My mother-in-law blocked the entrance to my new apartment and screamed that her son had bought it for her, ordering me to leave.

we were mostly happy.

Mostly is an important word.

Mostly happy means the bad pieces are still small enough to explain away. Blake’s spending was optimism. His resentment was stress. His mother’s interference was love. His habit of joking about my career in public and borrowing money in private was insecurity I thought I could soothe.

Evelyn was a problem continue reading …