Enough for rent, Laura told herself, calculating cautiously. Not for owning a home. The idea of permanence slipped away as she accepted transience. Her life was being reduced to leases and limits, instead of the roots she had assumed were fixed, dependable, and shared once.
If Brett sold the house, she would be displaced legally, practically, and emotionally. She would have to renegotiate her identity, independence, and safety. The thought frightened her because it was happening without her voice or participation.