Here Mom tried to smile. “I am going to try to consider him an AWOL son-absent without leave. He may live in this area. As you say, he did respond quickly, and if he doesn’t want to see us, Carolyn and I are going to respect his wishes.” She paused, then added firmly, “So there.”

“Olivia, I hope you stick to that decision,” Elliott said fervently.

“I’m surely going to try. As a first step, my friends the Clarences are leaving for a cruise on their yacht, starting at the Greek islands this Friday. They’ve been trying to persuade me to join them. I’m going to do it.” She put her fork down in a gesture of finality.

I sat back and pondered this unexpected turn of events. I had planned to talk to Elliott about my appointment with the superintendents of Mack’s building on Wednesday. Now, of course, I wouldn’t. Ironically, Mom had finally come to accept Mack’s situation, as I had begged her to for years, and now I didn’t welcome it. As every hour passed, I was more and more convinced that Mack was in serious trouble and facing it alone. I was about to raise that possibility but then clamped my lips together. With Mom away, I could search for Mack without having to cover up what I was doing, or worse yet, lying to her about it.

“How long is the cruise, Mom?” I asked.

“At least three weeks.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” I said honestly.

“So do I.” Elliott agreed. “Now, what about you, Carolyn? Still interested in becoming an Assistant District Attorney?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “But I’ll wait a month or so to apply. If I’m lucky enough to be hired, I won’t have any time off for quite a while.”

The evening progressed pleasantly. Mom, lovely in a pale blue silk shirt and matching slacks, became animated and smiling, far more than I had seen her for years. It was as though coming to terms with Mack’s situation was giving her peace.