Chapter 7 - Lily Knocked on My Door
I didn’t confront Rebecca immediately.
I wanted facts.
That was becoming a habit.
Nathan’s social media was mostly private, but enough was visible to tell me the relationship wasn’t new.
Photos from six months earlier.
A restaurant.
A concert.
A Panthers game.
Rebecca had told me she couldn’t afford Lily’s school field trip that same month.
I paid $180.
One photo bothered me more than the others.
Nathan and Rebecca standing beside her SUV.
Caption:
Big upgrade for my favorite girls.
The SUV she claimed she was struggling to make payments on.
Had Nathan helped buy it?
Had he contributed the down payment?
I didn’t know.
What I did know was that Rebecca had deliberately described herself as financially alone.
That evening, at 7:30, someone knocked on my door.
I expected Mom.
Instead, Lily stood on the porch.
Rebecca’s SUV was at the curb.
Rebecca was behind the wheel.
She didn’t get out.
Lily held a small paper bag.
“Hi, Uncle Ethan.”
I opened the door wider.
“Hey, kiddo. What are you doing here?”
She looked toward the SUV.
“Mom said I had to give you this.”
Inside the bag was Lucas’s birthday present.
The gift card Rebecca had brought.
“I don’t understand.”
“Mom said you don’t want anything from us.”
My chest tightened.
“Did she say that?”
Lily nodded.
I crouched to her level.
“Look at me.”
She did.
“That isn’t true.”
“But you left.”
“We left because Lucas was sad.”
“Because of my cake.”
“No.”
She looked uncertain.
“Your cake wasn’t your idea, was it?”
She shook her head.
“I told Mom it wasn’t my birthday.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Hannah told me.”
Her eyes filled.
“I didn’t want Lucas to think I stole his birthday.”
“You didn’t steal anything.”
“Mom said you’re mad at me.”
That did it.
I stood.
“Stay here one second.”
I walked to the SUV.
Rebecca rolled down the window.
“What?”
“Get out.”
“No.”
“Then listen.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I’m not doing this on the street.”
“You told Lily I’m angry at her?”
“She asked why you canceled her birthday.”
“I didn’t cancel her birthday.”
“You canceled the company.”
“I declined to pay eight thousand dollars.”
“Same thing.”
“No. It isn’t.”
Lily remained on the porch.
I kept my voice low.
“Do not use her as a messenger between us.”
Rebecca’s jaw tightened.
“I didn’t.”
“She brought Lucas’s gift back.”
“Because apparently you don’t want our family around.”
“That is something you told her.”
“You walked out.”
“Lucas asked to leave.”
“You’re destroying everything because your son had to share attention for five minutes.”
I stared at her.
Then asked:
“Who is Nathan?”
Her face changed.
It was small.
But enough.
“What?”
“Nathan Cole.”
“I know who you mean.”
“Apparently.”
Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel.
“He’s my boyfriend.”
“How long?”
“That is none of your business.”
“Normally, correct.”
“Then why ask?”
“Because he’s an authorized occupant in an apartment I guarantee.”
Silence.
“And according to the file, he contributes $1,200 a month.”
Rebecca looked away.
“That’s private.”
“Not when you tell me you need $500 because you can’t afford rent.”
“He doesn’t always pay that.”
“How long has he lived there?”
“He doesn’t live there.”
“The lease says he does.”
“He stays over.”
“He’s an authorized occupant.”
“So?”
“So you concealed household income while asking me for money.”
Her face reddened.
“It isn’t income.”
“Contribution. Whatever word you prefer.”
“Do you know what groceries cost?”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you would do exactly this!”
“Exactly what?”
“Judge me.”
“No. I would have stopped subsidizing your rent.”
She laughed bitterly.
“See?”
I almost couldn’t believe it.
“You just proved my point.”
“You don’t understand my life.”
“Then explain it.”
“I shouldn’t have to.”
“Correct. And I shouldn’t have to finance it.”
She opened her door suddenly.
I stepped back.
Rebecca got out and slammed it.
“You think because your business is doing well you’re better than everybody.”
“I have never said that.”
“You don’t have to.”
“You asked me for help. Repeatedly.”
“For Lily.”
“No. Stop.”
She flinched.
“Stop putting everything behind your daughter’s name. You asked me to subsidize your apartment while another adult was contributing twelve hundred dollars. You let Mom use my credit card for your expenses. You submitted documents in my name. Then you booked an eleven-thousand-dollar birthday party you expected me to pay for.”
“I was going to talk to you!”
“When?”
She had no answer.
“After the deposit became nonrefundable?”
Silence.
“After Mom asked me for twenty thousand?”
Her head snapped toward me.
“She told you?”
“Hannah showed me your messages.”
Rebecca swore under her breath.
Then her expression hardened.
“You know what? Fine.”
“Fine what?”
“You want to stop helping? Stop.”
“I have.”
“Don’t ever offer again.”
“I won’t.”
That answer surprised her.
She expected negotiation.
She got acceptance.
Rebecca walked toward the porch.
“Lily. Car.”
Lily looked at me.
I handed her the gift bag.
“Keep it.”
“But it’s Lucas’s.”
“Give it to him next time you see him.”
She hugged me suddenly.
I froze.
Then hugged her back.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
Rebecca watched.
Her face was unreadable.
Lily climbed into the SUV.
Before Rebecca followed, I said:
“She’s welcome here anytime.”
Rebecca laughed once.
“We’ll see.”
They drove away.
Lucas came downstairs.
“Was that Lily?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t she come in?”
“Her mom was in a hurry.”
He nodded.
Then saw the gift.
“She brought that back?”
“For a minute.”
I handed it to him.
“She wants you to have it.”
He opened the envelope.
Twenty-five-dollar game store card.
He smiled.
“I’ll tell her thank you.”
“Good.”
The next afternoon, I received a call from Nathan.
I nearly ignored it.
Then answered.
“Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“This is Nathan Cole.”
“I know.”
A pause.
“Rebecca told me you’ve been asking about me.”
“I asked one question.”
“She’s upset.”
“That seems common this week.”
He didn’t laugh.
“I think there’s something you should know.”
“About what?”
“The rent.”
I sat down.
“Go ahead.”
“I don’t contribute twelve hundred.”
“That’s what the lease notes say.”
“I contribute eighteen hundred.”
I stared at the wall.
“What?”
“I’ve been giving Rebecca eighteen hundred dollars every month since March.”
“That’s almost the entire original rent.”
“I thought it was my share of housing and expenses.”
“Does she know you’re calling me?”
“No.”
“Why are you?”
Another pause.
“Because she told me last night that you’ve been controlling her financially for years.”
I almost laughed.
Nathan continued.
“She said you make her ask permission for everything.”
“That’s not true.”
“I figured that out.”
“How?”
“Because I asked why she needed your money if I was paying eighteen hundred a month.”
I stood.
“And?”
“She wouldn’t answer.”
Nathan inhaled.
“So I looked at something I probably shouldn’t have.”
“What?”
“A folder on her desk.”
“What was in it?”
“Bank statements.”
My pulse slowed.
“How much money does she have?”
“I don’t know total.”
“Nathan.”
“There was one savings account.”
“How much?”
He hesitated.
Then answered.
“Just over forty-seven thousand dollars.”
I said nothing.
Nathan continued.
“And Ethan?”
“Yes?”
“The account isn’t in Rebecca’s name alone.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Whose name is on it?”
May you like
He told me.
And for the second time that week, my mother’s name appeared where it had no business being.
