Chapter 4 - The Ledger
Tanya’s phone buzzed violently in her palm. Once. Twice. Three times.
She glanced down at the screen. Her eyes widened, the color draining instantly from her lips until they matched the off-white shade of her sweater.
CHASE ALERT: Transfer of $18,450.00 from Checking-8821 to External Account completed. CHASE ALERT: Transfer of $32,000.00 from Savings-4019 to External Account completed.
"You cleaned out the liquid accounts," she whispered, her hands starting to shake. "That’s joint money! You can’t legally do that!"
"I moved my direct deposits and my half of the emergency fund back to my personal credit union," Andre said, stuffing three jackets and four pairs of work boots into his duffel. "Every dime in that account came from my commission checks over the last eighteen months. I left your payroll deposits untouched. You have your money. I have mine."
"We have a mortgage!" she shrieked, running after him as he walked into the master bedroom. "We have the lease on the Audi! You can’t just walk out because of a canceled vacation!"
"This isn't about a vacation, Tanya, and you know it," Andre said, yanking open his dresser drawers and clearing out his clothes in brutal, efficient armfuls. "This is about the birthday dinner you forgot to make reservations for last October. This is about the cheerleading camp you said was full, when you really just didn't want to drive her to San Diego. This is about the four-hundred-dollar dress you bought Devin for his junior prom while you bought Maya’s eighth-grade graduation outfit off the clearance rack at Target."
"Devin is a boy, he needed a tailored tux!" she argued, following him around the king-sized bed like a barking dog. "Maya was thirteen! She grows out of clothes every three months! It was financial prudence!"
"It was malice," Andre said, zipping his duffel closed with a sound that felt like a gavel striking wood. "It was low-grade, passive-aggressive cruelty disguised as budgeting. You resented her from the day we moved in together because she looks like her mother, and you’ve spent three years making sure she knows she’s an outsider."
"That is a lie!"
"Then why didn't you leave Devin at home?" Andre asked, turning to face her. "If money was tight, why wasn't Devin the one who had to stay behind and catch the 'next trip'?"
Tanya’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her jaw worked soundlessly as her brain scrambled for an excuse that didn't sound horrific out loud.
"That's what I thought," Andre said.
He slung his duffel over his shoulder and walked out into the hallway.
Upstairs, Maya’s door clicked open. She walked down the steps holding a small backpack and her silver suitcase. Her eyes were red, but she was standing straight now, drawing strength from the unyielding mountain of a man standing at the bottom of the staircase waiting for her.
"Let's go, Maya," Andre said.
"Andre, if you walk out that door right now, we are done!" Tanya screamed from the master bedroom doorway. "Do you hear me? You walk out, and I am filing for divorce on Monday morning! You will lose this house! You will lose everything!"
Andre paused at the heavy mahogany front door. He turned around slowly, looked at the woman he had spent five years loving, and felt absolutely nothing.
May you like
"Save your filing fee, Tanya," Andre said. "My lawyer will have the paperwork on your desk by eight o'clock tomorrow morning."
He opened the door, guided Maya out into the warm afternoon air, and let the heavy wood slam shut behind them.
