My mother had spent years carefully putting aside $5,000 for emergencies. Then her refrigerator broke down. That was when I learned that every dollar of her savings was gone.
One phone call to my sister-in-law changed my anger into something far more calculated.
When I arrived at Mom’s kitchen that Saturday morning, the freezer door of her old refrigerator was hanging open. Melted ice had already spread into a puddle across the linoleum.
Mom, Diane, stood nearby with a towel.
Apparently, the refrigerator had finally stopped working sometime during the night.
Of course, she hadn’t called me.
Mom almost never called when she needed help.
“Mom, this thing is finished,” I said, staring at the water spreading over the floor. “Get your purse. We’ll go buy another one today.”
