“Mom talked to us about the house before she died.”
My anger faltered.
“What did she say?”
Ryan almost smiled.
“Mostly that you would let the roof collapse on your head before paying to replace it if you thought it had one good winter left.”
Despite everything, a laugh nearly escaped me.
That sounded exactly like Margaret.
David tapped the folder.
“The assessment wasn’t about taking the house. We wanted to know what repairs actually mattered and what they would cost.”
“Why?”
“So we could help pay for them.”
I stared at him.
“Help me?”
“Yes.”
I looked toward the boxes.
“Then explain all of this.”
Ryan’s expression changed.
“The repairs aren’t why we’re here today.”
My voice lowered.
“Then why are you here?”
David answered.
“Because you graduated.”
I stared at him.
“You knew?”
“We’ve known for months.”
“How?”
Ryan hesitated.
“We checked.”
“You checked on me?”
David nodded.
“We’ve been checking for a long time.”
“How long?”
He looked ashamed.
“Since your second year.”
I could barely process what he was saying.
“You stopped speaking to me, but you were following my progress?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Ryan looked down.
“At first, because we were angry.”
