I stood up, my knees cracking in the quiet space, and looked toward the small window that overlooked the driveway. My blankets were gone, and my son had not said a word to me about taking them.
At ten that night, the house was quiet again. I waited in the hallway until Leo came out of his room to get a glass of water.
“Leo,” I said, stepping into his path.
He stopped, immediately running his fingers through his hair. “Hey, Mom. You still up?”
“I went to the attic for the winter quilts today,” I said. “They are not in the chest.”
He looked down at his socks, his shoulders tightening. “I let Clara borrow them. It gets cold.”
“The nights are cold, yes,” I said. “But her winter clothes are not in her closet either, Leo. Why does she keep everything in her car trunk?”
“She has plenty of clothes in her room, Mom, she just likes to keep things organized,” he said.
He paused, looking down at the floorboards between us, his hands clasped tightly behind his back.
He walked past me toward the kitchen, his bare feet making no sound on the floorboards.
I did not follow him. I walked to the living room window and parted the white curtains.
Outside, the streetlamp cast a pale light over the driveway, illuminating the trunk of the beige Buick.
I stared at the closed trunk of the car through the window.
The laundry alcove was a tight fit for two people, especially with the wicker basket of dirty towels blocking the narrow walkway. Clara stood with her back to the green dryer, holding a small plastic bottle of blue laundry detergent like she was afraid someone might take it from her.
She was wearing that same oversized gray sweater, the one with the cuffs so worn they had started to unravel into thin white threads. She had pulled the sleeves down so far they completely hid her hands, leaving only the tips of her fingers visible.
“I can take care of those towels,” I said, reaching for the basket.
“It is no trouble,” Clara said.
Her voice was a low, husky whisper, the kind of voice that made you lean in just to catch the end of her sentence.
