My mother smoothed a white linen pillowcase against the edge of the heavy pine table, her palms flat and methodical.

The steam from the silver iron had settled on the kitchen windowpane, blurring the outline of the green metal watering can that sat on the wooden sill outside.

I folded a thick blue bath towel into thirds, matching the corners precisely.

“She requires a structured environment, Clara,” my mother said.

Her voice carried the cool, even tone she used for scheduling her committee meetings.

“We must look at the long term,” she added. “Your father and I will not be here forever.”

“Rosie is thirty-three,” I said. “She wants to stay in Oak Creek. She likes the apartment near the park.”

“An apartment is a temporary solution,” my mother said.

She did not look up from her neat stack of linens.

“It is not permanent care,” she continued. “We cannot assume you will always be down the road to manage her daily routine.”

I adjusted my silver watch strap, pulling the metal links tight against my left wrist.

The skin beneath it was slightly red from the constant pulling.

“I am not going anywhere,” I said. “I have the school district job, and my apartment is ten minutes away.”

“Everyone goes somewhere eventually,” my mother said.

She reached for a white tablecloth, her movements fluid and practiced.

“A young woman has her own life to build,” she said. “It is unfair to tie you to this house.”

“I am thirty-four,” I said. “My life is built.”

“You have not married,” my mother said.

She laid the tablecloth flat.

“That is a choice you have made,” she said. “But we must make certain Rosie is secure regardless of your choices.”

“She does not need an institution, Mother,” I said.

My mother paused, the iron hovering an inch above the cotton.

“Your father has been speaking with the directors at Willow Grove,” she said, her voice dropping slightly.

“They have a lovely cottage system,” she added. “It is very modern.”

“Willow Grove is two hours away,” I said. “She would be entirely isolated.”

“She would be safe,” my mother said, placing the iron back on its heel.