsafe?”
Long pause.
“No.”
I accepted:
no.
May you like
Maybe I should have asked differently.
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