Chapter 2 - My mother looked at Iris
For three seconds, Diane said nothing.
Then she finally looked at my daughter.
I almost wish she had not.
Her eyes moved toward Iris as though the baby were an argument I had introduced unfairly.
“You think having a baby means the rest of us stop existing?”
I stared.
“No.”
“That is exactly how you’re acting.”
“I gave birth seven days ago.”
“And Rachel still has two children.”
“Yes.”
“They don’t stop needing things because you had yours.”
Something cold spread through me.
“Her children have two parents.”
“Mark barely helps.”
That was the story.
Rachel’s ex-husband, Mark Collins, was selfish.
Unreliable.
Late on child support.
Too busy with his new girlfriend.
Rachel was doing everything alone.
Mom had repeated it for five years.
I had repeated it too.
I closed the folder slightly.
“Mark has been paying.”
Diane stopped.
Only for a moment.
Then:
“Not enough.”
I had expected denial.
That answer told me she already knew what I had discovered.
I said:
“How much does he pay?”
“Elena, this isn’t the time.”
“You came into my house demanding three thousand dollars.”
“For the kids.”
“How much does Mark pay?”
She crossed her arms.
“You’re being cruel.”
“How much?”
Her jaw tightened.
“Rachel handles that.”
I opened the folder again.
“Fourteen hundred a month.”
Diane looked away.
“Plus half of uninsured medical expenses.”
Silence.
“Plus he pays Noah’s soccer registration directly.”
“Elena.”
“And he paid the school activity fees you asked me to cover in August.”
Mom looked back.
“Rachel needed that money for other things.”
Exactly.
Not fraud yet.
Not necessarily.
But the story was changing.
I said:
“What three thousand dollars is due tonight?”
“Rachel’s rent.”
“No.”
Her expression sharpened.
“What do you mean no?”
“Her rent is nineteen hundred.”
“She’s behind.”
“She isn’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I have the confirmation.”
That was not entirely true.
I had a text from Rachel saying rent had been paid.
Sent accidentally to a family chat she thought excluded me.
Diane did not know I had saved it.
Mom’s face flushed.
Then she went for the oldest weapon she had.
“Your sister almost lost everything after the divorce.”
“Yes.”
“You have no idea what she survived.”
“I paid for a lot of what she survived.”
“You always make everything about money.”
I looked at the folder.
“You came here for money.”
She opened her mouth.
The front door unlocked.
Ben entered carrying a pharmacy bag and two coffees.
He was thirty-four.
Dark hair.
Gray sweatshirt.
The expression on his face changed instantly when he saw Diane.
He put the drinks down.
“Elena?”
“I’m okay.”
Diane said:
“This is a family discussion.”
Ben looked at Iris.
Then at me.
Then at Diane.
“Elena is my family.”
Mom laughed bitterly.
“There it is.”
Ben ignored her.
He walked to me.
“Do you want her here?”
The room went quiet.
The question was simple.
Nobody in my family asked simple questions.
I answered:
“No.”
Diane looked stunned.
“Elena.”
“You need to leave.”
“You are making the biggest mistake of your life.”
“Maybe.”
“Rachel needs help tonight.”
“Then help her.”
“I have.”
“How much?”
Her face changed again.
Interesting.
“I’ve done everything I can.”
“Then show me.”
She stared.
I continued:
“Show me what you have paid over the last six years.”
Mom said nothing.
Then picked up her handbag.
At the door she turned.
“You are going to regret treating your sister like a stranger.”
Iris made a small hiccup against my chest.
I said:
“She isn’t a stranger.”
Then:
“That’s why this hurts.”
Diane left.
Ben locked the door.
May you like
I looked down at my daughter.
My hands started shaking.
