Nora had been home for a week when the doorbell rang. Tony went to answer the door while his mother was working on lunch.

"Mom, there's someone here to see you," Tony said when he walked into the kitchen.

Nora turned around and was stunned to see her mother in her kitchen. "What are you doing here?"

"We should talk."

"Talk," Nora went back to her task.

"I need to explain why I haven't been around." Marie looked at her daughter, "Nora, can you please stop for a moment and listen?"

"I can hear you perfectly fine. I have a brain injury, not an ear injury."

"When you had your stroke, I knew that you were going to recover from that. That it was temporary, but this," Marie paused, "this isn't and I couldn't bear to see you like this."

"Then why are you here now?"

"Raymond yelled at me. I didn't know that you had been having such a difficult time, you know, mentally."

"Bastard," Nora mumbled.

"You shouldn't be mad at your brother. He did the right thing."

Nora turned and for the first time, Marie saw how angry her daughter was. "Of course he did because Ray can never do the wrong thing. Right, Ma? Everything he does is right. To hell with the rest of us. I bet you even blamed me for the crash. You probably thought that it was my fault for taking my son out driving. That if I hadn't then none of this would have happened."

"That's not true!"

"Not wanting to see me this way isn't the only reason you haven't been to visit or even called. You were worried that if you came down here and saw the shape I was in that you would want to move down here and leave your precious Raymond. Well, Ma, I don't need your help. At least not now. Where were you when I was in a coma for a month and my husband was trying to work, keep up with my medical care, and care for our children? Where were you when I came out of the coma? Where were you when I came home after being in the hospital for two months and still couldn't move or breathe on my own? Where were you when my kids were hurting because I kept snapping at them and said that I wished I had died in that crash? Where were you when I had another stroke? Where were you when Tony was sinking into a deep depression? Where were you when I found my son hanging in his closet by his belt? Where were you when I kept taking pills that gave me suicidal thoughts just to make my family happy? Where were you when I overdosed and ended up in a mental hospital? Where were you, ma? I'll tell you where you were. Where you always are, with Raymond. That was when I needed you, ma, not now."

Marie and Nora were both in tears. Nora was unaware that her entire family was visiting with Marie. They had heard everything and honestly couldn't blame the woman. Frank was the one who walked into the kitchen and not for food. "You okay, Nora?"

"Hi, daddy, I didn't know you were here."

Frank walked over to his daughter and hugged her, "yeah, we all decided to visit you."

Tony walked in and right over to his mother who was now shaking, "come on. We'll finish lunch. You should go and lie down."

Nora took her son's arm and grabbed her cane. For the first time, Marie saw what the crash had done to her daughter. She also saw Charlie and Henry come into the kitchen to finish lunch and the girls come to set the table. "What are you all doing?" Marie asked.

"Just helping," Savannah said, "Mama won't let us take care of her, but sometimes she needs a little help. We told her to think of this as chores or us helping the family."

"Yeah, she's too stubborn for her own good," Ella added.

"That's an understatement," Henry said.

"You're good kids, but I can finish if you want."

"Thanks, grandma, but we really want to do this," Charlie said.

Tony walked in, "would you believe she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow?"

"Mama always becomes tired when she gets herself worked up," Lenora answered, "we probably should have stopped her, but I think she'll feel better now. Holding stuff in is what landed her in the hospital last time."

Marie walked into her daughter's room to bring her lunch. Nora was lying in bed, awake.

"Here's your lunch, dear."

"Thanks," Nora didn't move, "ma, I need help sitting up."

Marie sat the tray down and walked over to her daughter. It took some effort, but Marie was able to help Nora into an upright position. "How's that?"

"Fine, thank you," Nora said as her voice shook.

Marie picked up the tray and placed it over her daughter's lap. She stood there for a moment before taking a towel and tucking it into Nora's shirt. Marie sat on the bed and helped her daughter eat her lunch. She noticed tears falling down Nora's face. "Don't be embarrassed. You didn't do anything to deserve or cause this. It's okay to need help."

"Thanks for helping me. I wasn't sure I could do it on my own."

"You don't have to thank me."