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Meredith’s
anymore. His mother greeted her at the kitchen door.
    “ I’m
leaving tomorrow,” Mrs. O’Connell told Marla. “Sean has
encouraged me to get back to my life in Atlanta. I knew this time
would come.”
    “ Yes,”
Marla said. “You said it would.”
    Marla set the
vase on the kitchen table. “It’s the ashes,” she said. Mrs.
O’Connell looked at the vase. “That’s beautiful,” she said.
    “ It’s a
family piece,” Marla said. “Meredith loved it but somehow I ended
up with it. I don’t remember how.”
    Sean came into
the kitchen as the women were talking about the vase. He looked at it
on the kitchen table and Marla saw pain cross his face. “Is that
it?” he asked.
    “ Yes,”
Marla said.
    “ I don’t
want it here,” Sean said. “Can you take it with you?”
    Marla was
shocked by Sean’s request, but nodded her agreement to take it with
her. “I’m sorry, Sean,” she said. “I thought you wanted me to
bring it to you.”
    “ I’m not
ready,” he said. He turned away from Marla and his mother and left
the room.
    Marla said her
goodbyes to Mrs. O’Connell, and picked up the vase. She placed it
carefully on the passenger side of her car and drove home.
    The next
afternoon, she called Sean. He picked up after several rings.
    “ I just
wanted to see how you’re doing,” Marla said.
    “ My mother
left,” he said. “I made her leave.”
    Marla didn’t
know what to say.
    “ I don’t
think I can stay here,” Sean said. “I can’t look at that bed in
there.”
    “ I’ll come
over and take care of that, okay?”
    “ Okay,”
Sean said dully.
    Marla drove
over to the house. Sean opened the door before she knocked. She
followed him into the kitchen.
    “ Let me call
the hospice place to get the bed,” she said, punching in the
numbers.
    “ They’ll
come get it on Monday,” she told Sean after hanging up. “They’ve
been backlogged.”
    “ Lot of
people dying, I guess,” Sean said flatly.
    They stood in
the kitchen without speaking to each other.
    “ Sean, do you
want me to come over here and stay awhile?” Marla finally asked.
    He looked at
her. His face was impassive.
    “ I think I’ve
got to get out of here,” he said. “I’ve got to go back to work.
I think the best thing to do is get a place in Mobile.”
    “ Okay,”
Marla said. “I’ll help you do that.” Sean nodded.
    She left a few
minutes later. It was very clear to her that Sean needed privacy.
    The next
morning, Marla called in a favor to a college friend who was selling
real estate in Mobile. She told her she needed a furnished place for
her brother-in-law, preferably near the bank. Something that wouldn’t
require a lot of upkeep. Her friend, Catherine, said her company
managed several condominiums and that they had one that might be
right for Sean. Marla called Sean and told him about the condo.
    “ How soon can
I move in?” he asked.
    “ Don’t you
want to look at it first?” Marla said.
    “ No. I don’t
care. If you think it’s okay, then it’s fine with me.”
    Marla called
Catherine and asked if Sean could move in right away. Catherine
offered to send photographs of the place, which she emailed to Marla.
The condo looked fine to Marla. It was in a nice district, close to
the bank. It had two bedrooms and a roomy looking kitchen, not that
Sean would care about that. Marla called Catherine back and asked her
to hold the place and send her the lease. When she received it
through her email, she took it over to Sean. He signed it without
even looking at it.
    “ You can move
in tomorrow,” Marla said. “I’ll come help you.”
    The next day,
she walked into Sean’s house ready to pack.
    “ I’m just
taking some clothes,” he said. “I don’t want anything else.”
    “ What about
stuff for the kitchen?” she asked. “You’ll need to be able to
cook and eat there.”
    “ No. I’m
not taking anything but my clothes,” he said. “I’ll eat out
when I need to