Chapter 14 - The Last Time Marlene Asked Ethan to Choose
Marlene called Ethan from a number he did not recognize.
He almost hung up.
“Please.”
Her voice stopped him.
Not because it sounded helpless.
Because it sounded old.
“I want to see Lily.”
“No.”
“One hour.”
“No.”
“I'll have someone there.”
“You've been told what the boundary is.”
“She’s my granddaughter.”
“Yes.”
Marlene seemed startled by the agreement.
Ethan continued.
“And being her grandmother did not give you the right to terrorize her mother or treat Lily like punishment.”
“I never hurt that baby.”
Ethan pictured the trash can.
The soaked blanket.
Lily reaching for her rabbit while Marlene stood above her.
“You made an eight-month-old cry because you were angry at adults.”
Silence.
Then Marlene tried one final argument.
“I sacrificed everything for you after your father left.”
Ethan had heard that sentence since he was twelve.
Marlene had worked two jobs.
She had kept their home.
She had raised Ethan and Callie with little help.
Those things were true.
They also did not purchase permanent obedience.
“I’m grateful for what you did for me,” Ethan said.
Marlene began crying.
“And I’m still saying no.”
She went quiet.
Ethan had never done both at once before.
Love and boundary.
Gratitude and refusal.
He had always believed one canceled the other.
Marlene asked, “Is Nora there?”
“No.”
“Are you two even staying together?”
Ethan looked toward the den.
Nora had moved into the guest room three weeks earlier while they continued counseling.
Their marriage was no longer something he could answer for automatically.
“That isn't your business.”
“It became my business when she paid me.”
“No. That became our problem when you demanded money.”
Marlene’s breathing changed.
For a moment Ethan thought she might finally apologize.
Instead she said:
“You'll come back when she disappoints you again.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
Then he ended the call.
He blocked the number.
Upstairs, Lily woke from her nap.
May you like
Ethan went to get her.
For the first time, his mother's voice did not follow him into the room.
