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“Anthony, tell me,” Mila pressed.

Anthony sighed. “Dad got the flu. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t super bad either. Except he went back to work even though he wasn’t fully better. I think you know what happened from there.”

She did. Her father had a pattern. He pushed his body beyond endurance until he ended up in the hospital. When he was in the hospital, he pushed the healthcare workers beyond endurance until they were ready to discharge him the first moment they could.

Once he was out of the hospital, it was always up to her to nurse him back to health. She cooked his meals, waited on him,oversaw his medication, and put up with his bad temper and general non-compliance.

There was one time she had to hide all the keys to the vehicles so he wouldn’t try to leave, even though getting from his bedroom to the front door left him pale and shaking.

That time had been the worst! Barb had decided to attend a conference in Las Vegas, leaving Mila with full responsibility for dad’s health.

At the time, Mila felt honored her mother trusted her so much. She’d been an idiot.

“How bad is he?” Mila asked, guilt and relief warring inside her. No one wanted to hear that their father was ill, but she was so glad to be over 1,500 miles away!

“He’s still in the hospital,” Anthony said. “He’ll probably be discharged tomorrow, and Mom is desperate not to have to take care of him.”

“No doubt,” Mila said with a laugh, then tension made her gut tighten. “Maybe I should come back, just until he’s better.”

“No!” Anthony yelled into the phone.

“Don’t be shy, tell me how you really feel,” Mila said, relief making her relax a little.

“I mean it, Millie-billie,” Anthony said, pulling out her old nickname. “You’d been unhappy for a long time, and I never realized it. It wasn’t until I saw how you were smiling the day you left that I knew you’d been miserable up until then. Brad convincing you to leave was the best thing to happen, even if you guys broke up.”

She winced because she’d glossed over breaking up with Brad and all the horrible things he’d done.

“It’s been an adventure,” she admitted, silently addingboth good and bad.

“You deserve this adventure,” Anthony said. “Without you, I don’t think Jen and I would’ve gotten through the first two years of our marriage.”

Mila scoffed. “You’re exaggerating.”

“I’m not,” Anthony said. “Jen was paranoid, and you were the only person she trusted to watch Anna. And you never said no. You should’ve, but you didn’t. Without you, we never would’ve gotten any sleep those first few months. Without you, Jen couldn’t have finished her nursing degree because she wouldn’t let us put Anna in any kind of childcare. Without you, we couldn’t have taken that honeymoon last year that we put off because Jen was pregnant when we got married.”

Mila felt happy tears gather in her eyes. “You guys are family, it was the least I could do.”

“That’s not true,” Anthony argued.

Mila pretended to gasp. “Wait, do you mean I’m adopted? That explains so much!”

“No, Mom and Dad are adopted,” Anthony said. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you earlier.”

They both chuckled at the old joke, but Anthony was quick to return to the previous topic.

“No one else stepped up like you did. Our family is huge. Not just Mom, Dad, and us siblings. If you count all the cousins and extended family, we probably make up at least a quarter of the population of South Dakota.”

Mila laughed. “I think you might be exaggerating a little.”

“Maybe, but not by much,” Anthony countered. “And my point is still valid. Of all of them, it was you who helped. It was you who always helped. Now it’s my turn to help you, and if that means telling you that under no circumstances are you allowed back in South Dakota, then that’s what I’m going to do!”

Mila was a little shocked at how militant he sounded. “I’m never allowed back?”

“Only for a brief visit,” he allowed. “No longer than a week at a time. And you’re not allowed to do any work.”

His orders made her feel more loved than any of her mother's declarations of emotion. “Not even to cook?”

“You can bake,” he allowed. “But only a few things, and I get to eat first.”