Kelly
I thought about leaving, of course I did. There were days when Dan's hovering was so oppressive I dreamed of running away. But I was practiced in smoothing it over. Trying to please. I was good at that. Mostly.
When Mom was still alive, she always ran interference when Dan's controlling got too bad. And Dan did a lot of good things too—not the least of which was providing enough money that the worry lines in Mom's forehead virtually disappeared.
Yet, since she died, his grief made the controlling worse. He was in pain. Whether I liked being around him or not, I knew he loved my mom. And now he was alone. That would be hard for anyone. I figured it'd let up in a few months when he felt less sad. And I didn't want to add to what he was already going through.
