"You're not what I expected either," Clara replied. She had expected someone brittle, grasping. Instead, Evelyn radiated a calm, surgical precision.
"I'm entering hospice. In two weeks. I don't want you to see that." Evelyn’s voice was steady, but her eyes were wet. "You've been more than competent, Clara. You've been kind. Go find a real life." sugar mom 2
Clara nearly choked on her tea. "I… no." "You're not what I expected either," Clara replied
She folded the check, tucked it into her pocket, and sat down on the terrace. "I'm entering hospice
"She died. Ovarian cancer. I held her hand in the ICU. I was a third-year resident by then, and I still couldn't save her." Evelyn’s voice was dry, but her knuckles were white. "I swore I'd never need anyone again. And yet here I am. Paying for company."