One night, I heard my grandmother on the phone. She said, “She’s ruining his life,” and “I told him to leave her, but he won’t listen.” I realized she was talking about my mom after a moment. My heart sank. I hurried to inform my mom, shocked. She was shocked. She turned to my dad with shaking eyes and asked, “Do you know what your mother’s been saying about me?”

Dad initially seemed perplexed, but then he looked like he was caught up in something he didn’t want to discuss. He asked what I heard, so I recounted it word-for-word. My mom stared at him, waiting for him to deny it, but he groaned and scratched his forehead. Silence sounded louder than arguments. Even though I was 23, I felt like a kid again.