My mother-in-law told me to get up at 4 a.m. to cook Thanksgiving dinner for her 30 guests. My husband added, “This time, remember to make everything really perfect!” I smiled and replied, “Of course.” At 3 a.m., I took my suitcase to the airport. – usnews 0/2

When was the last time she’d smiled at him like that? When was the last time he’d done anything to make her smile like that?

“She’s in Hawaii,” he said quietly.

Carmen nodded.

“Good for her. She’s always wanted to go to Hawaii.”

“She never told me that.”

“She told you lots of things, Hudson. You just never listened.”

I woke up in my hotel room to the sound of waves and the warm Hawaiian breeze flowing through the open balcony doors. For a moment, I lay perfectly still, savoring the unfamiliar sensation of waking up naturally instead of to an alarm, of having nowhere I needed to be and nothing I needed to accomplish for anyone else.

It was 9:30 a.m. Back home, I would already be dealing with leftover turkey and the aftermath of hosting thirty-two people. I’d be loading the dishwasher for the fourth time, wrapping endless containers of food, and planning the elaborate leftover meals that would stretch Thanksgiving into the following week.