We built a life the way people do in quiet suburbs. School pickups, soccer games, and grocery store birthday cakes. We lived in a corporate townhouse tied to Scott’s job—a construction supply company that offered housing to senior staff. It wasn’t our dream home, but it was practical. Low rent, good commute, and enough room for the four of us.
Scott was an only child, and his parents made it clear from day one that they viewed our life as a temporary stage until we eventually moved in with them. They were the kind of people who said cruel things with a smile and acted offended if you reacted honestly. His mother called herself “direct”; his father called himself “traditional.” In reality, they were just selfish.
Still, for years, life moved in a straight line. The children grew. We never worried about a mortgage because of the company housing. We talked about buying our own place, but Scott always said there was no point since his parents had a perfectly good house and expected us to take it over eventually. I didn’t love the idea, but I didn’t fight it. Back then, I thought compromise was the same thing as peace.
I know better now.
My parents lived forty minutes away in the house where my brother and I grew up. It was a modest split-level with cedar siding that had faded to silver, a deep front yard, and a narrow back deck my father rebuilt twice with his own hands. There was a dogwood tree near the driveway and lilacs along the fence. The kitchen had yellowed vinyl flooring my mother always meant to replace, and the basement smelled like old winters.
It wasn’t a fancy house. It was home.
