When I Cut Off the Payments, My Mama’s Boy Husband’s Family Panicked Chapter 06
On the fifth day, Ethan Walker showed up at my parents’ house.
He looked rushed, his hair messy, with a carton of milk and a bag of fruit in his hands. My father opened the door and did not let him in right away.
“What are you here for?”
Ethan stood at the door, his voice a little hoarse.
“Dad, I came to take Olivia and Lily home.”
My father looked at him.
“What exactly are you taking them back to?”
Ethan’s face flushed.
“I’ll handle it.”
My father stepped aside.
In the living room, Lily was lying on the carpet and drawing. When she saw Ethan, the crayon in her hand paused.
She did not run over. She did not hug him.
Ethan crouched down and took a new drawing board from the bag.
“Daddy bought this for you.’
Lily looked at me. I said nothing.
She took it and whispered, “Thank you, Daddy.”
She was so polite that she sounded as if she were thanking a neighbor.
The smile slipped off Ethan’s face. He sat on the sofa with both hands on his knees.
“Olivia, the bank called my company today. A late mortgage payment will damage our credit.”
“I know.”
“Turn the automatic payments back on first. I’ll find a way to pay you back next month.”
I looked at him.
“You’re asking me to front the money again.”
He pressed his lips together.
“I talked to my dad these past few days. He doesn’t really agree.”
“So?”
“He thinks I suddenly want my paycheck back because you turned me against him.”
I laughed.
“Do you think that too?”
He lowered his eyes and did not answer.
I took the stack of bank records from the folder and placed it in front of him.
“Ethan Walker, your father said women like me never end up happy. Look at these and tell me where my so-called good fortune is.”
He opened the records.
One page. Two pages. Three pages.
Mortgage payments. Hospital bills. Daycare charges. Grocery runs. Pharmacy payments. Credit card payments.
The more he read, the slower his hands moved.
My mother sat beside us with red eyes.
“Ethan, do you remember when Olivia hemorrhaged after giving birth to Lily?”
He nodded.
My mother’s voice trembled.
“The doctor said she needed proper rest. Did anyone in your family give a damn? When she was recovering, your mother said a postpartum nurse was too expensive and made her care for the baby herself. Your father said all women went through it. We felt sorry for her and wanted to bring her home, but she kept defending your family.”
Ethan covered his face with one hand.
My mother continued.
“Last year, she fainted at work. When you found out, you only asked if she had skipped breakfast. Do you know why she skipped it? She was saving breakfast money to buy Lily’s nebulizer medicine.”
Ethan’s shoulders stiffened.
I pushed my phone toward him. On the screen was my credit card statement.
A little over $13,000.
“This is what I owe now.”
He stared at the screen.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I told you many times. Every time, you told me to spend less.”
He had nothing left to say.
My father lit a cigarette but did not smoke it. He only held it between his fingers.
“Ethan Walker, I have one daughter. I won’t stop her from living her life, and I won’t tell her to leave you. But remember this. She can go back if she wants. If she has to suffer like this again, I will come get her myself.”
The living room went painfully quiet.
Lily finished drawing a flower on the carpet and brought it to me.
“Mommy, this is for you.”
On the paper,
the flower was red. Beside it was a small black patch.
I asked, “What is this?”
Lily whispered, “That’s where Mommy sits when she’s tired.”
Ethan heard her, and his eyes reddened instantly.