Chapter 4

By Wednesday, Ethan still hadn't given me a move-out date.

Before lunch, Vivian took a call in the kitchen and put it on speaker.

"We've emailed you the repair sign-off form," the person on the other end said. "Since we changed the locks last Friday, you can dispose of the temporary key."

She set down her scissors.

"I'll look at it later."

Then she switched off the speaker and walked out.

Last Friday.

The day before our anniversary.

That evening, I asked Ethan, "Did you know the repairs on your mother's house are finished?"

His hands stopped on his tie.

"Yes. But Paige hasn't found a job yet."

"What does that have to do with them moving back?"

"It's easier to get downtown from here. I told her she could stay until she's settled in a job."

If he'd asked me first, I would at least have had a chance to explain how difficult this was for me.

But whether it was my office, giving rides, or how long they could stay, he always said yes to someone else first, then came back expecting me to understand.

I could no longer trust "we'll discuss it later" to mean I'd actually get a say.

I looked at the two women on the couch.

Vivian was looking down, fiddling with her bracelet. Paige was entertaining herself on her phone.

"So you already told them they could stay."

"I hadn't found the right time to tell you."

"Now works. All three of you are here. Pick a date."

Paige stood up.

"I'll leave tonight. I don't have much to pack."

Ethan immediately turned to her.

"That job in Chicago back then? I turned it down," she said. "You said Vivian needed someone to look after her because she was on her own, so I stayed. I thought at least here…"

She trailed off.

Ethan reached for the coat she'd picked up and took it from her.

"No one's kicking you out."

Then he turned to me.

"Give her another month. Once she finds a job, it'll be easier to sort everything out."

"One month, or until she finds a job?"

"Do you have to be so exact about it?"

"You just gave me two different deadlines."

Vivian set her cup down hard.

"We're family. Do we really need to be treated like tenants?"

I looked at my husband.

"What if she still hasn't found a job in a month?"

"We'll talk about it then."

I nodded.

"So there's no date. Is that right?"

He followed me into my office.

"Claire, I can't throw her things out."

"I'm asking you to keep your promise. Not throw anything out."

I opened my calendar.

"We need marriage counseling. Pick a time, and I'll book it."

He stared at the screen without answering.

"Tell me tomorrow. Don't make me keep asking."

While tidying my desk, I noticed the drawer hadn't been closed properly again.

My passport was underneath a folder, and two of the fabric samples a client had sent me were missing.

I found them in the guest room, underneath Paige's nail polish bottles.

"I thought you didn't want them," she said.

"They were in a bag with the client's name on it."

She moved the bottles without apologizing.

This wasn't the first time.

The week before, my contract had been moved. Vivian said she'd only been looking for a pen.

I locked my passport, other important documents, and project files in a file box, then took out the indoor camera we'd used when we moved in and plugged it into the outlet beside the bookshelf.

On my phone, I could clearly see the desk drawers, the office door, and a corner of the living room through the open doorway.

I enabled motion alerts and pulled open a drawer to test it.

A notification appeared almost immediately.

Before I turned off the light, I heard Ethan talking in the living room.

"Claire's been under a lot of pressure at work lately."

Paige asked quietly, "So can I still stay?"

"I won't let you feel like you don't belong in this home."

I held the doorknob but didn't go out.

Tomorrow, he still owed me a time for counseling. Tonight, he'd already given someone else his promise.