Chapter 4: The Truth She Tried to Bury
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The garage smelled of motor oil and sawdust. Somewhere beyond the closed door, a lawn mower started in the neighboring yard.
My mother stared at the letter in my hand as if it were evidence of a crime.
“Choose him for what?”” I asked.
She shook her head.
“This conversation is over.””
“No, it's not.””
“Maya, go to your room.””
I laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
“That's your answer to everything. Whenever I ask a question you don't like, you send me upstairs.””
Her eyes flashed.
“Don't speak to me like that.””
“Then stop treating me like I'm too stupid to understand my own life.””
Chris stepped between us, though he didn't touch either of us.
“Natasha, she deserves an answer.””
Mom rounded on him.
“You do not get to tell me how to raise my daughter!””
The sentence landed differently now.
For years, it had made Chris go quiet.
This time, he didn't.
“I know she's your biological daughter,” he said.
“I've never tried to take that away from you. But being her mother doesn't give you the right to hide the truth from her.””
Mom's eyes filled.
“You don't know what it's like.””
“Then tell me.””
“You've never had to worry about losing your child!””
Chris went pale.
I looked between them.
“Losing me to what?””
Neither answered.
I turned toward Mom.
“You just said you knew I'd choose him. What does that mean?””
She wiped her cheeks angrily.
“It means I know what happens when people start putting ideas in your head.””
“What ideas?””
“That you have to choose a father. That you have to judge me for every mistake I've made. That you can turn your back on your own mother because another person has a nicer story to tell.””
I stared at her.
“Is that what you think this is about? A nicer story?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
Her voice rose.
“I raised you by myself before Chris came along! I worked two jobs. I stayed up when you were sick. I made sure you had everything you needed.””
“I know you worked hard, Mom.””
“Do you?””
“Yes!””
My voice cracked.
“But Chris was there too. Why is that a problem?””
She pressed her lips together.
I had never seen her look so cornered.
Finally, Chris spoke.
“Natasha, we don't need to settle our entire marriage right now. Maya asked you why you hid the letter. Please answer her.””
Mom looked at him for a long time.
Then she lowered herself onto the stool beside the workbench.
“I was afraid,” she whispered.
I waited.
“When Chris first brought up adoption, I thought about what it would mean. The paperwork. The legal decisions. The possibility that if we ever disagreed, he would have the same authority I did.””
Chris shook his head.
“That was never about control.””
“Maybe not to you!””
“You could have discussed it with me.””
“I didn't want to!””
The words burst out before she could stop them.
We all froze.
Mom looked down at her purse.
Then she continued, her voice quieter.
“I was afraid that one day you'd look at Maya and she'd call you Dad, and I wouldn't be the person she needed anymore.””
I stared at her.
“Mom, I'm your daughter.””
“I know.””
“Then why would me having another parent make you love me less?””
She began to cry.
“I was afraid you'd stop loving me.””
My chest tightened.
For one brief moment, I saw the frightened young woman she must have been when she first became a mother. The woman who had worked long shifts and worried about rent and tried to build a stable home for a child whose father kept disappointing her.
I could understand that fear.
What I couldn't understand was what she had done with it.
“You could have told me,” I whispered.
She nodded, unable to speak.
“You could have let me make my own decision.””
She covered her face.
Chris turned away.
I looked at the open folder on the workbench.
“Then why did you take the money?””
Mom lowered her hands.
The room went silent again.
“Derek was in trouble,” she said.
“Your brother?””
“Yes.””
“How much trouble?””
“His business was failing. He had employees to pay, equipment loans, and bills. He said he only needed the money temporarily.””
“So you took it from my college savings?””
“I was going to put it back.””
“When?””
She didn't answer.
“Mom, there was twenty-six thousand dollars missing.””
“I know.””
“That's not a small amount.””
“I know!””
Her voice cracked.
She stood abruptly.
“I made a mistake. I tried to help my brother, and I thought I could fix everything before anyone found out.””
“Before Chris found out?””
She looked at him.
He didn't blink.
“Before either of you found out,” she whispered.
Chris spoke very carefully.
“If you'd told me Derek was struggling, we could have discussed what we could afford to lend him. I might have helped.””
Mom let out a bitter laugh.
“You would have said no.””
“You don't know that.””
“You'd have wanted paperwork and repayment plans.””
“Yes,” he replied.
“Because that money was for Maya.””
His voice rose for the first time.
“That was her future, Natasha. Not a rescue fund for your brother.””
Mom flinched.
I looked at the statement again.
“And Andre?””
Mom closed her eyes.
“What about him?””
“You sent him six thousand five hundred dollars.””
Her silence answered before she did.
Finally, she whispered, “He was struggling.””
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“You gave my absent father money from my college savings because he was struggling, but you told me he couldn't afford to show up for me?””
“I didn't tell him not to show up.””
“You told him I didn't want him around!””
Mom looked at Chris.
That was all I needed.
Andre hadn't made up the conversation.
“What did you tell him?”” I asked.
She gripped the edge of the workbench.
“I told him you were happy with Chris. I said you didn't need him constantly appearing and disappearing.””
“You made that decision for me.””
“I was trying to protect you!””
“From what? Having a father?””
She shook her head.
“No, Maya. From being disappointed again.””
I looked at her, stunned.
“You let me believe he didn't care enough to try.””
“He wasn't trying!””
“Because you told him not to!””
“Because every time he came around, he made promises he couldn't keep!””
For a moment, her anger sounded almost reasonable.
Then she added, “And Chris was there to clean up the mess.””
The words hung in the air.
Chris stared at her.
I felt something inside me go still.
“So you wanted him to act like my father,” I said slowly, “as long as you could remind him he wasn't one whenever he disagreed with you.””
Mom didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Chris picked up the folder and placed it in his briefcase.
“I'm going to speak to the bank on Monday,” he said.
“We need to make sure Maya's remaining savings are protected.””
Mom's head snapped up.
“You wouldn't dare.””
“I will not allow this to happen again.””
“That's my money too!””
“Then we can establish exactly which money belongs to whom.””
She stared at him.
For the first time, she seemed to understand that he wasn't going to surrender simply because she raised her voice.
I looked at Chris.
“What happens now?””
He turned toward me.
“You go to school. You finish your senior year. You apply to the colleges you want. We'll work through the rest.””
“We?””
His eyes softened.
“Unless you don't want me involved.””
I stepped forward and hugged him.
He froze for half a second, then wrapped his arms around me.
I buried my face against his shoulder.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered.
He held me tighter.
“You have nothing to apologize for.””
Over his shoulder, I saw Mom watching us.
Her face had gone blank.
When I finally pulled away, she wiped her eyes and picked up her purse.
“I need some time,” she said.
She walked out of the garage without looking at either of us.
A few minutes later, I heard her car leave.
I expected to feel relieved.
Instead, I felt as though I'd discovered the foundation of my house was cracked, and now every room looked different.
Chris drove me to school that afternoon.
Before I got out of the truck, I turned toward him.
“Do you still want to adopt me?””
He stared through the windshield.
Then he turned to me.
“I want whatever makes you feel loved and secure. But no paperwork can make me love you more than I already do.””
I nodded, unable to speak.
He reached over and gently squeezed my hand.
“Go be seventeen, Maya. You have enough adult problems for one week.””
For the first time that day, I laughed.
I climbed out and headed toward the school entrance.
Halfway across the parking lot, my phone buzzed.
It was Andre.
I owe you more than one conversation. Can we meet again tonight?
I started to reply when another message appeared.
Your mother just called me. She's saying Chris plans to leave her and take you away.
I stared at the screen.
A third message followed.
She's telling people that I helped her cover up something. Maya, I need to show you the bank receipt she sent me when she transferred that money.
My fingers went cold.
Then he sent a photograph.
It was a bank transfer confirmation dated eight months earlier.
The sender wasn't my mother's personal account.
It was an account bearing my name.
May you like
And beneath the transfer number, someone had written a note.
*MAYA'S COLLEGE FUND — FINAL WITHDRAWAL.*
