I watched his hands. He took hers first. He always took hers first. She’d hold something out, he’d take it, and then he’d look at me, hoping I’d take it too.
I didn’t touch the coffee. I walked into the living room, got my checkbook out of my bag, and wrote out a check. Eighty thousand dollars.
Jake followed me in and saw the number. His voice changed completely. “Where’d you get this kind of money?”
“My own savings. From before we got married.”
“You saved that much and never told me?” He stared at the check. “So you were just sitting on it, waiting for the day you could use it against her?”
“I’m not using it against her.” I set the check down flat. “I’m buying this house back. Getting us out of her ledger.”
“Buying it back…” He repeated it with a strange look on his face. “What is my mom to you?”
