On Sunday afternoon, Evelyn called David.
He took it in the backyard, pacing by the swing set. I watched him through the kitchen window. He talked for a long time. Mostly, he listened.
When he came back inside, his face was gray.
“She’s changing the beneficiary on the 529,” he said.
I set down the dish towel.
“She says if we’re going to ‘keep Oliver from her,’ then she’s not going to pay for his college. She says she’ll move the money to Marcus.”
“Marcus?”
“She said, ‘At least Rachel lets me see my grandson.'” David laughed bitterly. “Marcus. The boy she told wasn’t really a Harper.”
I sat down at the kitchen table.
“What did you say?”
“I said that’s her right,” David said. “It’s her account. She can do whatever she wants with her money. And then I told her that if she ever mentions that college fund to Oliver again, in any way, she won’t see him at all. Not supervised. Not at Christmas. Not ever.”
“How did she take that?”
“She hung up on me.”
We sat there in the kitchen in silence.
Then I started to laugh. I couldn’t help it.
“What’s funny?” David asked.
“Marcus,” I said. “If she really moves the money to Marcus, she’ll have to look at that boy every Christmas for the next ten years, knowing she’s paying for his college. The boy she said wasn’t a Harper. The boy who won’t even hug her.” I shook my head. “That’s not punishing us, David. That’s the best thing that could happen to her.”
David stared at me.
Then he started laughing too.
It was the first time either of us had laughed in a week.
Ethan Blake is a skilled Creative Content Specialist with a talent for crafting engaging and thought-provoking narratives. With a strong background in storytelling and digital content creation, Ethan brings a unique perspective to his role at TheArchivists, where he curates and produces captivating content for a global audience.
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