Chapter 4: Practical Ground
By the second day the immediate shock had hardened into a list.
Clothes. We needed more than what was in the emergency bag. I drove to a discount store and let Lily choose two outfits, new socks, and a inexpensive pair of pajamas with stars on them. She selected each item with care, as if understanding that these were the first things that belonged only to the life we were building now.
Money. I moved what remained in the joint checking account into the separate savings before Marcus thought to freeze or drain it. The sum was modest. It was also mine.
Legal. I scheduled a consultation with a family law attorney for the following week using a referral from a coworker I trusted. Custody, temporary support, and the division of even our limited assets would need formal structure. I would not rely on Marcus’s sudden goodwill.
School. I contacted the district about temporary address procedures so Lily’s enrollment would not be disrupted. Continuity mattered more than almost anything else.
That afternoon Marcus called from a number I did not recognize. I answered once, on speaker, with Lily in the bathroom washing her hands.
“You’ve made your point,” he said. “Come home. We’ll talk about the keyboard.”
“This was never about a keyboard.”
“You’re punishing me over Vanessa’s kid. That’s insane.”
“You spent nearly nine thousand dollars on another woman’s child while telling your own daughter her interest wasn’t worth two hundred. Then you suggested divorce when I objected. I took you at your word.”
The silence on the line was longer than I expected.
“Lily needs her home,” he said finally.
“Lily needs to know she matters more than your coworker’s convenience. She has that now. The rest we’ll sort through attorneys.”
May you like
I ended the call before he could answer.
When Lily came out of the bathroom I was already putting the phone away. She did not ask who it had been. Some questions she was learning not to need answers for.
