“But it wasn’t.”
“No.”
“And the woman on the phone tonight?”
He looked down at his phone.
“That was Mara.”
I wanted to scream.
Instead, something strange happened.
I became completely calm.
“Call your mother.”
He stared at me.
“What?”
“Call her.”
“Jess…”
“Now.”
He unlocked his phone.
His mother answered after a few rings.
“Caleb?”
“It’s Jess.”
Silence.
Then:
“Jess.”
“I know.”
Her voice softened.
“I’m sorry.”
“Did you know he canceled our daycare because he gave some of the money to Mara?”
Caleb stood.
“Jess—”
I pointed at his chair.
“Sit down.”
He did.
His mother exhaled slowly through the phone.
“I knew he used some of the money.”
“And you agreed to watch our daughter so I wouldn’t find out?”
“I thought if I handled childcare, Caleb could replace the money before you returned to work.”
“So yes.”
“Jess, I was trying to keep your family together.”
