For the christening. Something to work toward. Love, Grant.
I was still holding the card when Mara arrived with coffee and a bag of diapers. She took one look at my face and put everything down.
“What did he do?”
I showed her the dress, the card, and the photograph from the family group chat.
My sister did not speak for several seconds.
Then she folded the tissue paper over the dress as carefully as if she were covering something contaminated.
“Please tell me there is a reasonable explanation for the photographer.”
“He bought me a transformation program.”
“Six weeks after you gave birth to three human beings.”
“Apparently there was a waiting list.”
Mara sat beside me on the couch. “Laurel, this isn’t clueless. Clueless is buying the wrong flowers. This is organized.”
Her word stayed with me.
Organized.
While she watched the babies, I opened our bank app.
Grant and I kept a joint checking account for household expenses and several labeled savings accounts. One of them was called Leave Reserve. I had built it with two annual bonuses so we could cover our health insurance deductible, formula, and extra help during my unpaid weeks of maternity leave.
The balance was $3,840 lower than it should have been.
The transfer description read ForgeWell Fitness—Annual Transformation Package.
There was also a pending $420 charge from a nutrition company I did not recognize.
I called Grant.
He declined the first call and answered the second.
“I told you we’d talk tonight.”
“You took $3,840 from the leave reserve.”
“For your health.”
“That money was for the babies and my medical deductible.”
“It is marital money, Laurel.”
“Then why didn’t your half of the marital partnership get a vote?”
He exhaled slowly. I could hear office voices behind him.
“The program is refundable after you complete the campaign. We get the membership at no net cost.”
“What campaign?”
There was a pause.
“Tessa is trying a small local promotion. Nothing has been finalized.”
“A photographer showed up at our house. That sounds finalized.”
“I have to go.”
“Did you also order something from BrightPlate Nutrition?”
