Chapter 4 - The First Boundary That Cost Them Something
Ryan wanted to confront Marlene with the ticket date.
His attorney told him not to.
So Ryan did something far more difficult.
Nothing.
He returned to work on Monday.
He attended counseling Tuesday evening.
On Wednesday, he sat in a coffee shop with Maya while Claire watched Lily.
It was the first time they had been alone since the hospital.
Maya looked older than she had a week earlier.
Ryan suspected he did too.
“We need rules,” she said.
He nodded.
“For your mother.”
“And for me.”
Maya looked surprised.
“I’m serious.”
Ryan pushed his coffee aside.
“No shouting around Lily. No punching cabinets. No throwing things. If I’m getting angry, I leave the room.”
“You shouldn’t need rules not to scare your family.”
“I know.”
There was no defense in his voice.
That seemed to make it harder for Maya to stay angry.
“I should’ve told you,” she said.
“You should have.”
“I was afraid you’d hear ‘I’m scared’ as ‘you’re abusive.’”
“I probably would’ve.”
Maya gave a tired, almost humorless laugh.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
They agreed Ryan would continue staying with Erin temporarily.
He would see Lily every day, but they would not pretend the marriage was normal.
It cost him more than Ryan expected to walk into his own house that evening, help Lily with a first-grade reading worksheet, kiss her goodnight, and then leave.
But he did.
The next morning, Maya discovered something in the back of the bedroom closet.
A second bag.
Empty.
The shelf where she had stored Lily’s emergency bag had been reorganized.
Marlene had been helping with laundry during the weeks Ryan worked late.
Maya called Ryan.
“She knew exactly where the bag was.”
“How?”
“I told her.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
Of course she had.
During one of Maya’s worst days, she had shown Marlene the bag and said, “If I ever need to get out for a night, at least I won’t have to pack while upset.”
Marlene had hugged her.
Told her she was doing the right thing.
Ryan felt anger rise.
Then he caught it.
“What else did you tell her?”
Maya was quiet too long.
“About your temper.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
That evening Erin called Ryan unexpectedly.
Their mother had contacted her.
“She says you’ve turned everybody against her.”
“I haven’t spoken to anybody.”
“She wants me to testify that Dad scared us when we were kids.”
Ryan went still.
Their father, Thomas, had died seven years earlier.
He had been loud, controlling, and sometimes cruel when he drank.
Ryan had spent most of adulthood terrified of becoming him.
“Why would that matter?”
“Mom says you’re just like him.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
Erin continued.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Mom told me this wasn’t the first time she tried to get Lily away from you.”
Ryan sat up.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“She said that?”
“No.”
May you like
Erin’s voice lowered.
“I found messages from last spring.”
