Chapter 12 - THE BUYER
The man arrived Saturday morning.
Dad called me from the driveway.
“There’s a sign in his car.”
“What kind of sign?”
“We buy houses.
Cash.”
I told him to call Sophie if he wanted independent advice.
Then I stayed where I was.
It took every bit of strength I had.
An hour later, Dad sent a photograph of a proposed purchase agreement.
The offer was far below what neighboring houses had sold for.
The closing date was Tuesday.
Derek’s deadline.
Sophie reviewed it only after Dad formally asked for help finding his own lawyer.
She referred him to someone else.
“You and your father need separate advice,” she told me.
“Your interests overlap, but they aren’t identical.”
By afternoon, Dad had refused to sign.
Mom called.
“You’ve infected him.”
I put her on speaker and sat at my table.
“He made a decision.”
“He’s frightened because you keep throwing legal words around.”
“He read the offer.”
“You know nothing about what your brother’s facing.”
“Then why did you lie to me?”
“I protected this family.”
“From whom?”
She inhaled sharply.
“You’ve never needed us the way Derek does.”
There it was.
Not a denial.
A ranking.
“So because I could survive it, you decided it was okay.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
She shifted tactics.
“Come home.
We can clear the air.”
“I have a home.”
A pause.
“Fine.
Come for dinner.
Your father wants you there.”
“Ask him to call me.”
“He shouldn’t have to beg his daughter.”
I almost apologized.
The reflex was so familiar I felt the word forming before I recognized it.
Instead, I said, “Goodbye, Mom.”
An hour later, Hannah called.
Derek had told her he was taking the children back to Seattle early.
He was angry and refusing to discuss travel details.
“He says nobody appreciates what he’s trying to do,” she said.
“Are the kids okay?”
“They’re with your dad right now.
I’m coming to get them.”
I called Dad.
He answered in a whisper.
“Derek’s upstairs.
He’s packing.”
Then I heard Mom shouting in the background.
May you like
A door slammed.
Dad said, “He’s found something in your old room.”
