{"id":21203,"date":"2026-09-26T14:46:57","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T14:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=21203"},"modified":"2026-09-26T14:46:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T14:46:57","slug":"part-20-olives-anger-made-our-decision-feel-cruel-until-my-mother-asked-her-the-one-question-neither-ben-nor-i-had-thought-to-ask","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=21203","title":{"rendered":"PART 20 \u2013 Olive\u2019s Anger Made Our Decision Feel Cruel Until My Mother Asked Her the One Question Neither Ben Nor I Had Thought to Ask"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My mother opened the front door before we reached it.<\/p>\n<p>She must have seen the car from the window.<\/p>\n<p>Olive climbed out before Ben had fully parked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandma!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother looked at her face and immediately opened both arms.<\/p>\n<p>Olive ran into them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re moving!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said it like an accusation.<\/p>\n<p>My mother looked over her head at me.<\/p>\n<p>I nodded once.<\/p>\n<p>Her expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>Not surprise.<\/p>\n<p>Pain.<\/p>\n<p>Then she looked back at Olive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive refused to speak to us.<\/p>\n<p>That was worse than yelling.<\/p>\n<p>She sat on my mother\u2019s couch hugging a pillow and answering only Grandma.<\/p>\n<p>Ben and I remained in the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>My mother brought us coffee as though we were guests at a funeral.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you want me to talk to her?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Ben answered at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf she wants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother looked between us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood correction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He sighed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m learning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She disappeared into the living room.<\/p>\n<p>I stood at the kitchen counter staring at a bowl of fruit I had seen hundreds of times.<\/p>\n<p>My mother\u2019s house felt suddenly fragile.<\/p>\n<p>Soon it would not be forty minutes away.<\/p>\n<p>Soon there would be flights.<\/p>\n<p>Schedules.<\/p>\n<p>Planning.<\/p>\n<p>I had chosen that.<\/p>\n<p>No one forced me.<\/p>\n<p>The knowledge hurt differently from fear.<\/p>\n<p>Ben stood beside the window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe thinks we manipulated her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid we?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I reconsidered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe unintentionally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe asked her what she thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we didn\u2019t explain clearly enough that we might choose differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe told her she didn\u2019t get the final vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He rubbed his face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe probably thought liking Oregon gave us permission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now she regrets it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s awful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We stood there quietly.<\/p>\n<p>From the living room, I could hear my mother\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n<p>Not the words.<\/p>\n<p>Just the tone.<\/p>\n<p>Calm.<\/p>\n<p>Olive answered occasionally.<\/p>\n<p>After almost twenty minutes, my mother returned alone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wants to stay here tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt both of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd at herself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That hurt most.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause she thinks if she had hated Oregon, you would have stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ben closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>I felt sick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I was afraid of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe also thinks she betrayed Maya by liking Anika.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eight-year-old morality was brutal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need to talk to her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at my mother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe asked me to tell you she needs a break.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That stopped me.<\/p>\n<p>Ben nodded immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I struggled.<\/p>\n<p>Everything in me wanted to go into the living room.<\/p>\n<p>Explain.<\/p>\n<p>Reassure.<\/p>\n<p>Correct the misunderstanding.<\/p>\n<p>Make it better.<\/p>\n<p>I recognized the impulse.<\/p>\n<p>So did Ben.<\/p>\n<p>He looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGive her time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother watched us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook at you two learning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>We left without Olive.<\/p>\n<p>The drive home was quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Her empty seat in the back made the car feel enormous.<\/p>\n<p>When we reached our house, the stuffed beaver was still on the floor.<\/p>\n<p>Ben picked it up.<\/p>\n<p>One ear was bent beneath its raincoat.<\/p>\n<p>He set it carefully on the kitchen table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShould we reconsider?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The question came so quickly I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause she\u2019s upset?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked surprised.<\/p>\n<p>I surprised myself too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause she\u2019s allowed to be upset.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if we reverse every major decision because she cries, we make her responsible for our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds like Nina.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m becoming unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I sat at the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we do need to fix one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe cannot think this happened because she liked Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to explain the decision better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo an eight-year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlmost nine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We tried to design the perfect explanation.<\/p>\n<p>Then stopped.<\/p>\n<p>There wasn\u2019t one.<\/p>\n<p>The truth was complicated.<\/p>\n<p>Ben\u2019s job mattered.<\/p>\n<p>My work could adapt.<\/p>\n<p>Our marriage needed change.<\/p>\n<p>We believed the new life offered something worth trying.<\/p>\n<p>We would miss people.<\/p>\n<p>Olive would lose things she loved.<\/p>\n<p>There was no child-friendly sentence that turned those facts painless.<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, my mother called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wants pancakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds promising.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe also wants you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest loosened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth of us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We drove over.<\/p>\n<p>Olive sat at the kitchen table wearing one of my mother\u2019s oversized T-shirts.<\/p>\n<p>She did not look at us when we entered.<\/p>\n<p>Ben sat across from her.<\/p>\n<p>I sat beside him.<\/p>\n<p>My mother put pancakes on the table.<\/p>\n<p>No one touched them.<\/p>\n<p>Finally Olive said, \u201cI still hate it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo I have to go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>I forced myself not to soften the truth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ben answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Mom and I decided this is the best choice for our family right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said what I think matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why doesn\u2019t it matter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt matters,\u201d I said. \u201cIt just isn\u2019t the only thing that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me angrily.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I said I hated Oregon when we went, would we still move?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>The question my mother had warned us about.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Ben.<\/p>\n<p>He looked back.<\/p>\n<p>Then I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat means maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her chin trembled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I didn\u2019t make you move?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I said the school was good?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I liked Anika?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I said Dad Friday was good?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at Ben.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why did you ask me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He answered carefully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause we wanted to know what would be hard for you and what might be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds like the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ben looked toward me.<\/p>\n<p>I let him work.<\/p>\n<p>He took a breath.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you were deciding whether our family should eat dinner at a restaurant, you could vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we were deciding what movie to watch, you could vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut grown-ups have to make some decisions because we\u2019re responsible for what happens afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re older, you\u2019ll get to make difficult decisions and your children can tell you they\u2019re unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked deeply unimpressed.<\/p>\n<p>My mother turned away, probably hiding a smile.<\/p>\n<p>Olive pushed a pancake with her fork.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy is Oregon better?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt isn\u2019t better at everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandma is here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaya.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Ben.<\/p>\n<p>Then back at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Dad\u2019s current job is hurting him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes shifted toward him.<\/p>\n<p>He nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m too tired too often.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s more than sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He spoke gently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI miss too much. I work in a way that isn\u2019t healthy anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the Oregon job lets you come home?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery day?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFridays?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost Friday afternoons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about your job?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m changing mine too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause of Oregon?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPartly. But I should have changed it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLena is becoming my partner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive knew Lena well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo she\u2019s your boss?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re her boss?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds badly organized.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother laughed outright.<\/p>\n<p>Even Olive smiled for a second.<\/p>\n<p>I continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll still work. Sometimes I\u2019ll travel. But I\u2019m hiring people so I don\u2019t have to do everything myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive looked between us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo both of you were doing too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n<p>She thought about that.<\/p>\n<p>Then she asked, \u201cWhy can\u2019t you both just do less here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was no easy answer.<\/p>\n<p>Ben tried.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I haven\u2019t found the right job here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeep looking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked down.<\/p>\n<p>I stepped in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe could keep looking for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo sometimes you choose a good opportunity instead of waiting forever for a perfect one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds like grown-up nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt probably does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother sat down beside her.<\/p>\n<p>Until then, she had mostly stayed quiet.<\/p>\n<p>Now she asked, \u201cOlive, can I ask you something?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you angry because Oregon is bad?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother smiled slightly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat part?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive opened her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>Then stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandma.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re not there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaya.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s not Oregon either.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mother nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is definitely not Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive looked frustrated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrying to understand whether you hate Oregon or whether you hate leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>Ben and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n<p>Neither of us had asked it that way.<\/p>\n<p>Olive\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n<p>She stared at her pancake.<\/p>\n<p>Finally she whispered, \u201cLeaving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My chest tightened.<\/p>\n<p>My mother put an arm around her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want everything to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I\u2019m extremely stubborn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive gave the smallest smile.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m coming to visit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs much as your mother can tolerate me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is not reassuring,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>My mother ignored me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll come here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn airplanes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate airports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan Maya visit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf her parents agree.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I keep my room?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her head snapped toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re keeping the house for at least a year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ben nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll rent in Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olive looked stunned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo this room stays?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll my stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost of it. You\u2019ll take what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about the stars?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe stars stay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes filled again.<\/p>\n<p>But the tears looked different.<\/p>\n<p>Relief mixed with grief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we come back?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHolidays. Visits. We\u2019ll make a schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at Ben.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou hate schedules now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly secret ones.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That earned another tiny smile.<\/p>\n<p>Olive finally ate a bite of pancake.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation was not finished.<\/p>\n<p>It would not be finished for months.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe years.<\/p>\n<p>But something had shifted.<\/p>\n<p>She did not have to love the decision to understand that her feelings had not caused it.<\/p>\n<p>That distinction mattered.<\/p>\n<p>After breakfast, she took me upstairs.<\/p>\n<p>Her room at my mother\u2019s house was small.<\/p>\n<p>Mostly used for sleepovers.<\/p>\n<p>She opened a drawer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I leave stuff here too?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen I have three rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTechnically.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy room at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy room here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe home can be more than one place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I remembered the line on her list.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you think so?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I took longer to answer than she expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m trying to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She nodded as if that were acceptable.<\/p>\n<p>On the drive home, Ben reached across the console and took my hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother solved in five minutes what we missed for two days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not tell her that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe already knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We stopped at a red light.<\/p>\n<p>Ben looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re actually moving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His face held excitement.<\/p>\n<p>Fear.<\/p>\n<p>Grief.<\/p>\n<p>Mine probably did too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat now?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>I looked ahead as the light changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow we do it without secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo secret realtor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo secret school forms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo secret flights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo secret contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo secret panic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That one was mine.<\/p>\n<p>I squeezed his hand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time since Arnold looked at me across that hospital corridor, I felt something that resembled certainty.<\/p>\n<p>Not certainty that Oregon would work.<\/p>\n<p>Not certainty that leaving was painless.<\/p>\n<p>Not certainty that we would never regret pieces of it.<\/p>\n<p>Something simpler.<\/p>\n<p>The decision belonged to both of us now.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever came next, we would have to face it from the same side.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=21204\">Click here to continue reading: PART 21: Once We Chose Oregon, the Practical Work Began, and the First Goodbye Revealed Which Part of Leaving Would Hurt Most<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My mother opened the front door before we reached it. She must have seen the car from the window. Olive climbed out before Ben had fully parked. \u201cGrandma!\u201d My mother &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21244,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21203\/revisions\/21244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}