“Good morning to you, too, Lucy.”
She stood in the doorway like an accusation. Platinum hair smoothed into perfect waves. Beige coat belted at the waist. Diamond studs catching the dull kitchen light. Her makeup was flawless for nine o’clock on a rainy Thursday morning, which told me she had been angry long enough to prepare for it.
“Leonard and I have been talking,” she said.
A dangerous sentence in any home.
“About?”
“Expenses.”
I lifted my cup.
“Ah.”
She stepped inside, leaving the door open behind her.
“The water bill is up thirty percent since you moved in. The heat runs constantly. Maintenance costs are higher. And frankly, Henry, you can’t just live here indefinitely without contributing more.”
“I pay utilities.”
“You pay a portion of utilities.”
“What are you asking for?”
“Five hundred a month. Rent. Plus your share of all utilities.”
I let the number sit there.
Five hundred dollars. For an apartment in a building I owned. Paid to a son who thought he was my landlord. Demanded by a woman wearing a bracelet that likely cost more than the refrigerator humming behind me.
“I don’t have that kind of money right now,” I said.
Lucy’s mouth tightened.
“You get Social Security.”
“And groceries cost money. Prescriptions cost money.”
“That’s not our problem.”
There it was. Clean. Unwrapped.
I leaned back in my chair.
“If I can’t pay?”
She shrugged, examining her nails.
“Then maybe it’s time to look into senior housing. There are places for people in your situation.”
“My situation.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I’m not sure I do.”
Her eyes snapped to mine.
“You’re an adult, Henry. You can’t expect Leonard to carry you forever.”
Carry me.
I thought of Leonard’s college tuition. His first car. The down payment I quietly provided for his first condo, hidden as a “family gift” so he would not feel ashamed. The emergency loan he never repaid after his business idea failed at twenty-eight. The wedding expenses Margaret and I covered because Lucy’s family suddenly “couldn’t contribute as expected.”
Carry me.
I set my coffee down carefully.
“Could I borrow fifty dollars?” I asked.
Lucy blinked.
“What?”
“Just until my next check comes in. For groceries.”
The change in her face was immediate and ugly.
Her softness vanished. Her eyes hardened. The polished mask cracked so quickly I almost pitied her for revealing herself too easily.
“Are you serious?”
“It’s fifty dollars.”
“You want us to give you money on top of everything we already do for you?”
“I said borrow.”
“With what, Henry? Your imaginary savings?” Her voice rose. “Do you have any idea how exhausting this is? Do you have any idea what you’ve done to Leonard? He can’t sleep because he’s worried about you. He can’t focus at work because you’re always another problem. We have plans. We have a future. And you’re just sitting here draining everyone.”
I watched her. Quietly.
That made her angrier.
“Say something,” she snapped.
“What would you like me to say?”
“I would like you to admit what you are.”