Chapter 5 - What Michael Said Happened
Sarah refused to discuss the lawsuit until David sent her the public court record.
Then she called within four minutes.
“You’re investigating him?”
“I Googled his company.”
“You had no right.”
“It’s public information.”
“Michael already explained it.”
David closed his eyes.
Of course he had.
“What was the explanation?”
“His partner is trying to force him out.”
“By accusing him of taking two hundred eighty-four thousand dollars?”
“It was business money.”
“That usually belongs to the business.”
Sarah exhaled sharply.
“You want him to be a criminal because it makes this easier for you.”
“No. I want you to slow down.”
“You don’t get to manage me.”
“This isn’t only about you.”
“Here we go.”
“It’s about Ethan.”
Sarah became quiet.
David continued.
“You’re considering moving him to another state with a man he met this week.”
“He knew Michael when he was a baby.”
“He was three.”
“Michael is his father.”
“And Ethan is telling you he doesn’t feel that way.”
“He’s confused because you’ve occupied that role.”
The sentence was so similar to something Michael would say that David almost asked whether she had written it herself.
Instead he said, “Occupied?”
Sarah’s voice weakened.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“You keep not meaning the things you say.”
She hung up.
Michael arrived at David’s apartment that evening.
David saw him through the peephole and almost ignored the knock.
Then Michael said, “We should talk without Sarah.”
David opened the door but did not invite him in.
Michael looked around the hallway.
“You going to make me stand out here?”
“Yes.”
Michael smiled thinly.
“Fair enough.”
“What do you want?”
“To stop this turning into a war.”
“You told my son I’m not his legal parent.”
“I told him the truth.”
“You told him something an attorney should explain to an adult.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“I’m trying to build a relationship with him.”
“Then build one.”
“I can’t when he thinks I’m replacing you.”
“You are trying to replace me.”
“I’m his biological father.”
“Then act like his father.”
Michael stepped closer.
“You think I haven’t lived with what I did?”
“I have no idea.”
“I was broke when Ethan was born. Sarah and I fought constantly. I had debt. My father had just died. I panicked.”
“So you left.”
“Yes.”
“For eight years.”
“I was ashamed.”
David studied him.
For the first time, Michael sounded less rehearsed.
“I sent money.”
“Not much.”
“I sent what I could.”
“You missed birthdays.”
“I know.”
“You missed surgeries.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You could have known.”
Michael looked away.
That landed.
Then he said, “You got everything I should have had.”
David stared.
There it was again.
Not guilt.
Resentment.
“You think I stole your life?”
“I think you walked into a situation after I screwed up and became the hero.”
“I changed diapers.”
“I know.”
“I sat outside preschool because Ethan cried when Sarah left.”
“I know.”
“I held him while he vomited on me.”
Michael’s face tightened.
“I said I know.”
“No. You know the summary.”
David stepped closer.
“You don’t know the life.”
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Michael asked, “How much do you want for the house?”
David blinked.
The shift was so abrupt that it answered more than Michael realized.
“What?”
“Sarah wants to keep it. I’m trying to understand whether you’re going to make that difficult.”
“Why are you discussing my divorce settlement?”
“Because I may be living there.”
“After one week?”
Michael’s expression closed again.
“Sarah and I have history.”
“So does bankruptcy court.”
Michael’s eyes changed.
David saw fear.
Only for a second.
Then anger covered it.
“You need to stay out of my business.”
“You brought your business into my house.”
Michael leaned closer.
“Be careful, David.”
“With what?”
“Turning Ethan against his mother.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re his safe place right now. That gives you power.”
David held his gaze.
“He’s not leverage.”
“No,” Michael said. “But your lawyer may think he is.”
Then Michael walked away.
David watched him disappear down the hallway.
The next morning, Julia called.
“Sarah’s attorney sent a proposed temporary agreement.”
David opened the email.
Julia continued.
“They want you to agree not to contact Ethan except twice weekly by phone until the divorce is finalized.”
David stared at the page.
“Why?”
“They claim continued daily contact is preventing him from adjusting to his mother’s household.”
David’s hand tightened around the phone.
“Did Sarah sign this?”
“Yes.”
David looked at the childhood photograph Ethan had texted him the night before.
The bike.
The yellow helmet.
The boy smiling at the man holding him steady.
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For the first time since the divorce papers appeared, David felt something other than grief.
He felt ready to fight.
