I finished tying the garbage bag and turned toward them. Evelyn stood there in her usual pressed blouse, looking as though she had somewhere important to be. My dad, Richard, stood behind her with his arms crossed, posture straight, still carrying himself like the colonel title had never retired with him.
Neither was smiling.
“You’re back earlier than we expected,” Evelyn said.
I blinked slowly. “I told you my return date.”
She waved that away like deployment schedules and time zones were optional suggestions. “Well, things changed.”
Of course they had. I lifted one of the garbage bags slightly. “Yeah, I can see that.”
Richard stepped forward, taking up space. “We needed to make some adjustments while you were gone.”
Adjustments. That word carried a lot of weight in this house. I looked past them into the living room. The furniture had been rearranged. New throw pillows. A framed photo
