Chapter 6
On Monday, someone from finance reminded me it was time to renew the company's supplementary health insurance, and asked if I still wanted to keep the dependent coverage.
Andrew had been listed as my dependent for years.
His company was small, so their insurance coverage was limited. Last year, when he got a stomach scope, some of the outpatient and exam costs were reimbursed through my supplementary insurance.
I stared at his name on the form and chose not to renew his coverage.
The finance colleague double-checked, "Should I delete your husband's information?"
"Yeah, please delete it," I said.
After work, I went to the bank and set up a new automatic savings plan for my salary account. Every month, as soon as I got paid, 3,300 dollars would go straight into a fixed-term account.
Before, it was all going straight to the mortgage. Now, I was finally saving for myself.
Before the end of the month, Ms. Grant sent me the initial summary. Based on the records I had, I could confirm that the mortgage and renovation costs totaled over 270,000 dollars.
As for the rest of the household expenses, some were part of our shared life, while others were money lent to or given to Carter family members. Those would need to be sorted out by checking our chat history.
I saved the file to my computer and backed it up onto a portable hard drive.
That night, Andrew sent me a photo.
Emily's daughter was grinning at the kindergarten gate, dressed in her brand-new uniform and carrying a bright yellow backpack.
He added a message below: [She got enrolled today. Emily asked me to thank you for your understanding.]
I stared at the photo, thinking back to when Andrew took my payroll card and kept saying he was only helping her out for a little while.
Now, Emily's gratitude was passed along through him, as if our marriage had quietly signed off on this whole joint bailout.
I didn't reply. I saved the photo and the message straight into my account folder.
Some of my money went into Emily's rent and her kid's school fees, too. This wasn't something that should be brushed off with a casual "I'll make it up to you later."
Mortgage day always landed on the 20th of every month.
Usually, I'd get a text around 8 AM saying the payment went through. But after I moved out, on that first mortgage day, my phone was quiet.
At 10 AM, Andrew sent me a message: [Mortgage's done.]
I replied: [Okay.]
He quickly messaged again: [Don't you get anything else to say?]
I didn't reply.
During lunch, Georgia sent a screenshot of the mortgage payment to the family group chat, noting: [Family can be stubborn, but life keeps moving.
[Drew paid the mortgage himself this month, so you can stop being mad now.]
Michael dropped a thumbs-up emoji underneath. [My brother's got responsibility,] he commented.
I stared at that line for a few seconds, then left the group chat.
Somehow, the Carter family managed to turn Andrew finally paying his own 3,000-dollar mortgage into a praiseworthy act of responsibility.
That afternoon, Andrew showed up outside my office.
He was leaning against his car, holding two cups of coffee. When he saw me, he handed one over.
"I got you an oat latte," he said.
I didn't take it.
"How about dinner tonight? I made a reservation at your favorite Beef Hotpot place," he said.
"I've got plans," I replied.
"With who?"
"A coworker."
He set the coffee back on the roof of the car, looking a bit impatient.
"I got paid today, and the mortgage is already handled. So, how long are you planning to stay away from home?" he added.
"What's that got to do with the mortgage?" I demanded
"You stopped paying so I'd feel the stress at home. Well, I get it, and I paid it myself."
"So what now?"
"Come back home, and we'll figure out how to handle things with my parents together. And I'll make sure what I spend on Emily doesn't mess with our household budget."
He made it sound like he'd already bent over backwards for me.
I asked, "How much did you give her this month?"
Andrew looked away.
"The kindergarten fees were already paid, and I gave her three grand for living expenses," he said.
"So that's 6,500 dollars for rent, 7,000 for tuition, and 1,000 for living expenses. It comes out to 14,000 dollars altogether."
"That covers six months' rent."
"Has Emily found a job yet?"
"She's still looking."
"Any interviews lined up?"
"It's tough out there for jobs, and with her having to drop off and pick up the kid, there are hardly any jobs that work for her schedule."
I nodded.
"Looks like she'll need another 1,000 dollars next month, and probably the month after that, too," I concluded.
"She's not going to depend on me forever," Andrew denied.
"And what makes you think that?"
Andrew pressed his lips together, clearly not wanting to keep talking about Emily.
"I'm here to take you home today," he said.
"I never agreed to that," I replied.
"Sarah, I've done everything I can. What else do you want from me?"
Right then, his phone rang.
It was sitting face-up on the car roof, and I saw Emily's name pop up on the screen.
Andrew paused for a moment, then picked up the call.
Emily's voice was urgent, and from a distance, I could hear her daughter crying in the background.
She said her little girl had a high fever, and the clinic told her to head to the hospital, but she didn't have enough cash and asked if Andrew could transfer her some money.
Andrew immediately pulled open the car door.
"Grab a cab and head over. I'll send you the money right now. Once you get to the hospital, send me the address," he replied.