“I fired an employee who wasn’t performing his duties. The fact that he used to be my husband is irrelevant to business operations.”
Jake was quiet for a long moment. Then, “Mom, you’re destroying us.”
“No, Jake. I’m letting you destroy yourselves. I’m just not cleaning up the mess anymore.”
“This isn’t the mother I know.”
“You never knew me,” I said sadly. “You knew a woman who was too afraid of losing her family to stand up for herself. You knew someone who would rather be miserable than alone. That woman is gone, and she’s never coming back.”
I hung up before he could respond. Outside my window, the city hummed with life and possibility. My wine was the perfect temperature. My condo was exactly the right amount of quiet, and I had absolutely no one to take care of except myself. It was the best feeling in the world.
The next morning, I was reading the newspaper, an actual paper newspaper, because some pleasures are worth preserving, when my building’s concierge called up to my unit.
“Mrs. Williams, there’s a young woman in the lobby asking to see you. She says she’s your daughter, Sophie.”
I’d been wondering when she’d make her appearance.
“Please tell her that I’m not available for visitors, but if she’d like to leave a message, I’ll consider it.”
“She says it’s urgent, ma’am. Something about her father being in the hospital.”
My blood chilled for a moment, but then I remembered who I was dealing with. Sophie could make a hangnail sound like a medical emergency if it suited her purposes.
“Please ask her for details about which hospital and the nature of the emergency.”
A few minutes later, the concierge called back.
“She says he’s at General Hospital, ma’am. Something about chest pains and stress. She seems quite upset.”
Despite everything, Frank was still the father of my children. And despite my anger, I wasn’t a monster. If he was genuinely ill, that was different from being homeless and broke.
“Tell her I’ll meet her in the lobby coffee shop in ten minutes.”
I dressed carefully, not too formal, but certainly not like someone who was concerned or rushing. If this was a manipulation tactic, I wanted to make it clear that I wasn’t falling for it.
Sophie was sitting at a corner table when I arrived, her phone face down for once, her usual Instagram-perfect makeup smudged with tears that looked genuine.
“Mom.” She stood up when she saw me, and for a moment, she looked like the little girl who used to crawl into my bed during thunderstorms.
“Sophie, tell me about your father.”
She sat back down heavily. “He collapsed at work yesterday. Well, at Tom’s work site, I guess. Tom called the ambulance.”
“What did the doctors say?”
“Stress-induced heart palpitations, high blood pressure. They want to keep him for observation, but...” She trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
“But he doesn’t have insurance anymore since you fired him, and he can’t afford the hospital bills.”
There it was, the real reason for this meeting.
“Sophie, your father had insurance through Williams Construction for 15 years because I provided it. When he became unemployed, he became eligible for COBRA coverage, which would have maintained his insurance for up to 18 months.”
“What’s COBRA?”
I stared at my daughter. This 26-year-old woman who made more money than most people with real jobs, and she didn’t know what COBRA was.
“COBRA is federal law that allows people to keep their employer-provided insurance when they lose their jobs. Your father received all the paperwork. He chose not to pay the premiums.”
Sophie looked genuinely confused. “Why wouldn’t he pay for insurance?”
“Because COBRA premiums are expensive, and your father has been living in his car while spending what little money he has on trying to win Amber back. Priorities.”
“He’s been trying to win Amber back?” Sophie’s voice rose. “Mom, she won’t even talk to him. She posted on Instagram about dodging a bullet and fake rich guys. She’s already dating someone else.”
I almost felt sorry for Frank. Almost. Getting dumped by someone who was only dating you for money in the first place had to sting. Especially when you discovered she’d replaced you in less than a month.
“That’s unfortunate for your father. But it’s not my problem.”
“Mom, he’s in the hospital.”
“Because he made choices that led to stress and health problems. Natural consequences.”
Sophie stared at me like I was speaking a foreign language. “You really don’t care, do you? You really just hate all of us now.”
“I don’t hate anyone, Sophie. But I’m not responsible for fixing problems that other adults created for themselves.”
“But you’re our mother.”
“I was your mother. I spent 28 years being your mother, your father’s mother, and Jake’s mother. I’m retired from that job.”
“You can’t retire from being someone’s mother.”
“Watch me.”
Sophie leaned forward desperately. “Okay, fine. What if I pay you back? What if we all pay you back for everything? We’ll get jobs. Real jobs. And we’ll pay you back every penny Dad spent on Amber, every payment you made on Jake’s loan. Everything.”
“With what job, Sophie? You take pictures of yourself for a living. Jake’s biggest accomplishment is losing other people’s money in cryptocurrency. Your father just got fired from the only job he’s had in 20 years.”
“I can do other things. I have marketing skills. Social media is a real business.”
She wasn’t wrong about that. Actually, Sophie had built a substantial following and was probably more business-savvy than either of her male relatives. But that didn’t change the fundamental problem.