Chapter 4
“Sophie needs to hear their side.”
Mark picked up the team cake and carried it toward the kitchen, as if tomorrow’s breakfast had already been settled.
“I’m not doing it.”
He stopped. “Doing what?”
“I’m not cooking for Rachel and Ethan. I’m not making Sophie sit here while they explain why she shouldn’t be hurt.”
“This isn’t about entertaining guests. We need to sit down and clear the air.”
“Tonight was clear enough.”
“Of course it was clear to you.” He set the cake on the counter. “You’ve already decided to take Sophie’s side and blame me for everything.”
“She’s our daughter. Stop talking as if she belongs to my side.”
“Rachel and Ethan didn’t do anything wrong. They didn’t schedule the championship.”
“Who decided to stay?”
Mark pressed his lips together.
I waited. Instead of answering, he carried two glasses to the sink and turned on the water.
“I promised David I would take care of them.”
“Taking care of them didn’t require missing twelve of your daughter’s birthdays.”
“There’s that number again.” He shut off the faucet. “You and Sophie keep saying twelve as if I’ve never done anything for her.”
“No one is calculating your good deeds.”
“Then what is this? A trial?”
A soft noise came from the stairs.
Sophie stood on the landing, still holding the shoebox of birthday cards. She didn’t come down.
Mark saw her and lowered his voice.
“We’ll have breakfast together tomorrow. Rachel will come too. We’ll talk this out before the misunderstanding gets worse.”
“I’m not coming,” Sophie said.
“You’re angry. I understand.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I know I disappointed you tonight.”
“Then why are you bringing them into my house?”
Mark took a breath. “Because they were hurt too. Rachel saw that livestream on our television. Now she thinks everyone sees her as some woman trying to break up a family. Ethan just won a championship, and your reaction ruined the celebration.”
Sophie stared at him.
“So breakfast is where I apologize to them?”
“No one said anything about an apology. I’m asking you to act like an adult and listen to what they’ve been through.”
She turned and went upstairs, closing her door quietly.
Mark looked at me. “She was never like this before.”
“Before, I protected her from every disappointment you caused.”
“Don’t act like I hurt her on purpose.”
I stopped arguing.
Mark was used to me breaking every fight into manageable pieces. I found the explanation, softened the worst words, and gave everyone a version they could live with. As long as I kept debating him, he could believe I would eventually fix this too.
I loaded the final plate into the dishwasher and turned off the dining room light.
“Nine tomorrow morning,” Mark said. “I’ll handle breakfast.”
“Don’t bring them here.”
“It’s my house too, Claire.”
“It’s Sophie’s home.”
He took his jacket upstairs and went into the guest room.
I returned to our bedroom and pulled the anniversary folder from my desk.
Our twentieth anniversary was six months away. We had booked a week on the coast of Maine at the inn we couldn’t afford when we were newlyweds.
Back then, Mark had taped a picture of it to our refrigerator and promised we would make it there someday.
This time, he had remembered. He chose the dates and paid the nine-hundred-dollar deposit from our joint checking account himself.
I opened the reservation page.
The deposit was fully refundable if I canceled tonight.
That could buy Sophie a reliable laptop or cover a semester of art supplies.
Keeping the reservation would require me to believe that six months from now, Mark and I would still stand together beside the ocean.
I clicked Cancel Reservation.
The website asked me to confirm.
I did.
After closing the confirmation page, I opened Sophie’s college payment portal.
Her acceptance letter had arrived three weeks ago. Her enrollment and housing deposits were due Monday.
We had spent years building a college savings account for her. Mark always said there was enough to let her finish school without fear.
I entered the amount, selected the account, and submitted the payment.
The page loaded for several seconds.
Then a red message appeared.
Payment declined: Insufficient funds.