“Daniel?”
“I’m dealing with enough right now.”
The words landed more heavily than he intended.
Margaret looked at the laptop still open on the table.
“Three years ago, you called me because your company collapsed.”
“I know.”
“You were afraid you would lose the house.”
“I know.”
“You asked if I could help with one mortgage payment.”
“I said I know.”
“And then one payment became thirty-six.”
“Mom, I never asked you to cancel everything.”
“No,” she said. “You stopped asking.”
The silence on the line changed.
Daniel’s breathing became louder.
“You can’t do this without warning.”
“I just did.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
Margaret’s hand tightened around the phone.
“For the first time in three years, you’re supposed to figure that out.”
He began to speak, but Margaret ended the call.
Her fingers shook afterward. She set the phone down and pressed both palms against the counter.
She had expected relief.
Instead, she felt grief.
Not because she had canceled the payment.
Because she had waited so long to understand what the payment had become.
At 7:02, Emily called.
Margaret watched her name appear and disappear three times before answering.
Emily didn’t say hello.
“Daniel says you canceled the mortgage.”
“Yes.”
“Do you understand what that does to us?”
Margaret looked down at her bare feet against the kitchen floor.
“I understand what it does to your monthly budget.”
“It could put us behind.”
“You’ll have to speak with the lender.”
Emily gave a small, disbelieving laugh.
“This is unbelievable.”
“No,” Margaret said. “What’s unbelievable is that you’re more upset about the transfer than what happened at dinner.”
“Margaret, Liam was excited. It was his birthday.”
