Chapter 13 - MOM COMES TO MY HOUSE
Linda appeared on my porch.
I did not let her in.
She looked furious.
“You stopped the mortgage.”
“Yes.”
“You stopped utilities.”
“Yes.”
“I am your mother.”
“Yes.”
“You cannot punish me financially because Sophie had a tantrum.”
I stared.
“You threw her out.”
“She refused to work.”
“She is eight.”
“She needs discipline.”
“Not from you anymore.”
Her face changed.
“You’re keeping her from me?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t.”
“I can.”
“She loves me.”
“That does not give you access.”
Mom started crying.
I felt it.
Of course I did.
Children do not stop responding to a mother’s tears because they are adults.
“I made a mistake.”
“You waited hours.”
“I thought she was hiding.”
“You did not look.”
“Natalie—”
“Do not blame Natalie for your decision.”
Mom’s mouth closed.
“Did you receive money from Sophie’s trust?”
Her face emptied.
There.
“Mom?”
“It reimbursed expenses.”
“What expenses?”
“Food. Care.”
“Eighteen nights a month?”
She looked away.
“Some months she’s here often.”
“No.”
“You work.”
“I know my child’s address.”
“You leave her with me constantly.”
“Twice a month.”
“Sometimes more.”
“Show me.”
She could not.
“Did you forge my signature?”
“No.”
Immediate.
Good?
Maybe.
“Did Natalie?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know the forms used my signature?”
“I thought you signed them.”
“Why?”
“Natalie handled paperwork.”
There.
My stomach tightened.
“What did Natalie tell you?”
“That you were fine with the trust compensating us.”
“Did you ever ask me?”
Mom cried harder.
“I thought you knew.”
That sentence again.
I laughed bitterly.
“Everybody thought I knew.”
“You don’t understand how much we do.”
“For Sophie?”
“For everyone.”
“Mom.”
I leaned forward.
“You live in a house I help pay for. Natalie and her children live there rent-free. You collected tens of thousands from Sophie’s trust. And you told my daughter she didn’t deserve shelter because she wouldn’t carry your laundry.”
Mom looked slapped.
“That is not fair.”
“No.”
May you like
I nodded.
“It isn’t.”
