This story by Jayne Phillips focuses on the almost sisterly relationship between a young graduate student (Kate) and her fifty-five-year-old widowed mother who is diagnosed with a potentially fatal brain tumor. Kate’s anguish over her mother’s condition is compounded by moral concern over her older brother’s decision not to disclose the unpleasant prognosis of scheduled brain surgery. As Kate struggles to cope with the possibility of losing her mother, the mother eases her pain by reminiscing about their good times together and making a comforting admission. Themes include alienation and loneliness, death and the fragility of life, motherhood.
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