Chapter 2 - The Place They Chose
"Take you where?" I asked.
Daphne rose so fast her chair scraped the hardwood. "She's confused again. Don't encourage it."
Mom's fingers tightened around my arm. "They said a van is coming in the morning."
"A nice care center," Daphne said. "Three meals a day. People who understand her condition."
"What condition?"
"Memory problems. Temper. Wandering." Daphne counted each accusation on a manicured finger. "We've been handling this for months. You show up with flowers once in a while and think you know everything."
I lived forty minutes away, worked unpredictable shifts at the city transit office, and called Mom almost every night. She always said she was fine. I hated how easily Daphne used that against me.
"Mom," I asked, "do you want to go there?"
"No."
Daphne spoke over her. "She doesn't know what's best for her."
"I asked my mother."
Nico stood and moved between us and the doorway. He was bigger than I remembered, his face gray with exhaustion.
"Please," he said. "Just let us finish lunch."
"She's coming with me."
Daphne laughed once. "You can't take her. We have paperwork."
She pulled a folder from the counter. On top was a form carrying Mom's name, followed by the words DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY.
"It lets Nico make decisions," Daphne said.
"Show me the rest."
She shut the folder. "Get a lawyer."
I took out my phone and began recording. "Mom, tell me where you want to be tonight."
Mom looked straight into the camera. "With my daughter. I want to leave."
Nico reached for the phone, then pulled his hand back when I said, "Don't."
Daphne's smile vanished. "You walk out with her, Carmen, and you'll regret it."
"Move, Nico."
May you like
He didn't.
Then Mom pointed at the folder and said, "Ask your brother what he signed when I was sick."
