Seeing me turn and walk away, Cary's face twisted with disdain.
"What a cheapskate. Without Dad all these years, who knows if she could've even fed herself. Now she walks away from the divorce with two million dollars and still acts like it's not enough."
"Our mom, honestly, can't read a room to save her life. Doesn't she ever stop to think? Without Dad, would she have had all those good years?"
"..."
Their muttering carried all the way to my ears, and I wanted to march back and tell them.
I had a bachelor's degree too. I'd once held a job at a major firm.
It was only after I had Cary and Denise, when the house got to be more than I could manage, that I quit my job and devoted myself to being a full-time homemaker.
Now that the burden was off my shoulders, I would never shortchange myself again.
I began mapping out my own life. Out of the two million dollars Ervin gave me, I took five hundred thousand and bought myself a studio apartment.
The remaining one and a half million I deposited straight into the bank.
I knew that one and a half million couldn't last me a lifetime, so I still needed to go out and find work.
But I'd been out of the workforce too long. One look at my résumé and any employer would turn me down.
Just as I was feeling lost, unsure what to do, I happened to see a message in the school's parent group.
"I'm too busy to look after my child, who has the SATs coming up soon, so I'm hiring a live-in personal assistant. Daily duties include preparing nutritious breakfasts for my high-school senior, handling school drop-off and pickup, and overseeing his studies. Twelve thousand a month, and if his grades improve during your care, there's a bonus of ten thousand dollars for every point gained."
I knew the person who'd posted it. It was Sebastian Lawrence, the father of Cary's classmate Max. I'd met him before at parent-teacher meetings.
Word was he was a big-shot boss worth over a hundred million.
This job was practically tailor-made for me.
For the past two years, to get Cary and Denise into college, I'd worked myself to the bone learning how to make them nutritious meals.
How to give them a comfortable environment, how to keep in touch with their teachers and stay on top of their studies.
I called the number. Sebastian said he was very busy and told me to come see him at his company.
When I arrived at Sebastian's company, the receptionist took me straight to his office.
"Ms. Perry, hello. We're practically half acquainted already. I'm always hearing my son talk about how devoted Cary's mom is to him. But let me ask you this. If you come look after my child, what about your own?"
"I'm divorced."
Sebastian looked me up and down, then nodded. "Good. You're hired. Here's the contract. Sign it."
"Mr. Lawrence, just like that?"
I couldn't help feeling a little puzzled.
"Ms. Perry, the truth is, I know a bit about your situation. I've had dinner with your husband Ervin a few times. In their eyes, all you do every day is laundry, cooking, and raising the kids. Maybe to them that's worth nothing. But to me, it's exactly what I need most."
Seeing me still uncertain, Sebastian laid it all out.
"Ms. Perry, look at how plainly and modestly you dress. All these years of hard work without a single complaint. That's the rarest quality there is. I'm confident you can get my son into the college he's dreaming of."
Hearing that, my nose stung, and I fought back the urge to cry as I signed my name on the contract.
That night, back at my apartment, a call came in. I saw it was Stan Finch, Ervin's friend.
After a moment's hesitation, I answered.
"Stephanie, is something going on with your Ervin? He's been borrowing money from everyone for the past couple of days. Last week he took fifteen thousand from me, said he'd pay it back in a day or two, and there's still no sign of it."
"Sorry, but Ervin and I are already divorced. From now on, whatever he does has nothing to do with me."
Before Stan could ask anything else, I hung up and blocked his number.
Still, curiosity got the better of me, and I pulled up the security feed from the old apartment.
The second it loaded, what filled my screen was a complete mess.
Leftover food sat on the table, trash littered the floor, and clothes were tossed everywhere.
Ervin was in the middle of an argument with Zelda.
"Can't anyone tidy up around here? It's chaos. Coming home to this just sets me on edge."
The moment Zelda heard that, her face went cold.
"I cleaned this place up just this morning, and your family wrecked it again. Do none of you know where clothes go? Can't anyone swap their shoes for slippers when they walk in? And that trash bag by the door, would it kill you to grab it on your way out?"
