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there,” Claire continued with her pitch. “Carl’s
being very generous. He knows I’m going to get half of what he has, so he’s set
up a bank account for us. There’s enough money to live the way we’ve been
accustomed to for a long, long time. I guess he wants to make a good impression
on the judge. The kids and I won’t go without, that’s for sure.”
    “Don’t worry about the
money,” Billy insisted. “We can work something out. Besides, money is not an
issue when it comes to family.”
    Of course I would like to
have had my own place, but I would never have left my mother alone. She had
been through so much. But now that Claire lived with Mom, I could move out and
not feel like a deserter. I wouldn’t have to worry about Mom being by herself
or being lonely. Loneliness is so heart wrenching. I know all about it.
    “Claire,” I said as I
swallowed my pride and admitted to myself that I had been a selfish,
self-involved little turd. “That’s a great idea.” I looked over at Mom. “Is
this what you want? I mean, I won’t be that far away, and if you need me I can
be here in no time at all.”
    “The main thing I want is
for my kids to be happy. Jesse, you’re independent and you’ve been on your own
for a long time. Claire has never lived alone. She didn’t leave home until she
was married. If she still lived in the city I wouldn’t worry as much about her
and the kids living by themselves. She’d have friends close by and if she
needed anything, she could call one of them. But out here, she hardly knows a
soul, and I think the isolation would be too much. Looking at it logically,
it’s the perfect solution. I just don’t want you to think that I’m throwing you
out.”
    “It’s all right, Mom.” I
leaned over and patted her hands. “I know you would never do that. If I get
lonely I can always come back for a visit.”
    “Then it’s settled,” Billy
announced. “We’ll make the move right after Thanksgiving, just like we planned,
only now we’ll be moving Jesse instead of Claire. It won’t be a problem. I
think this is the right decision. Now that everyone has made up their minds,
all we have to do is do it.”
    Just then, a thought struck
me. What about the dogs? Would the dogs live with Mom or me? Mom was the one
who has been taking care of them, but maybe she didn’t want the job of looking
after two dogs anymore. Athena was my responsibility, but I couldn’t take her
and leave Thor behind. They had become inseparable. What about me? I wasn’t the
best care provider. I braved the question.
    “What about Athena and
Thor?”
    Mom looked in their
direction. As usual, Athena and Thor were crouched together in front of the
fireplace, taking a nap. Napping was their favorite pastime. They could do it
all day long.
    “That’s up to you, Jesse. I
think you should be the one to make that decision. They’re welcome to stay here
or they can go with you. It doesn’t matter, as long as they’re together. We
sure can’t split them up. What would they do without each other?”
    The minute I mentioned
their name, both of them got up and proceeded to go through their ritual of
stretching and licking each other, eventually finding their way over to us.
Athena jumped up and put her paws in my lap. Thor licked at the air around my
heels. I knew what I had to do. I had to take responsibility.
    “I’ll take them with me.
It’s the right thing to do.”
    “Oh, you know you love
those dogs.” Billy made fun of me. “You’re always talking about them.”
    “Yeah, because they’re
always doing something to make me mad, like when Thor chewed up my new tennis
shoes or the time Athena puked all over my bed.”
    “Thor’s just a puppy, and
Athena wouldn’t have puked all over your bed if you hadn’t given her that
pizza,” Mom said. “I tried to warn you.”
    “Maybe I do like them a
little bit.”
    “A little bit?Bull.
I saw how you were when Athena got bitten by that