Chapter 10 - PapersMarcus arrived twenty-five minutes later.
Kelvin was gone.
A process server had delivered the documents.
Tasha sat at the kitchen table reading the same pages repeatedly.
Maya and Eli were at Denise’s house.
Jayden remained with Marcus.
“What does it say?” Marcus asked.
Tasha pushed the packet toward him.
Kelvin alleged housing instability, financial mismanagement, and interference with his relationship with the children.
Marcus read slowly.
“He attached screenshots.”
“Of what?”
“Texts.”
Tasha handed him printed pages.
Some were genuine.
Messages from months earlier.
If you can’t send support, at least buy their school stuff.
Maya needs shoes. Eli needs medicine.
Another screenshot included Tasha saying:
I am trying to keep this house together by myself.
Kelvin’s attorney had framed it as evidence of instability.
Marcus looked up.
“This doesn’t prove neglect.”
“I know.”
“Emergency custody is a high bar.”
“I know.”
“Does your lawyer know?”
“I called.”
“When can she see you?”
“Two.”
Marcus sat.
“What are they claiming about the rent?”
“That I’m facing eviction.”
“How would Kelvin know?”
“I don’t know.”
Marcus scanned the filing.
There it was.
An exhibit.
The landlord’s final notice.
A photograph.
Marcus’s stomach tightened.
“Where did he get this?”
Tasha looked.
Her face drained.
“That was on the coffee table.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Maya?”
Tasha closed her eyes.
“He must have asked her to send a picture.”
Marcus felt anger flare.
“Call her.”
“No.”
“What?”
“I’m not interrogating my daughter.”
“He used her to gather evidence.”
“And I’m not going to do the same thing back.”
Marcus stopped.
Tasha had learned something in less than twenty-four hours that the entire family should have learned years ago.
She called Denise instead.
“Mom, can you put Maya on speaker? Don’t tell her she’s in trouble.”
A minute later Maya’s small voice came through.
“Hi.”
“Baby, I need to ask you one thing.”
“Okay.”
“Did Dad ask you to take a picture of a paper at home?”
Silence.
Tasha shut her eyes.
“Maya?”
“He said it was important.”
Marcus clenched his jaw.
Tasha kept her voice gentle.
“What did he tell you?”
“That you might lose the house and he needed proof so we could stay somewhere safe.”
“Did he tell you not to tell me?”
“Yes.”
Tasha breathed slowly.
“You’re not in trouble.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You did nothing wrong.”
“But—”
“Nothing.”
Tasha looked at Marcus.
“Put Grandma back on.”
Denise returned.
“Keep them there until after I meet the lawyer.”
“Of course.”
Tasha hung up.
Marcus spoke quietly.
“You see it now.”
“What?”
“What it feels like.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
Neither needed to say Jayden’s name.
Tasha’s lawyer, Felicia Grant, arrived at two in a gray suit and practical flats.
She read Kelvin’s petition at the dining table.
“This is aggressive,” Felicia said.
“Can he win?” Tasha asked.
“Emergency custody?”
“Yes.”
“Based on what I’m seeing, unlikely.”
Tasha exhaled.
“But.”
Her relief stopped.
Felicia tapped the filing.
“A court will care whether the children have stable housing.”
“I have a payment plan.”
“Get it in writing.”
“I will.”
“They will care whether utilities are on.”
“They are.”
“School attendance?”
“Excellent.”
“Medical care?”
“Current.”
“Any substance issues?”
“No.”
“Police calls?”
“No.”
“Domestic violence?”
“No.”
Felicia nodded.
“Then debt alone does not make you an unfit parent.”
Marcus watched Tasha’s shoulders lower slightly.
Felicia continued.
“But you need documentation.”
Tasha laughed weakly.
“Apparently everybody loves documentation.”
Marcus glanced at her.
Felicia looked between them.
“And who are you?”
“Marcus Reed. Jayden’s father.”
“Different father?”
“Yes.”
“Are you involved in this petition?”
“No.”
“Then stay out of the legal dispute unless subpoenaed or unless you have direct relevant knowledge.”
Marcus nodded.
Felicia turned back to Tasha.
“One other thing. Do not delete texts. Do not coach the kids. Do not ask them what they want to tell the judge. And do not retaliate against Kelvin through access unless your attorney advises it.”
Tasha nodded.
“I won’t.”
Felicia’s eyes moved to the school supplies.
“What started all this?”
Tasha and Marcus exchanged a glance.
Marcus answered.
“Six hundred dollars.”
Felicia raised an eyebrow.
“That’s usually how family court starts.”
Tasha almost smiled.
After the lawyer left, Marcus stood by the door.
“You need the six hundred for rent.”
Tasha sighed.
“Marcus.”
“I’m not offering cash.”
She looked at him.
“I’ll pay the landlord directly.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because then Kelvin gets to say Marcus rescued my housing.”
“Kelvin can say anything.”
“And you get to say you rescued it too.”
Marcus stared.
“You think I’d use that against you?”
“I think scared people do things they swear they won’t.”
The sentence landed because it included both of them.
Marcus put his keys in his pocket.
“Then what are you going to do?”
Tasha looked toward the computer.
“Sell things.”
“What things?”
“My television. The extra bedroom furniture. Whatever.”
“Tasha.”
“What?”
“You need that furniture.”
“I need a lease more.”
He studied her.
This was not theatrical pride.
She was serious.
Marcus left.
An hour later Tasha photographed the television for an online marketplace.
Her phone buzzed.
An email.
She opened it.
Congratulations. We would like to offer you the Assistant Property Manager position.
Tasha stared at the screen.
The salary was twelve thousand eight hundred dollars higher than her current pay.
For the first time in days, she laughed.
Then she saw the start date.
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Three weeks away.
The rent was due tomorrow.
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