“For Years, My Son and Daughter-in-Law Barely Spoke to Me. But Suddenly, They Became Loving and Caring, Even Insisting on Moving Into My House. I Was Happy, but Their Sudden Change Made Me Suspicious. Then One Morning, I Saw My Daughter-in-Law Putting Something Into My Glass of Water. I Pretended Not to Notice and Took the Glass to a Laboratory. When the Results Came Back, the Doctor Looked at Me With a Terrified Expression and Said, ‘Ma’am, You Need to Hear This…’ What He Told Me Made My Blood Run Cold…”

Rebecca began crying again.

Daniel slowly pulled out a chair.

“Because we lost our apartment, Mom.”

I stared at him.

“Six months ago, I lost my job. We used our savings to pay rent, but eventually the money ran out. I borrowed from friends. Then we fell behind on everything.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”“Because I was ashamed.”

He rubbed his face.

“We had already been told to leave the apartment when we came here with those flowers.”

Suddenly, I understood.

The cake.

The hugs.

The sudden apologies.

“You didn’t come because you missed me,” I whispered. “You came because you needed somewhere to live.”

Daniel lowered his eyes.

“Yes.”

That one word hurt more than anything the doctor had told me.

For years, I had prayed that my son would come home.

And when he finally did, I had mistaken his desperation for love.

“There’s something else,” I said. “I heard you two whispering in the kitchen. Rebecca asked how much longer, and you told her to make sure I didn’t notice anything.”