Chapter 3
"I never agreed to give them the car. Whoever promised it to them can deal with it."
Carol slowly lowered her phone.
"Do you have to put it like that?"
Megan pushed herself up from the chair.
"I thought you two had already talked about it." She looked at Daniel. "You said we could drive it home today."
I turned to him.
"When did you say that?"
Daniel tightened his grip on the key.
"Laura, sit down first."
"I asked when you promised them."
Megan rested a hand on her belly.
"We already sold our old car. I have a prenatal appointment next Tuesday, and it's more than a thirty-minute drive from our house."
"Who told you to sell it?"
She looked at me, hesitating.
Ryan answered instead.
"Daniel said we could have this one. Keeping the old car would just mean paying for another insurance policy."
I looked at my husband.
He lowered his head and pushed a chair back under the table.
"Last Saturday," he said.
Last Saturday.
The next day, we went to the dealership together.
The salesperson asked what color I liked, and I hesitated between blue and silver.
Daniel stood with me between the two cars and said the blue looked brighter.
I asked if it was too bright.
He said, "As long as you like it."
"You promised them the car before you came with me to pick it out?"
He looked up.
"It was just an idea we tossed around."
Megan immediately looked at him.
"That's not what you told us."
Ryan touched her arm, and she didn't say anything else.
I took a step forward.
"I showed you the measurements of my suitcase and asked you to check whether it would fit in the trunk. Do you remember?"
"Yes."
"I told you I was planning to drive to my sister's, and you reminded me that traffic would be bad leaving town on Friday."
He didn't answer.
When we got home that day, I called my sister to talk about staying for two nights.
Daniel was driving beside me and even said hello to her over the phone.
I thought he'd heard my plans.
"Why didn't you tell me then?"
"We hadn't picked up the car yet. A lot of things weren't settled."
"I'd already paid for it."
He pressed his lips together.
"I know."
"Then what were you waiting for?"
He glanced at Megan, then looked back at me.
"I wanted to find the right time."
I pointed at the phone beside the cake.
"For your mom to start recording?"
"Don't say that."
"You told me to wear a nice dress for this too?"
"I really did want to celebrate your birthday."
I braced a hand on the edge of the table. The tablecloth shifted, and a paper plate slid toward the cake box.
Carol pushed the plate back.
"Enough going over the same thing. Ryan already sold his car. We have to figure out what to do next."
I didn't look at her.
"How much did you sell it for?"
Ryan frowned.
"Why are you asking?"
"You can use the money from the sale to buy another car."
"There's not much left."
Megan tugged at his sleeve.
He paused, then said, "We paid some bills and ordered the crib. We didn't know you were going to say no."
"I only found out today. How is that suddenly saying no?"
Ryan turned to Daniel.
"Daniel, you said you'd take care of everything. The buyer picked up our car yesterday, and we took a cab here today."
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"I know."
"Then let's get this done. She gets uncomfortable if she stands too long."
Daniel finally looked at me.
"Come with me to the study."
I didn't move.
"What for?"
He pointed upstairs.
"There's still some paperwork to take care of. I already have the documents ready."