They walked out together. In the parking lot Ruth hugged Elias and did not reach for Aaliyah, and Aaliyah did not offer, and the not-offering was honest, and the honesty felt like the first clean thing in a long unclean season. Ruth drove away in a sensible used Corolla. Aaliyah buckled Elias into his seat and sat for a moment behind the wheel before starting the engine.
"Mommy," Elias said from the back, "are you mad at Grandma Ruth?"
Aaliyah met his eyes in the rearview mirror. Short coily hair. Playful mouth. The face she and Marcus had made together in a world that kept turning out more complicated than either of them had advertised.
"I'm not mad at her today," Aaliyah said. "Some days I am. Grown-up feelings are allowed to take turns."
Elias considered this. "Like when I love my blue car and then I love my red car?"
"A little like that," Aaliyah said. "A little harder."