I slid the calendar back across the table and took the cream envelope from my purse. My hands were steady, which surprised me. “This is lovely work,” I said, “but I won’t be needing it.” Daniel smiled, thinking I was being modest. Vanessa tilted her head and waited for the part where I thanked them.

I laid the signed lease beside their stapled pages and turned it so they could read the address. Daniel’s smile vanished. Vanessa snatched the paper, and her eyes dropped to the move-in date at the bottom. “That is this Saturday,” she whispered. Then Maya appeared in the doorway holding a new drawing, and Daniel asked in a low, shaking voice, “Mom, what exactly have you done?” Nobody in that kitchen was breathing.