Chapter 2 - The Red Pen
"Do not tell my daughter where to go in her own home," Andre said. The words came out so quietly, so venomously level, that Tanya actually flinched.
Devin shifted his weight on the rug, his eyes darting between his mother and his stepfather. "Mom... what do you mean she isn't coming? We've been talking about the surf school for three months. She bought sunscreen yesterday."
"Devin, stay out of this," Tanya snapped, throwing her hands up. "You don't see the bills. You don't manage the household accounts. Your father wanted a five-star resort in Waikiki, he wanted first-tier economy with legroom, he wanted the rental SUV. The math didn't math! An extra seat was eleven hundred dollars!"
"Eleven hundred dollars," Andre repeated. He looked down at the three boarding passes in his fist. Then he looked at the brand-new Italian leather crossbody bag hanging from Tanya’s shoulder—the one with the gold interlocking logo that had arrived via courier two days prior. "Eleven hundred dollars was too steep, Tanya? Is that what you're telling me?"
"That bag was bought with my bonus from the firm!" she shot back instantly, her face flushing crimson. "I earned that! That has nothing to do with family travel expenses!"
"I put four thousand dollars of my quarterly commission into the joint travel pool back in January," Andre said, stepping directly into her personal space. "Four thousand in cash. Where is that money, Tanya?"
Tanya blinked, her throat bobbing as she swallowed hard. "Things came up. Car maintenance. Devin's club basketball fees—"
"Devin's club fees were paid out of my personal checking account," Andre countered without missing a beat. "I wrote the check directly to Coach Miller. Try again."
Maya hadn't moved from the stairs. She stood like a statue, clutching the handle of her suitcase so hard her knuckles were chalk-white. She wasn't crying yet, which hurt Andre worse than if she were sobbing. That dead-eyed, stoic silence was the look of a child who had spent the last three years slowly realizing she was considered an unwanted extra in a family that was supposed to be hers.
"Maya," Andre said, his voice softening completely as he turned his back on his wife. "Put the bag down, sweetheart."
Maya didn't drop it. Her lower lip quivered just once before she bit down hard on it. "It's fine, Dad. Grandma said I could stay at her place anyway. You guys should just go. The Uber will be here in twenty minutes."
"Nobody is getting into an Uber," Andre said.
Tanya stepped forward, grabbing Andre’s forearm with sharp, manicured nails. "Andre, stop this ridiculous display. The resort package is locked in. Devin has been working his tail off all semester for this trip. The boarding passes are printed. We are leaving for LAX in twenty minutes, or we forfeit the entire reservation!"
Andre looked down at her hand on his arm until she felt the chill and pulled it away.
"You think this is about a vacation?" Andre asked, tossing the car keys onto the heavy glass coffee table with a sharp, resonant clatter. "You honestly think we're going anywhere today?"
"We are," Tanya hissed, pulling her phone from her pocket. "Because unlike you, I’m not willing to throw six thousand non-refundable dollars straight into the trash!"
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Andre leaned down, picked up the three boarding passes, and held them between two fingers.
"Watch me," he said.
