Chris calling. Then Jessica. Then Chris again. Message after message popped up on her screen. She did not look at them. Not yet.
Inside the house she had bought, Jessica had opened the envelope expecting an invitation or a simple notice. Instead, she found the legal papers that declared the home was being repossessed by its rightful owner. She shouted for Chris. He was stunned. Angry. Confused. Then terrified. He flipped through every page, searching for some detail he had missed. Some error that might make the situation reversible.
Nothing.
By the tenth call, Anna finally answered.
“Mom,” Chris said breathlessly. “What is this? You are taking the house?”
“I am reclaiming what I bought,” she replied calmly. “If I am not welcome to celebrate my grandson’s birthday, then I should not be the one providing the roof where it is being held.”
“Mom, there is a baby here. We have nowhere to go.”
“You had somewhere to go,” she said. “You had a home with me. You chose distance instead.”
Chris said nothing. She heard him swallow hard.
“Come to the house,” he finally whispered. “Please.”