“She told me it was none of my business.”
I laughed.
“That sounds familiar.”
Barbara smiled.
“I offered to pay something when I first moved in.”
“What happened?”
“Jessica said absolutely not.”
I looked toward the kitchen.
That hurt in a new way.
Not because Barbara had done anything wrong.
Because Tyler and Jessica’s choice had been clearer than I realized.
They had not forgotten to treat us equally.
They had consciously decided we were different.
By noon, my room was empty.
The little rectangle where my dresser had stood was lighter than the rest of the carpet.
I stood in the doorway.
For almost two years, that room had held my entire private life.
Now it looked like what it had always been.
A guest room.
Tyler carried the final box downstairs.
“You ready?”
“Yes.”
He followed me outside.
The moving truck was already gone.
Marjorie had driven ahead.
I put my purse into my car.
Tyler stood beside the driver’s door.
“Can I see the place?”
I looked at him.
“Of course.”
He followed me there.
When I opened the front door, the late afternoon sun filled the living room.
My sofa was in place.
The dining table stood beneath a simple pendant light.
Several boxes were stacked along the wall.
Cooper wasn’t there to greet me.
That was the only part that made my throat tighten.
Tyler walked through slowly.
“This is nice.”
“I think so.”
He looked into the kitchen.
“You bought all this furniture?”
“Some new. Some used.”
He opened the back door to the screened patio.
“This is really nice.”
“You already said that.”
“I mean it.”
He stood outside looking toward the maple tree.
Then he turned.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were this unhappy?”
I leaned against the doorframe.
“I did.”
“Not like this.”
“How many different ways was I supposed to say it?”
He looked down.
“I thought you were complaining.”
“I was.”
“I mean, I thought you were just irritated.”
“I was paying rent for a room I wasn’t allowed to fully use while your mother-in-law lived in a suite for free.”
He winced.
“When you say it that way…”
“How else should I say it?”
He had no answer.
We sat on the patio.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then Tyler said, “I owe you money.”
I looked at him.
“The twenty thousand?”
“Yes.”
“I told you I didn’t expect it immediately.”
“I know.”
“You needed help.”
“I still should have paid you back before charging you rent.”
That was the first time he said it.
Not because I forced him.
Not because he wanted me to stay.
Because standing in my new house had apparently made something obvious.
“I agree,” I said.
He nodded.
“I can’t do twenty thousand at once.”
“I know.”
“But I can start paying you monthly.”
“All right.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
He took out his phone.
“What was Diane’s number?”
I laughed.
“What?”
“I want someone to help me set up an automatic transfer.”
“You don’t need Diane for that.”
“I’m trying to prove I’m serious.”
“You can prove it next month.”
He smiled a little.
Then he said, “Jess is mad.”
“I assumed.”
“She thinks you did this to embarrass us.”
“I bought myself a house to embarrass you?”
“I told her that didn’t make sense.”
“Good.”
“She thinks you could have given us more warning.”
“You gave me four days’ warning before raising my rent.”
He rubbed his face.
“I walked into that one.”
“Yes.”
We sat quietly.
Then he asked the question he should have asked sooner.