Chapter 7 - AARON COMES TO MY FATHER’S HOUSE
Aaron appeared at Dad’s townhouse on Sunday morning.
Alone.
No Diane.
No relatives.
No attorney.
He looked terrible.
Unshaven.
Wrinkled shirt.
Eyes red.
Dad saw him through the camera.
“You want me here?”
“Yes.”
“But don’t speak unless I ask.”
Dad nodded.
That mattered.
I opened the door but left the security chain latched.
Aaron stared at it.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“Elena, I’m your husband.”
“For now.”
His expression collapsed slightly.
“Can we talk?”
“We are.”
“Without your father listening?”
“No.”
He looked beyond me.
Dad stood down the hall holding Caleb.
Caleb was laughing at something on Dad’s watch.
Aaron’s face tightened.
“That’s my son.”
“Yes.”
“I want to hold him.”
“Not while you’re angry.”
“I’m not angry.”
He had arrived pounding the door.
I said nothing.
Eventually his shoulders dropped.
“I screwed up.”
“How?”
“All of it.”
“Specifics.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“Tell me what you did.”
“I moved money.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“You know.”
He looked away.
“About eighty thousand.”
My stomach dropped even though I had seen the transactions.
“From us?”
“Yes.”
“Did you forge my signature?”
Silence.
“Aaron.”
“My mom handled paperwork.”
There it was.
Not denial.
Deflection.
“Did you know?”
“She said it was temporary.”
“Did you know my signature was on documents I never signed?”
His eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Behind me, Dad inhaled once.
But he stayed where he was.
I asked:
“Why did you let your mother shove me?”
Aaron closed his eyes.
“I didn’t think you’d fall.”
That answer told me everything.
Not:
I didn’t know she would touch you.
Not:
I’m sorry I failed to stop her.
He knew.
He simply expected my body to absorb it better.
“Did you know she was taking my keys?”
“Yes.”
“Did you think the SUV belonged to you?”
“It’s marriage property.”
“It was purchased largely with my inheritance.”
“My mother said—”
I laughed.
There it was again.
My mother said.
Aaron was thirty-five years old.
A husband.
A father.
And somehow every betrayal still arrived wearing Diane’s opinion.
“You need to leave.”
“Elena.”
“No.”
“What about Caleb?”
“We’ll deal with parenting through the proper process.”
His face hardened.
“You’re keeping my son from me because your general father scared you into leaving.”
Dad finally spoke.
“No.”
Aaron looked at him.
Dad shifted Caleb higher against his chest.
“She asked me not to make it worse.”
Then he looked straight at Aaron.
“So I didn’t.”
The simplicity of it seemed to frighten Aaron.
May you like
Because suddenly he understood the person who had ended our marriage was not my father.
It was him.
