He appeared slightly relieved.
Then I continued.
“She needs to leave by Sunday.”
Natalie stared silently.
Daniel’s face shifted.
“What did you say?”
“She has three days.”
“You can’t make that decision alone.”
“I thought we’d already established that one spouse could make housing arrangements without consulting the other.”
His cheeks reddened.
“That’s unreasonable.”
“No, Daniel. Unreasonable was promising her another two months without discussing it with me.”
Natalie set her laundry basket down.
“I don’t have anywhere else to stay.”
I met her gaze.
“Then please tell me which apartment complex you’re waiting for.”
Once again, she said nothing.
Just then, Paige appeared near the hallway entrance.
Natalie quickly instructed, “Go downstairs.”
But Paige remained standing there.
She appeared uncertain.
Then she glanced toward me.
“Mom?”
Natalie spoke more firmly.
“Paige. Go downstairs.”
Paige hesitated.
“But Aunt Laura keeps talking about the apartment.”
Natalie suddenly stopped moving.
Paige spoke again softly.
“Aren’t we going back to Brookhaven?”
I looked confused.
“Brookhaven?”
Natalie’s expression immediately changed.
Daniel glanced between them.
“What’s Brookhaven?”
Paige looked surprised.
“Our apartment.”
Natalie gently took her daughter’s shoulder.
“That’s enough, sweetheart.”
But her words had already reached me.
“Your apartment?”
Paige now looked frigh.ten.ed by everyone’s reactions.
I made my voice gentle.
“Honey, is Brookhaven where you lived before coming to stay with us?”
She nodded quietly.
I turned back toward Natalie.
“You told us your lease had expired.”
Natalie remained silent.
Paige whispered, “Mom said Mr. Clay is staying there because he pays more money than our rent costs.”
For the second time that evening, the entire hallway became quiet.
Only now, Daniel appeared equally astonished.
Nobody said anything for several moments.
Natalie was the first to respond.
“Paige doesn’t really understand grown-up discussions.”
Paige looked hurt.
“Yes, I do.”
“Please go downstairs.”
“But—”
“Right now.”
The little girl hurried away.
I waited until I could no longer hear her footsteps.
Then I faced Natalie.
“Who exactly is Mr. Clay?”
She lifted her laundry basket.
“This whole conversation is absurd.”
Daniel moved closer to his sister.
“Natalie.”
His tone had finally become serious.
Perhaps because he now understood that he hadn’t received the complete truth either.
“Who is Mr. Clay?”
Natalie looked directly at him.
Then she lowered the basket again.
“Someone I know through work.”
“And he’s currently living in your apartment?”
“Only temporarily.”
A strange calmness settled over me.
“The same apartment you said was uninhabitable because of emergency plumbing problems?”
Natalie looked away impatiently.
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Please stop using that explanation.”
She turned sharply toward me.
“You don’t understand what I’ve been dealing with.”
“That’s true. Because apparently the information you’ve shared with us hasn’t been accurate.”
Daniel appeared deeply troubled.
“How long has this man stayed there?”
Natalie folded her arms.
“Roughly a month.”
I gave a brief, incredulous laugh.
“So he’s been there almost the entire time you’ve stayed with us.”
“He needed a place near his workplace.”
“And you found somewhere that costs you nothing.”
“That’s not the whole story.”
“Then please explain the whole story.”
She paused.
Eventually, she admitted, “Brookhaven raised my monthly rent when I renewed my lease.”
I waited patiently.
“And then?”
“I discovered I could rent it to someone else for a higher amount.”
Daniel stared at his sister.
“How much higher?”
Natalie pressed her lips together.
“Eight hundred dollars.”
That figure surprised me more than I expected.
She was receiving an additional eight hundred dollars each month while staying in our home without contributing to our expenses.
I remembered every grocery receipt.
Our increased water expenses.
The takeout pizzas Daniel purchased whenever I was too exhausted to prepare meals for six people.
The school snacks I bought for Paige and Connor.
The extra laundry supplies.
The fuel I spent taking Natalie’s children to their activities whenever she explained that she was feeling “overwhelmed.”
“You’re earning money from this arrangement,” I said.
Natalie immediately disagreed.
“It’s not earnings. I still have bills.”
“Someone is paying more than your rent while we’re providing your accommodation.”
“I never told you to purchase groceries.”
I simply looked at her.
For forty days, she had eaten our food.
Her children had too.
But strictly speaking, she was right.
She had never directly requested anything. She had simply helped herself to what was available.
Apparently, that difference was important to her.
Daniel stared at his sister as if he barely recognized her.
“You told me you were facing homelessness.”
“I could have been.”
“But you already had an apartment.”
“I was struggling to afford it.”
“Those are two completely different situations!”
Natalie’s expression grew colder.
“You wouldn’t understand my circumstances.”
“I even made room for you in my son’s bedroom!”
Connor had technically been sharing Ethan’s room, but I chose not to correct him.
Daniel kept speaking.
“I explained to my wife that you desperately needed help. I asked her to adjust our lives because you needed your family.”
“But I am your family.”
“That doesn’t make dishonesty acceptable.”
Natalie turned toward me.
And then, remarkably, she smiled.
It wasn’t a friendly expression.
It was a faint, resentful smile, the kind someone gives when they no longer feel the need to maintain appearances.
“Oh, come on.”
Daniel fell silent.
Natalie gestured toward me.
“She wanted me to leave after the second week.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“I asked when your new apartment would become available.”
“You wouldn’t stop mentioning it.”
“Because you were staying in our home.”
“And there it is again. Your home.”
“My name appears on the mortgage.”
“Daniel’s name is there too.”
“That’s correct.”
