Chapter 8 - NAOMI APOLOGIZED WITHOUT A JOKE
Naomi did not apologize again for almost a year.
The second apology was different.
She asked to meet at a coffee shop.
No Gavin.
No children.
When I arrived, she already had a notebook.
Interesting.
“I made a list.”
I almost laughed.
“Apparently your family likes notebooks.”
“Therapist’s idea.”
Definitely therapy.
She read.
“I mocked Caleb’s clothes.”
“I allowed Grant and Carter to take his sketchbook.”
“I withheld food after knowing he hadn’t eaten.”
“I excluded him from the scavenger hunt.”
“I repeatedly made jokes implying he had less because you had failed.”
Then she stopped.
Tears filled her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
No but.
Good.
Then:
“I need to tell you why.”
“That doesn’t erase it.”
“I know.”
Also good.
Naomi grew up in a household where money disappeared constantly.
Evictions.
Repossession.
Utilities shut off.
She promised herself her children would never feel poor.
Then she built an identity where appearing affluent became proof she had escaped.
Gavin’s prestigious job fit the story.
My plain life did not.
“So I needed you beneath us.”
She whispered.
“Because if someone was below me, I knew I wasn’t back where I started.”
I sat quietly.
“That explains it.”
“It doesn’t excuse it.”
“I know.”
Then:
“What changed?”
She looked embarrassed.
“Grant.”
My eyebrows rose.
“He told me he didn’t want lobster at his birthday.”
“Why?”
“Because Caleb might come.”
My throat tightened.
“He said he didn’t want food to become weird again.”
Naomi started crying.
“My son was managing my behavior.”
That was the moment.
Not the money.
Not the cabin.
Not my company.
Her own child anticipating adult cruelty.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
This time I believed she understood.
“Have you apologized to Caleb?”
“I want to.”
“Ask him.”
“Don’t ambush him.”
She nodded.
Two weeks later, Caleb agreed.
Naomi came to our house.
She apologized specifically.
Caleb listened.
Then asked:
“Do you still think my shoes look poor?”
I nearly died.
Naomi laughed through tears.
“No.”
“They look green.”
He smiled.
May you like
“Good.”
That was enough.
