Chapter 17 - More NightsMarcus arrived after seven.
Tasha met him on the porch.
“You promised you weren’t trying to take him.”
“I’m not.”
“You asked his counselor if he should live with you more.”
“I asked whether changing the schedule might reduce pressure.”
“Without telling me.”
“I was going to.”
Tasha laughed bitterly.
“That sentence again.”
Marcus stopped.
She was right.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what part?”
“For not telling you first.”
“And the rest?”
“I still think we should discuss it.”
“Why?”
“Because Jayden asked Grandma before all this if he could stay with me.”
“He told us why.”
“Yes.”
“He thought he was costing too much.”
“I know.”
“So moving him rewards that fear.”
“Not if we frame it differently.”
“How?”
Marcus leaned against the porch railing.
“He’s twelve. Middle school gets harder. I live six minutes from his basketball gym. You work later now.”
Tasha crossed her arms.
“So this is logistical?”
“Partly.”
“What’s the other part?”
Marcus looked through the window.
Jayden was upstairs.
“Your house has been under a lot of stress.”
“So has yours.”
“I live alone.”
“Exactly.”
Marcus frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means your house is quiet because nobody else is there.”
“That can be good for him.”
“It can also be easier because you don’t have to manage three children every day.”
“I know that.”
“Do you?”
Marcus took a breath.
“I’m not saying you’re doing a bad job.”
“It sounds close.”
“I’m saying I can carry more.”
The sentence disarmed her slightly.
“Carry more?”
“Yes.”
“Not take him.”
“No.”
Tasha studied him.
“How many nights?”
“Two extra school nights every other week.”
“That changes the schedule significantly.”
“It does.”
“Why didn’t you bring this to mediation?”
“I should have.”
“Yes.”
“I know.”
Tasha looked away.
Marcus continued.
“I asked Ms. Carter whether more time with me would help or make him feel displaced.”
“What did she say?”
“That schedule changes should be decided by us with input from him, not because adults are panicking.”
Tasha looked back.
“That’s reasonable.”
“Yes.”
“So why did he think you were planning something?”
“Because he heard half the conversation.”
They both recognized the pattern.
Children heard fragments.
Adults assumed privacy existed because doors were closed.
Tasha rubbed her forehead.
“Let’s ask him.”
“Together.”
“Yes.”
Jayden came downstairs reluctantly.
Marcus explained.
“No decision has been made.”
Jayden looked suspicious.
“You want me to move?”
“No.”
“Mom?”
“No.”
Marcus continued.
“I wondered if you wanted more nights with me during basketball season.”
Jayden thought.
“Like what?”
“Tuesday and Wednesday every other week.”
“Would Mom be mad?”
Tasha answered.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“Really?”
“I might miss you.”
“That’s different?”
“Yes.”
Jayden nodded.
“What do you want?” Marcus asked.
Jayden took almost a minute.
“I want Wednesday.”
Marcus waited.
“Just Wednesday?”
“And maybe Tuesday when I have early practice.”
Tasha looked at Marcus.
“That’s less than you suggested.”
Marcus smiled.
“Good thing we asked him.”
Jayden relaxed.
They agreed to trial the change for six weeks.
After Jayden went upstairs, Tasha said, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Not pushing.”
Marcus shrugged.
“I’m learning.”
“So am I.”
He started toward his truck.
Then Tasha said, “Marcus.”
He turned.
“I’m sorry about the college account.”
He stared.
She had apologized before in pieces.
Never like this.
“I’m not sorry it kept us housed,” she continued. “I’m sorry I decided that gave me the right to hide it.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“That’s the part I needed you to understand.”
“I do.”
“And the six hundred?”
“Same apology.”
He smiled sadly.
“I still hate it.”
“You’re allowed.”
Marcus opened his truck door.
“Tasha.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I made money feel like an inspection.”
Her throat tightened.
“Thank you.”
He left.
For one evening, the house felt lighter.
Then Felicia called.
“We got Kelvin’s pay records.”
Tasha sat down.
“And?”
“He understated his income.”
“How much?”
“A lot.”
Kelvin’s filing claimed thirty-two thousand dollars annually.
His employer records showed fifty-one thousand plus overtime.
Tasha closed her eyes.
“What happens now?”
“We respond.”
“Could he get in trouble?”
“For lying in a sworn filing? Potentially.”
Tasha thought of Maya and Eli.
She did not want revenge.
She wanted support.
“Felicia.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want him destroyed.”
“I understand.”
“I want the correct support amount.”
“That is what we will request.”
“And the arrears.”
“Yes.”
Tasha looked at the children’s photos on the wall.
For years she had told herself not pushing Kelvin too hard was protecting Maya and Eli from conflict.
But avoiding accountability had protected Kelvin too.
Sometimes peace was just delayed confrontation.
The next day Kelvin called.
“You got my pay stubs.”
“Yes.”
“You really doing this?”
“Yes.”
“You trying to bleed me dry?”
“No.”
“You got Marcus helping you.”
“This is not about Marcus.”
“You always got some man paying something.”
Tasha’s anger flared.
“No.”
She steadied herself.
“This is about your children.”
“You think a judge’s number makes me a father?”
“No.”
Her voice softened.
“But neither does saying you love them.”
Kelvin went quiet.
Then his voice changed.
“You want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t afford the arrears.”
“We can work through the court.”
“No.”
“I mean I can’t.”
“Why?”
A long pause.
Kelvin finally said, “Because I owe somebody else.”
Tasha frowned.
“Who?”
He exhaled.
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And another hidden debt entered the family.
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