Chapter 3

I was instantly interested and went to knock on Hank's door.

Hank thought I'd brought him something to eat. He opened the door with a look of disdain, only to see me shove the screen in his face, grinning from ear to ear.

"Looks like your dad ditched you. He posted a family pic and left you out," I said.

When Hank saw it, his face went from pale to flushed. He slammed the door shut and yelled at me to get lost.

He probably didn't get a wink of sleep the whole night, because when he got up, he looked totally out of it.

When Hank saw me eating scrambled eggs and toast, with nothing set out for him, he automatically asked, "Hey, what about mine?"

I took my time finishing the last bite of my toast.

"Go ask your dad and his new wife. You live with him now, so quit bugging me. I already sent him this month's child support, so don't even think about asking me for money," I said.

Hank, fuming, called Jack to complain.

He said, "Dad, that woman won't even make me breakfast anymore. Can you send me some money so I can grab something to eat?"

Jack said he'd send it over soon, but Hank waited and waited, and still nothing showed up.

Hank was running late for school, so he couldn't wait any longer and hurried to change into his uniform.

But when he rummaged through the washing machine and found two wrinkled, sweaty uniforms, he felt even more miserable.

He yelled at me, "You won't even wash my clothes? Are you even my mom anymore?"

I raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Nope."

With no other choice, Hank had to go to school hungry and wearing dirty clothes.

That afternoon, Hank's homeroom teacher called, her voice full of panic.

She said Hank got into a fight and sent a classmate to the hospital. The other kid's parents wanted to call the cops, but she managed to hold them off.

She told me to get over there ASAP and deal with it, or Hank might get a record.

Over the years, I always made sure to send Hank's teachers gifts during the holidays, just to keep them on our side. So whenever something happened, they'd usually show Hank some favoritism.

But this time, I smirked and replied, "It's fine. Let them call the cops."

The teacher was totally caught off guard, asking me over and over if I really meant it.

I explained, "His dad cheated, we're divorced, and Hank can't stand me now. If I show up, he'll just lose it. You should really call his dad instead."

"Alright then," the teacher replied, sounding sorry for me.

Eventually, Hank got hauled off to the station.

Jack didn't buy that I'd really leave Hank hanging. He called, told me to go deal with it, then just bailed.

I ignored him.

Since neither of us showed up, the other kid's parents totally lost it. They refused to settle and insisted Hank had to pay for it.

When Jack found out Hank had been taken to the station, he totally lost it. He called, demanding to know if I was even fit to be a mom.

I hung up on him right away. Even one more word with him made me feel sick.

Honestly, Jack wasn't always like this.

He wasn't some perfect guy, but he was at least a responsible husband and father.

He never slacked off on his financial duties, put real effort into raising Hank, and treated me decently. He always remembered holidays and anniversaries, never forgot to get me gifts.

But everything flipped upside down when Hank turned ten. Jack found out his old flame, Nina, had split from her husband, and from that moment on, our family life hit a wall.

Jack kept going on about how he'd wronged Nina back in the day. Now that she was raising a daughter alone, he just had to help her out. Because, of course, they were "old classmates."

This so-called helping lasted four whole years. The cash he brought home got less and less, until eventually, he didn't give me a dime.

I yelled, I cried, I even had the cops over to try and sort things out more than once, but it was pointless. Once a guy's heart was set on someone else, there was no dragging him back, no matter what one did.

I wanted out, but Hank clung to Jack like his life depended on it. I was scared he'd get hurt, so I kept hoping that when he got older and saw things for what they were, he'd finally choose me.

But I never saw it coming: Hank ended up just like Jack, so biased toward Nina's family that he ditched his own mom for them.

*****

This time, Hank messed with the wrong crowd. The other kid's folks had connections at the precinct; they'd have Hank roughed up every so often just to let off steam.

But Jack wouldn't pay a dime in compensation, wouldn't even put up bail. Whenever the cops asked, he just said Hank needed to learn his lesson.

I was pretty sure it was Nina who refused to fork over the money, and Jack just sat back, waiting for me to step in and pay.

Jack thought he had it all figured out, but I wasn't about to let him get his way.

Hank spent more than two weeks locked up. In the end, Amy just couldn't bear seeing her grandson suffer, so she dipped into her life savings and bailed him out.

What really shocked me was that Hank didn't blame Jack or Nina at all. He put it all on me.

He yelled at me, "Dad said he gave you everything after the divorce. You're just a vicious woman. You want to see me get beaten to death, don't you? Just wait. When you're old, don't count on me to take care of you."

Seething, Hank packed up his things and moved out, saying he'd rather crash in a storage room at Jack's place than spend another minute with me.

Honestly, I was happy to see him go. Having him around was just a headache anyway.