Chapter 10 - WHAT THE TRIP COST
The truth arrived Thursday evening in a message Daniel apparently meant to send Rebecca.
She has the bank record. Don’t say it was just a login mistake. I already told her it was temporary.
Margaret read it twice.
A second message appeared almost immediately.
That wasn’t for you.
Then:
Please don’t make this bigger than it is.
She forwarded both to Ellen.
No argument.
No reply.
The next morning, Margaret reached the attorney’s office fifteen minutes early.
Daniel and Rebecca were already there.
Rebecca wore a cream sweater and a tight smile.
Daniel looked tired.
“Mom,” he said, standing.
Margaret wanted to hug him.
The want irritated her.
It frightened her too.
Love did not vanish just because someone had behaved badly. Sometimes it sat beside anger and made every decision harder.
She took the chair opposite them.
Ellen opened the meeting.
“We’re here to resolve Margaret’s departure, property questions, and repayment under the agreement.”
Rebecca folded her hands.
“We’d like to start with an apology.”
Margaret waited.
“For what?” Ellen asked.
Rebecca looked at Margaret.
“For how she handled this.”
Margaret almost laughed.
Instead, she put the Thanksgiving note on the table.
“Read it.”
“We know what it says,” Daniel muttered.
“Out loud.”
He glanced at Ellen.
The attorney waited.
Daniel read the first sentence.
Then the next.
By the time he reached the soup, his voice had lost its edge.
Rebecca shifted in her chair.
“We thought travel would be tiring for her.”
Margaret leaned forward.
“Did you ask me?”
“No,” Daniel said.
“Did you offer?”
“No.”
“Did you tell me before you left?”
He shook his head.
“Then stop describing this as something you did for me.”
Nobody spoke.
Ellen moved to the bank transfer.
Daniel admitted he had made the request.
Rebecca stared at him.
“You said the bank froze your card.”
“It did.”
“You didn’t tell me you tried her account.”
Margaret watched their faces.
For the first time, their practiced agreement cracked.
“How much was the trip?” she asked.
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
Rebecca answered before he could stop her.
“Seventeen thousand.”
Margaret looked at her son.
He had told her the household budget was tight when she asked about replacing her worn walking shoes.
May you like
Now he was staring at the table.
And the meeting had barely begun.
