Chapter 5: The Morning After
Patrick woke to find me already dressed, the letter refolded and placed back in its envelope. I told him only that I needed to go to a specific bank branch and that I would explain everything once I returned. He looked at the black bag, at the cane, at the place where the wedding rings had been, and simply nodded. Samantha packed a small container of leftover rice and insisted I take it. Samuel’s fever had broken in the night; he slept with the loose ease of a child who did not yet understand how narrow the margin in the apartment had become.
Patrick drove me in the old pickup. He waited in the truck while I entered the branch alone. The protocol my husband had written worked exactly as described. The account officer verified the letter, verified my identity, and grew very still when the file opened. The sum was not theatrical. It was sufficient—enough to redeem the rings that afternoon, enough to cover medicine and rent for months, enough to place me in a modest, accessible apartment of my own without requiring a guest room from anyone who had already measured my presence against investors and charity events.
