“I’m hoping he hears himself.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
I rubbed a thumb along the edge of the photograph.
“Then I’ll still have told the truth.”
Bryce called Monday night.
“I hear you’ve got some kind of presentation ready.”
“A folder.”
“Same thing.”
“Your fiancée asked to talk.”
“You could have told her this was private.”
“You told her I was a family friend. You made it part of her life.”
He was quiet.
Then he said, “Dad thinks you’re trying to get back at him.”
“Your father isn’t the person I’m worried about marrying.”
“That’s not funny.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
I heard him move the phone against something.
“Can you just leave the money out of it?”
“I’m not bringing the balance. I’m bringing proof that the account belongs to me, because you’ve been saying I took your money.”
“I never said stole.”
“Then we can clear that up quickly.”
He ended the call without saying good night.
I didn’t sleep well that night, either.
Standing up for myself hadn’t made me stop being his mother. I still wanted to call him back. I still wanted there to be a sentence I could say that would make him recognize what he was doing.
I left the phone on the dresser.
The church room smelled of lemon cleaner and coffee.
There was a long table, a coat rack, and a box of donated children’s books near the door. I arrived early and chose a chair halfway down one side.
Judith and Henry came in together.
Judith had silver hair and a canvas bag full of papers. Henry carried the coffee they had picked up on the drive. He asked whether I wanted one, then seemed relieved when I said yes.
We shook hands.
“I wish we were meeting differently,” Judith said.
“So do I.”
Caroline arrived a few minutes later.
She stopped when she saw me.
“You’re Jo.”
“Yes.”
She put her hand on the back of a chair.
“I remember you from the party.”
“I remember you, too.”
She looked down at the table.
“I’m sorry I didn’t know.”
“You weren’t the person who was supposed to explain.”
She sat opposite me.
Up close, she looked tired. She kept turning her engagement ring around until she noticed me looking and folded her hands instead.
Bryce arrived with Victor and Whitney.
He chose the seat beside Caroline. She moved her bag off it without looking at him.
Victor began before he had taken his coat off.
“I think we all need to remember that divorce creates different perspectives.”
Caroline looked at him.
“I asked whether Jo was Bryce’s mother. That doesn’t have different perspectives.”
He sat down.
Judith explained that nobody was there to revisit the marriage or decide which household had been better.
“We need to understand what was said and whether it was true.”
Bryce stared at the coffee cup in front of him.
I opened the folder.
“When Bryce was fourteen, he stayed primarily with Victor. He wanted to remain in the house near school. My work schedule was harder to manage, and we agreed on a schedule the court approved.”
Victor nodded as though I had confirmed his whole argument.
I continued.
“I didn’t leave. I had regular parenting time. I paid support until the obligation ended after high school. I went to events, took him on vacations when I could, and helped after he became an adult.”
I slid the payment history across the table.
“I’ve covered the account numbers. You can see the dates.”
Henry leaned forward, but Caroline watched Bryce.
I put the graduation photograph beside the papers.
“This was after the ceremony. Paul took it.”
Caroline picked it up.