“I’ve sold the condo, Calla,” she said.

“Rylan and I agreed it makes no sense for me to live alone when you have all this empty space.”

My chest tightened so fast I could barely draw in the cold morning air.

“You sold your home?” I asked, turning to Rylan.

“We talked about this last month,” Rylan said, placing a reassuring hand on his mother’s shoulder.

“You just weren’t listening, Calla.”

“We never talked about your mother moving in permanently,” I said.

“Never.”

Solene walked past me into the kitchen, her high heels clicking sharply on the hardwood.

She picked up the copper kettle I had just filled.

“This place is so drafty,” she muttered, looking around the room with disapproval.

“Rylan, did you ever get that hallway radiator fixed like we discussed?”

“I paid the plumber last Tuesday, Mom,” Rylan said.

“I used our joint account, of course.”

I stared at him, the mention of the joint account registering like a physical blow.

“You didn’t ask me about that either,” I said.

Rylan sighed, a long, theatrical sound that made my skin crawl.