My mother’s house was certainly big enough for her and Paul to live in comfortably, and I knew she didn’t really enjoy living there alone. She loved that house, but had talked about selling it and getting a smaller home in the suburbs or even a condo in the city. Regardless of where she lived, I didn’t like the idea of her and Paul living together. I’d be forced to deal with them as a couple then. At least now with them living in separate places, I could stop by and see her without him being there. If he moved in, he’d be there all the time. And if he wasn’t there physically, his presence would be there for him. His clothes would be hanging in the closets. His books would line the shelves. His stuff would fill the basement.