Chapter 5
I played Lena’s voicemail three times.
The school secretary had called to ask whether Lena knew about a change to Ava and Eli’s pickup arrangements. Diane had asked to be added as the person who would collect them if their parents were unavailable.
She had said the children might be staying with their father for a while.
Marcus listened beside me, his jaw set.
“She already has permission to pick them up,” he said.
“From when we needed help after June was born.”
“I’ll call the school as soon as it opens.”
I shook my head. “We’ll go there together.”
We slept in pieces that night. June woke twice. Eli came into our room after a bad dream. Ava lay awake until I sat at the edge of her bed and told her again that she was coming home with us after school.
By morning, I felt hollow. I made breakfast anyway. Marcus packed the children’s lunches while I fed June. We kept our voices calm.
At school, the principal invited us into her office. Ms. Harper knew both children and had met Diane at concerts and field trips.
“I’m glad you came,” she said. “No change was made.”
I felt my shoulders loosen a little.
“She called yesterday,” Ms. Harper continued. “She said there were family circumstances and asked how to update the pickup list. We told her a parent would have to do it.”
“Did she ask anything else?” Marcus said.
“She asked whether Ava and Eli had been absent this week.”
“They were with me at my sister’s,” I said. “The office knew.”
Ms. Harper nodded. “I didn’t discuss their attendance with her. I wanted to check with you because the call was unusual.”
We removed Diane from the pickup list. Ms. Harper made a note that only Marcus, Lena, and I could collect the children until we told her otherwise.
Before we left, she asked if Ava and Eli needed support after last night. I told her the truth without making the children’s private fear into a story for the whole school.
“Their grandmother told them their parents might live apart. We’ve reassured them, but Ava is worried.”
“I’ll ask the counselor to check in gently,” she said.
Outside, Marcus stopped beside the car. “Mom called their school.”
“She did.”
He looked sick. “I thought she was making comments because she didn’t like our choices. I didn’t see how far she was going.”
“I didn’t either,” I said. “Now we do.”
We dropped Eli and Ava at their classrooms. Ava hugged me longer than usual. Eli asked if I would be there when school ended.
“I will,” I promised.
I spent the next hour with June asleep in the stroller while Marcus called a locksmith. He also called the bank and our mortgage company. Nothing had been changed there. The notes in Diane’s envelope seemed to be information she had gathered for herself.
At noon, Simone called.
“I spoke to my supervisor,” she said. “I told her what Diane asked me to print and why I believed it was genuine. She wants to keep a record in case anyone claims the document came from our office.”
“Thank you.”
“I looked through the pages Diane gave me. One was different from what you saw last night.”
My grip tightened around the phone. “Different how?”
“It said you agreed that Marcus could make school and medical decisions for the children while you were away.”
I stopped walking.
“Was there a signature?”
“No. There was a space for it. I thought Diane was bringing you to the table to discuss it. I was wrong.”
“Do you have a copy?”
“Yes. I can bring it to you.”
“Please do.”
When I told Marcus, he sat down on the porch step while the locksmith worked at the front door.
“She was trying to make a separation real by getting us to sign it,” he said.
“I think she believed she could talk you into it after I left.”
He looked at me. “I would have called you.”
“She was telling both of us different things. She only needed us to doubt each other for one night.”
The locksmith finished and handed us the new keys. I locked and unlocked the front door myself. It was a small action, but my hands finally felt steady.
That afternoon, Pearl arrived with a covered dish and a tired face. She had spent the night listening to Diane insist that Marcus would thank her someday.
“I told her she should speak to both of you and own what she did,” Pearl said. “She told me you wouldn’t understand.”
“Did she mention calling the school?” I asked.
Pearl’s expression changed. “No.”
I showed her the voicemail. She sat down without touching the food she had brought.
“I knew about that paper,” she said. “I should have warned you sooner.”
“You didn’t know all of it.”
“I knew enough to be uneasy.”
Marcus reached across the table and took her hand. “Tell us if she says she’s coming here.”
“I will.”
When the children came home, Pearl left so they would not feel surrounded by adults discussing Diane. We ate dinner together. Ava told us the counselor had asked about her drawing of our family, and Eli showed us a sticker he had earned.
For a little while, the day felt ordinary.
Then I found a plain envelope tucked into the mailbox. There was no stamp. Diane had put it there herself.
Inside was a short letter in her handwriting.
“I made mistakes,” it began.
May you like
I wanted to believe she meant it. Then I read the last line.
“If Nia keeps the children away from me, Marcus will have to decide which family he wants.”
