Chapter 8 - THE MESSAGE HE DELETED
That evening, Alexander sat at my kitchen table while I warmed soup.
He had been quiet since the jewelry store.
I thought he was thinking about the watch.
Then he said, “There’s something I haven’t told you.”
I switched off the stove.
“Tell me.”
“Bianca asked me about moving you.”
The spoon stayed in my hand.
“When?”
“February.”
“She asked you to visit facilities with me?”
“No.
She said you were having trouble managing the house.”
“What did you say?”
“I said we should talk to you.”
“And did you?”
He rubbed his face.
“She said you’d be embarrassed.
That you’d hear it as rejection.”
I set the spoon down.
“Alexander.”
“I know.”
“No.
You need to hear this.”
He lowered his hands.
“Every time she explained my feelings to you, you accepted it without asking me.”
His eyes filled.
“I thought I was keeping the peace.”
“You were letting her speak in my place.”
He nodded once.
Then he took out his phone.
“She sent me a picture of the power of attorney.
She said it was standard planning.
I replied that I trusted her.”
For several seconds, I could hear only the refrigerator.
“Why didn’t you tell Miriam?”
“Because I deleted the conversation after our fight yesterday.”
“Why?”
“I was ashamed.”
The anger that rose in me was different from what I felt toward Bianca.
This one had roots.
I had raised him to tell the truth when it cost him something.
“Then tomorrow you tell her.”
“I’ll call now.”
He did.
I heard him explain without making excuses.
Miriam told him to preserve the phone and write down exactly what he remembered.
When he finished, I put soup in two bowls.
He reached for mine.
“I’ll take it.”
“I can carry a bowl.”
His hand stopped.
“Right.”
We ate quietly.
Later, he opened a folder Bianca had finally emailed.
The loan agreement contained his genuine signature.
He stared at the page.
“I signed a guarantee.”
Miriam called back after reading it.
“The lender may have a claim against you.
That doesn’t make the sale of Helga’s house valid.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred and eighty thousand.”
Alexander looked around my little kitchen.
Then his phone displayed an alert from his bank.
May you like
A transfer had cleared from their joint savings.
Balance remaining: $614.09.
