Chapter 4 - WHAT DAD HAD BEEN HIDING
Dad came to my house Sunday morning.
Without Mom.
That meant trouble.
David—my husband—answered the door.
Robert said:
“I need ten minutes with Claire.”
David looked at me.
My decision.
“Come in.”
Dad sat.
Didn't accept coffee.
“I need you to tell Ruth to stop.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“You haven't even asked what.”
“The duplex?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Claire, Emily and Aiden could lose their home.”
“Emily can sign a lease.”
“She can't afford market rent.”
“Then she needs housing she can afford.”
Dad stared.
“You sound cold.”
Interesting.
Not cruel.
Not wrong.
Cold.
Competent women get called cold whenever they stop absorbing heat for everyone else.
Then he said:
“Your grandmother doesn't understand Emily's finances.”
“Do you?”
His silence answered.
“How much have you given her?”
He looked away.
“That's private.”
“So enough that Grandma isn't supposed to know.”
His head snapped back.
“Aiden told you.”
“Do not put him in the middle.”
Dad exhaled.
“Twenty-two thousand.”
I stared.
“In what period?”
“Two years.”
“Does Mom know?”
“Yes.”
“Does Grandma?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because she'd judge Emily.”
I laughed.
Dad's face hardened.
“This isn't funny.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“It's just fascinating that consequences keep being described as judgment.”
He leaned forward.
“Your sister has struggled since the divorce.”
“That was nine years ago.”
“She has a child.”
“So do I.”
His expression shifted.
There.
The comparison he'd learned not to say aloud.
I said:
“Finish the thought.”
“What?”
“You were about to say something about Lily.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
He stood.
“This conversation is going nowhere.”
“Dad.”
He stopped.
“Does Emily deserve more family support because Aiden is biological?”
His face changed.
He didn't answer.
That was worse.
“Dad.”
“You adopted Lily knowing she'd already been through instability. You're financially secure. You can provide for her.”
I felt something go cold inside me.
“And Aiden?”
“He has needs.”
“So does Lily.”
“That's not what I meant.”
“Then explain it.”
Dad rubbed his forehead.
“Aiden is part of this family's bloodline.”
There it was.
Not shouted.
Not dramatic.
Worse.
Ordinary.
I stood.
“This conversation is over.”
“Claire—”
“You told my ten-year-old daughter to stop being selfish while her aunt took her birthday gift.”
“I handled it badly.”
“You handled it honestly.”
His face fell.
I opened the door.
“I need you to leave.”
He stared at me.
“You're choosing this child over your own sister.”
This child.
I looked him directly in the eyes.
“Yes.”
Then corrected myself.
“No.”
“My daughter isn't competing with Emily.”
Dad left.
I closed the door.
Then went upstairs and cried where Lily couldn't see me.
David found me.
“Hey.”
“My father doesn't think she's the same.”
He sat beside me.
“No.”
“What?”
“He doesn't get to define what she is.”
I knew.
Still hurt.
That evening, I called Grandma.
Told her everything.
She became very quiet.
Then:
“Robert said bloodline?”
“Yes.”
Grandma exhaled.
“Well.”
That tone.
I almost smiled.
“What?”
“I think it's time your father learns where his wife got the money for his first house.”
“What?”
Grandma laughed without humor.
“People become very philosophical about blood after forgetting who financed their stability.”
May you like
The next family dinner was about to become educational.
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