Chapter 4 - Family Helps Family
Richard placed both hands on the table.
“Family helps family.”
Walter looked at him.
“That sentence seems to have only one direction in this house.”
“We gave Ethan a place to live.”
“In the basement.”
“He has privacy.”
“He has pipes over his bed.”
Ethan almost laughed.
He stopped himself.
Diane’s eyes filled with tears.
“We never forced him.”
Ethan turned toward her.
“You said moving out meant turning my back on the family.”
“I was emotional.”
“You said Dad’s blood pressure would get worse if I stopped helping.”
Richard’s expression tightened.
“That is not what happened.”
“You told me the mortgage would become Claire’s problem if I left.”
Claire looked sharply at Ethan.
“What does that mean?”
Ethan stared at her.
“You didn’t know?”
“Know what?”
Dad spoke quickly.
“Nothing. He misunderstood.”
Ethan felt something inside him loosen.
For years, he had assumed Claire knew exactly where the money went. He believed she accepted his payments because they funded her room, her food, and her children’s care.
Now her confusion looked real.
Diane stared down at her napkin.
Walter noticed too.
“What did you tell Claire?” he asked.
Richard’s voice grew defensive.
“That we were covering household expenses.”
“With what money?”
“Our money.”
Walter leaned back.
“Then why does Ethan have nothing left after payday?”
Nobody answered.
The children at the end of the table had stopped eating.
Claire looked from her father to Ethan.
“Are you paying for my kids?”
Ethan answered honestly.
May you like
“I don’t know anymore.”
That was worse than yes.
