Chapter 5
We told Ava and Eli about the house that evening.
Nia invited me over after dinner. We sat with the children at the kitchen table, where Ava had arranged four mismatched cups of water because she said serious conversations made people thirsty.
Nia began.
“The person who owns this house is selling it. That means we’ll need to move to another house or apartment.”
Ava looked toward the doorway with the height marks.
“Can we take the wall?”
“We can’t take the wall,” Nia said. “But we can copy every mark before we leave.”
Eli looked at me. “Will your apartment move too?”
“No. My apartment stays where it is.”
“Will I still go there?”
“Yes.”
“Even if Mom’s new place is far?”
“Yes. Nia and I will work out how to get you there.”
Nia leaned toward him. “We’re trying to find somewhere close to school. We haven’t decided yet.”
I watched some of the tension leave his shoulders. He still had questions, but he was finally asking them in a room where both of us could answer.
Ava touched Nia’s hand. “Are you sad?”
“Yes,” Nia said. “I’ll miss this house.”
“Me too.”
“I’m also looking for a place where we can make new memories,” Nia told her. “You can help me choose where your drawings go.”
Ava thought about that. “The whale one goes where everyone can see.”
“Agreed.”
Afterward, Eli asked if I could stay for a board game. Nia looked surprised, then took the game down from the shelf.
For one hour, we rolled dice and argued about the rules. Eli won. He celebrated so loudly that Ava accused him of frightening the cat, though Nia didn’t have a cat.
When I left, the children hugged me at the door without asking when I would return. We had already gone over the plan for Saturday.
I wished one good evening could erase what they had heard. I knew it would take more than that.
Over the next week, Nia and I shared calendars. I took Eli to the dentist. She took Ava to dance class while I worked late. I learned the name of the woman in the school office who always found Eli’s lost jacket.
Nia kept looking at apartments.
On Wednesday, she called as I was leaving work.
“I found one,” she said. “Two bedrooms, twelve minutes from school. The owner can show it tonight.”
“Do you want me to take the kids?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I picked them up and brought them to my apartment. Ava made a paper sign that read WELCOME HOME and told me to keep it for when Nia found a new place. Eli helped me cook dinner.
At nine, Nia arrived with a smile I hadn’t seen in weeks.
“It’s small,” she said, “but it’s clean. There’s a park across the street. The owner said I can apply.”
Ava ran to get her sign.
Nia crouched to read it. Then she pulled Ava into a hug.
Two days later, the owner approved her application. The security deposit was the problem.
Nia had enough for most of it, but the early move left a gap. She told me the amount, and we wrote down that I would cover it as a one-time contribution to keep the children in their school. I sent the payment directly to the property owner after Nia signed the lease.
It should have been a simple good thing.
Instead, Denise found out and came to my apartment that night.
She stood in the doorway with her handbag clutched to her chest.
“Nia said you paid for the place.”
“I helped with the deposit.”
“She should have called me.”
“She needed an answer by five.”
“I could have found the money.”
“Denise, she has an apartment. That’s what matters.”
“She thinks she owes you now.”
“She doesn’t.”
Denise’s eyes filled. “You don’t understand what she’s afraid of.”
I let her in. She sat at my kitchen table while I made tea.
“When my husband left,” she said, “Nia was nine. He promised to visit. Every time the doorbell rang, she ran to see if it was him.”
“I know he left.”
“You know the short version. She waited for years. I told her not to, because watching her get hurt was unbearable.”
I thought of Ava at the window. “You told her father wasn’t coming.”
“Yes.” Denise wrapped both hands around her cup. “I was right about him. I forgot you’re a different man.”
I sat across from her. “Eli heard you tell Nia to make sure the kids knew who was there for them.”
“I know. She told me.” Denise looked ashamed. “I was talking about myself and her father, and I didn’t even hear how it sounded.”
“It sounded like I’d leave.”
“I’m sorry.”
I believed her. I also needed her to understand what had happened.
“If you’re scared for Nia, talk to me when the children aren’t around. Ask what I’m doing. I’ll answer.”
Denise nodded.
The next morning, she called Eli and Ava with Nia beside them. She told them she had been worried about the move and had said something confusing. She said their dad loved them and had shown up for them.
Eli listened quietly. Ava asked if Grandma would help pack her drawings.
“Every last one,” Denise promised.
Moving day arrived in a rush of boxes and rain. Mom brought sandwiches. Denise brought a toolbox. Nia’s new landlord handed her the keys at noon.
I carried a box labeled KITCHEN into the new apartment. The living room smelled of fresh paint. Through the window, I could see the park.
Then I heard raised voices in the hallway.
Nia stood near the elevator, holding a thick envelope. A man in a gray coat was speaking to her.
“I thought you understood the offer,” he said.
“I never agreed to leave early without the full payment.”
“You signed.”
“I signed a receipt for the notice.”
The man tapped the envelope. “Read the last page.”
Nia pulled it out. I watched her eyes move down the paper. Her face drained of color.
“What is this?” she whispered.
The man glanced at me, then stepped back.
I went to Nia’s side. Her hand shook as she showed me the page.
The signature at the bottom looked like hers.
May you like
She stared at it.
“I never signed this.”
