I told my daughter I couldn’t babysit over Memorial Day because I had cataract surgery scheduled, and she texted, “You’re choosing yourself over your grandkids.”

By October, Margaret could read street signs with both eyes. Her pension reached a new account, legal bills were shrinking, and the green file lived on an open shelf. She no longer recorded gifts. If money changed hands, terms were written before affection entered. Caroline paid the bank monthly and brought the children every other Saturday, never without asking. Wade saw them on a temporary custody schedule and used a parenting app. Margaret did not forgive him or tell Caroline to reconcile or divorce. Their talks stayed practical: bottles, preschool pickup, May's therapy, weather between Greenville and Simpsonville. One rainy morning Caroline arrived alone with the silver kettle Margaret had given her years before. Its handle was loose. "I thought you might know how Royce fixed it," she said. Margaret repaired the screw at the kitchen table. Caroline waited by the doorway, neither invited farther nor told to leave. When the kettle whistled, Margaret set a second mug beside the first.