The clatter and minor destruction startled then thrilled him. He clapped, laughing and looking to her to join in the fun.She applauded and started to rebuild, but her heart was a million miles away.It was Wednesday morning and a week had gone by since she’d started her job search. She’d applied to five jobs and so far, nothing.Things were not going as planned. She’d used up much of her savings to get here and the check from the army wouldn’t come until the end of the month. There would be an insurance settlement, but she didn’t know how much or when it might arrive. All the paperwork she received made vague promises about “settling in full after the inquiry.” The thought of receiving money for Mitch’s death made bile rise up in her throat which meant that money would be for Ben, for college. It was only right.Agnes’s open hospitality had evolved into a hovering kind of tyranny. Every decision Julia made—whether to give Ben applesauce or yogurt, to let him have juice or water—had become a platform for Agnes’s opinion on what was bad for her grandson.Every time Julia left for a walk, or returned minutes later than she’d said she would, Agnes expressed her disapproval in the icy turn of her shoulder, the superior lift of her nose.Julia couldn’t win with Agnes and she didn’t know if the change in treatment was the result of something she’d done or if it was simply just the way Agnes acted.
