Chapter 24 - Marcus’s Receipt
Marcus did not come over for three days.
Tasha noticed.
She did not call.
On the fourth evening, he appeared with one sheet of paper.
“No flowers?”
He looked confused.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He held out the paper.
Tasha took it.
Bank statement.
A transfer.
$5,000 — JAYDEN EMERGENCY ACCOUNT.
“You replaced it.”
“Yes.”
“You told me already.”
“This is the receipt.”
Tasha looked at him.
Marcus shrugged.
“Apparently receipts matter in this family.”
She almost smiled.
Then he handed her another page.
“What’s this?”
A proposed co-parenting expense plan.
School clothes.
Medical costs.
Extracurricular activities.
Emergency household expenses affecting Jayden.
Tasha looked up.
“You made a spreadsheet.”
“I am emotionally growing at my own pace.”
She laughed.
“What does ‘household emergency affecting Jayden’ mean?”
“If the power’s getting cut off where he lives, that affects him.”
Tasha studied him.
“If the refrigerator breaks?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“Whether you’re asking me to buy a refrigerator or raise three children.”
She put the sheet down.
“There you are.”
“I’m trying to draw reasonable lines.”
“So am I.”
That mattered.
Tasha leaned against the counter.
“I owe you an apology too.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“I redirected the six hundred without asking.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t enjoy this.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“A little.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I told myself I was doing the morally correct thing because Maya and Eli needed clothes.”
“They did.”
“And that made it easier to ignore that the money was specifically for Jayden.”
Marcus nodded.
“I should’ve called.”
“Yes.”
“I also shouldn’t have bought the handbag.”
Marcus smiled.
“Strong agreement.”
She laughed.
“I returned it.”
“I know.”
“My mother trained me to spend money to avoid disappointing people.”
Marcus’s expression changed.
Tasha continued.
“I did the same thing with the kids.”
“How?”
“I couldn’t tolerate Maya and Eli feeling left out.”
“That doesn’t sound terrible.”
“It becomes terrible if I solve my guilt by taking choices away from other people.”
Marcus looked thoughtful.
“Like Lorraine.”
“Exactly.”
Silence.
Then Marcus said, “That’s an uncomfortable family theme.”
“You’re in it too.”
“I noticed.”
Jayden entered.
“You guys being normal?”
Tasha laughed.
“No.”
Marcus said, “Working on it.”
Jayden saw the expense plan.
“What’s that?”
“Rules,” Marcus said.
Jayden groaned.
“Adults love rules after they cause problems.”
Tasha pointed toward him.
“Homework.”
He ignored her.
“Can I say something about the six hundred?”
Both parents looked at him.
Jayden sat.
“I don’t want six hundred dollars of clothes.”
Marcus nodded.
“Okay.”
“I want enough.”
Tasha listened.
“And I want Maya and Eli to have enough.”
Marcus said, “They will.”
“From their dad?”
The question was innocent.
The answer was complicated.
Tasha said, “Their father is responsible too.”
“Is he paying?”
“Not consistently.”
Jayden looked at Marcus.
“I know they’re not your kids.”
Marcus nodded.
“But they’re my brother and sister.”
“Yes.”
“So if I want to use some of my money for them, can I?”
Marcus hesitated.
Tasha stayed silent.
This was the moment.
Not to decide for him.
Marcus asked, “How much?”
Jayden thought.
“One eighty-nine.”
Both adults stared.
“Why that number?” Tasha asked.
“The purse.”
Marcus almost laughed.
Jayden smiled.
“Seems cursed.”
Tasha laughed so hard she had to sit down.
Marcus shook his head.
“What would you do with one eighty-nine?”
“Let Maya pick a jacket and Eli get that lunchbox he wanted.”
Tasha’s eyes filled.
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
Marcus looked at his son.
“That’s different.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re choosing.”
Jayden nodded.
“Exactly.”
The word hit both parents.
Marcus pulled out his phone.
“I’ll transfer it into a separate spending card.”
Tasha immediately said, “Wait.”
Marcus froze.
She smiled.
“Ask him.”
Marcus looked at Jayden.
“Would you like me to do that?”
Jayden grinned.
“Yes.”
Marcus completed the transfer.
$189 — JAYDEN’S CHOICE.
Jayden looked pleased.
Then Marcus said, “For the record, you still need another pair of pants.”
Jayden groaned.
Normal.
Beautifully normal.
Tasha’s phone rang.
Alicia.
The next hearing date had been set.
More importantly, Lorraine had filed a counterclaim.
“For what?” Tasha asked.
Alicia sighed.
“She alleges you made an oral agreement years ago allowing her lifetime control and occupancy rights in exchange for financial support.”
Tasha stared.
“That never happened.”
“She says it did.”
Marcus’s expression hardened.
Alicia continued.
“She also alleges you knowingly accepted proceeds from the home-equity line.”
Tasha closed her eyes.
There it was.
The threat from Lorraine’s letter.
Every financial mistake dragged into public view.
Marcus looked at her.
“You okay?”
Tasha opened her eyes.
“No.”
Then she looked toward Jayden.
He stood beside the coffee table, holding the receipt for the $189 transfer.
A choice freely made.
A record nobody could rewrite later.
Tasha took a breath.
“Tell Alicia we answer everything.”
Marcus nodded.
No hiding.
No shame.
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