We went into a little room off the fellowship hall. Stacks of plastic chairs along the wall. A kids’ coloring table in the corner.
Paige stayed with me.
Heather unlocked her phone.
“I lent Seth the money last spring,” she said. “His truck needed a whole new engine. He couldn’t afford it.”
I remembered. Seth was furious about the repair bill. He borrowed my car twice while his truck was in the shop. He told me most of his savings went into the engine.
“He promised to start paying me back once he caught up on his other bills,” Heather said.
“Did he?”
“He paid me two hundred dollars. Once. Then he stopped.”
She looked down.
“I needed that money back, Natalie. Daycare was eating up most of my paycheck. Colin pays his share for the kids, but I still have rent, groceries, everything.”
I understood money being tight.
What I couldn’t understand was why her brother’s debt had anything to do with me.
“Three weeks ago, Seth came over,” Heather said. “He told me he had a solution.”
I waited.
“He said you’d decided to stay home after the wedding. That you wanted a break from the dental office. And he offered for you to watch the kids for a year.”
I stared at her.
“And you’d forgive his debt,” I said slowly.
Heather nodded.
For several seconds, I couldn’t say anything.
Seth hadn’t just volunteered me to help his sister.
He’d traded a year of my life to pay off his own loan.
Heather scrolled through her messages.
“Here.”
She handed me her phone.
Seth’s first message said:
Nat’s serious about leaving the office after the wedding. She loves having the kids around. I think this could help both of us.
Heather had written back:
Are you sure she’d want all three every day? That’s a lot.
Seth:
She’s already planning to be home. I wouldn’t offer if we hadn’t talked about it.
Further down, Heather had asked:
So if Natalie does daycare through next spring, we’re square on the truck money?
And Seth answered:
Yeah. Call it even.
I read that line three times.
Fifty hours a week. For almost a year. Three children. Meals, diapers, naps, laundry, preschool pickups.
No paycheck. No retirement. No promotion.
All so Seth wouldn’t have to pay his sister back.
I handed the phone back.
“Did you know how much I make at the clinic, Heather?”
“Not exactly.”
“Did you know I’d been there seven years?”
“Yes.”
“Then how did you think I could afford to quit?”
She pressed her lips together.
“Seth said you’d both planned for it.”
“With what money?”
She didn’t answer.
I leaned back in the plastic chair.
“Six thousand, four hundred dollars,” I said.
Heather looked miserable.
“I know how it sounds.”
“Do you?”
Her eyes filled.
“I honestly thought you wanted this.”
“Did you ever ask yourself why somebody would quit a full-time job to watch three kids for free?”
She started to answer. Then stopped.
Her silence said everything.
She desperately needed affordable childcare. Seth handed her a solution that cost her almost nothing. And she took it.
“I should’ve talked to you myself,” she finally said.
“Yes. You should have.”
She wiped her face.
“I didn’t think Seth would lie about something like that.”
“Neither did I.”
For the first time, I felt something besides anger toward her.
We’d both believed Seth. We’d both been lied to.
But Heather still had her job. I’d have lost mine.
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
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