Consent replaced correction. “Would it help if I portioned?” he’d ask. Sometimes Evelyn said yes—on other days, she said no. She wanted her appetite to tell her what her body needed. He learned that closeness could mean offering without arranging, and receiving without revising.
He visited his mother alone. When he returned, he looked tired but lighter. “She adjusted my handshake,” he said, oddly amused. “I let her. Then I came home.” He didn’t add, and I didn’t bring the rules back. He didn’t need to say it. Evelyn could feel the air loosen.