Chapter 8 - THE DECISION THAT MADE THE CHILDREN ANGRY WITH ME
I stopped providing unscheduled childcare.
That decision hurt more than freezing my credit.
Emma called crying because she could not come over Saturday.
Cole asked whether Grandma was mad at him.
I told both children no.
The adults had a problem to solve.
They had done nothing wrong.
Caroline accused me of using her children as punishment.
I offered a compromise.
I would see Emma and Cole through scheduled visits arranged without Nathan present while the protection order was being considered.
I would not serve as their emergency daycare.
Caroline refused.
“If you can’t help when I need it, what’s the point?”
The sentence came out before she could stop it.
We both heard it.
A week later, she called back.
“Forget I said that.”
“I can’t.”
Their financial situation worsened.
Caroline’s new employer withdrew the offer after receiving information about the prior employment dispute.
Nathan began working evenings to increase commissions.
The expensive preschool switched Cole to a reduced schedule after payments fell behind.
Caroline took a temporary administrative job that paid almost half her former salary.
For the first time in years, their lifestyle had to shrink.
They put Nathan’s leased SUV up for early return.
Canceled a vacation.
Stopped using the cleaning service.
Caroline called those things humiliating.
I called them consequences.
The bank investigator then found something that made the situation more serious.
The $19,400 loan was not the first application made with my information.
There had been an earlier attempt for $35,000.
It was declined because the lender could not verify my income electronically.
The application was submitted three days before Caroline asked to help organize my eye-surgery paperwork.
She had not seen my documents and then become tempted.
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She was looking for better documents because the first attempt failed.
The forgery had been planned longer than either of them admitted.
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