Friday came too fast and not fast enough at the same time.

I stood in the middle of our tiny apartment, surrounded by boxes and suitcases, watching my mother fuss over a strange man in a worn jacket who kept nodding at everything she said.

"And the water heater is temperamental," Mom was saying, walking the tenant through our apartment like she owned the place. "You have to jiggle the handle just right or it won't heat up properly."

The man, Mr. Chen or Chang or something, nodded again. "No ...