Chapter 3
Uncle Darius arrived wearing sunglasses even though it was cloudy.
He carried a paper coffee cup and smiled at me like he always did.
“Hey, champ. Heard there’s some confusion.”
I stood beside Aunt Renee in the kitchen.
Mom had been waiting near the back door.
“There’s no need to drag Noah into this,” Renee said.
Darius lifted both hands.
“Agreed. Adults make mistakes. We don’t need a kid reporting every conversation.”
My face burned.
Renee moved slightly in front of me.
“Noah answered questions honestly.”
“I didn’t say otherwise.”
“You implied it.”
Mom interrupted.
“Please. Both of you.”
Darius put his coffee on the counter.
He looked at me.
“Those sneakers are pretty expensive, aren’t they?”
I nodded.
“Maybe this is a good lesson about patience.”
“His father approved the purchase,” Renee said.
“That doesn’t mean every promise can happen immediately.”
I looked at the floor.
I hated that he knew about the shoes.
I hated more that he made me feel greedy for wanting them.
Mom asked him to come into the dining room.
Renee stayed with me.
We could hear their voices through the open doorway, though not every word.
Darius said, “You should’ve let me talk to him.”
Mom answered, “He called the bank.”
Then their voices dropped.
I looked at Renee.
She did not pretend she hadn’t heard.
“Your dad will be here soon,” she said.
“Did Uncle Darius get the money?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mom said she bought him another week.”
Renee went still.
“When?”
“Last night. On the phone.”
She asked me exactly what I remembered.
I told her.
She didn’t ask me to repeat it again.
At six-thirty, Dad came home.
I heard his truck door close and ran before anyone told me to.
He caught me in the hallway.
I held him so tightly his glasses tilted.
“I’m here,” he said.
Mom stood behind me.
“We need to talk.”
“We will.”
Dad thanked Renee. Then he looked at Darius.
“What are you doing here?”
“Helping my sister.”
“Where did the money go?”
Darius smiled without showing his teeth.
“Claire made a short-term investment.”
Dad took a folded page from his pocket.
“Did she transfer it to you?”
“We’re building something that benefits the family.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Mom began crying.
“Marcus, I thought I could replace it before anyone needed it.”
“Maya already needed it.”
“She had a few extra days.”
“Her fees were due Monday.”
“I thought—”
“You told both children I hadn’t sent money.”
I watched Mom cover her face.
Part of me wanted Dad to stop.
She was crying, and she was my mother.
Another part wanted him to keep asking until somebody told the truth.
Darius crossed his arms.
“Don’t act like she robbed a bank. She moved money between people who know each other.”
Dad looked at him.
“How much has she sent you?”
Darius glanced at Mom.
That glance scared me.
Dad noticed it too.
“How much, Claire?”
“Can Noah go upstairs?”
Dad turned to Renee.
“Will you take him for a drive?”
I grabbed his sleeve.
“Please don’t go away.”
“I’m staying here.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Renee took me to get dinner.
I didn’t eat much.
She let me sit quietly and didn’t ask me to explain what I was feeling before I knew.
When we returned, Darius’s car was gone.
Dad waited on the porch.
Mom was inside.
“She sent the shoe money and Maya’s payment to Darius,” he told me.
“Can he give it back?”
“He says he can’t today.”
“What did he spend it on?”
“He says business expenses. I’m going to verify that.”
I looked at the window.
“Is Mom in trouble?”
“She has to take responsibility.”
“Does that mean you hate her?”
“No. It means what she did matters.”
Inside, Mom sat at the table.
She looked smaller.
“Noah, I’m sorry about the shoes.”
I stood beside Dad.
“What about Maya?”
Her eyes filled again.
“I’m sorry about that too.”
I waited.
She said nothing more.
Dad asked Renee to stay while he called Maya.
He sent her school money directly to the university that evening. I heard him ask the office for confirmation and write down the receipt number.
Maya called me later.
“My account is clear,” she said.
“Can you stay?”
“Yes.”
For the first time that day, I smiled.
Then she asked whether Dad was with me.
“He’s downstairs.”
“Tell him to check your education account.”
I stopped smiling.
“What account?”
“The one your grandfather started. Dad knows.”
Her voice had changed.
She sounded careful.
“I received a notice last month,” she said. “Mom told me it was routine.”
I carried the phone downstairs.
Dad took it.
As Maya spoke, he sat down slowly.
Mom looked up.
May you like
He looked at her.
“Claire,” he said, “why did someone request a withdrawal from Noah’s college fund?”
