Chapter 119

OLIVIA I stayed in my room until my uncle finally left. Only when I heard the sound of his car engine starting—and then fading farther and farther away—did I open my door and step out. I moved quickly, almost instinctively, heading straight for the living room to check on my grandma. She was sitting quietly, her back slightly hunched, as if the conversation had taken more out of her than she was willing to admit. I knew my grandma didn’t have much money. She had never been someone who saved aggressively or planned for herself. The monthly allowance I sent her for daily expenses—food, utilities, medicine—I was certain she barely touched it. She always found ways to get by on less, setting most of it aside instead. Even so, I knew the amount in her savings couldn’t be much. Three thousand at most. And to reach even that number, she must have saved carefully for years, accumulating it little by little, dollar by dollar, without ever spending it on herself. The thought made my chest ache.