Tiffany wasn't saying anything, so he walked over to the dresser, then the nightstand. The drawers were empty. The few clothes in his father's closet that weren't already packed up were pushed to the back.

"So, you got rid of all Dad's stuff? Good, right?"

Tiffany shook her head. "You could look at it that way, or you could say that I made room for you."

Her words seemed to hang in the air, echo even, as she spoke them. Ben looked again at the empty drawers, then back at his mom. In that moment, he felt loved, desired, and wanted in a way he had never experienced before. Tiffany...