My 12 Year Old’s Birthday Gift For His Dad Was Returned By His Stepmom — Who Kept The Money
Chapter 3
We sat together on the porch steps.
“How did you find out?” I asked.
Tommy picked at the tab on his soda.
“I heard Victoria talking to Dad. She said the watch made him look cheap.”
My chest tightened.
“She didn’t know I was in the hallway.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged, but his eyes were wet.
“It’s not really about her.”
“What do you mean?”
“I knew she wouldn’t like it.”
He stared at the basketball resting near his sneakers.
“What hurts is Dad let her do it.”
I put my arm around him.
For several seconds, he leaned into me the way he had when he was six.
“I thought he’d understand,” he whispered. “He always says old watches are cool because somebody wore them before you. He says new things cost money, but old things have stories.”
“You remembered.”
“Yeah.”
“And you picked something based on what he taught you.”
“Yeah.”
“That means your gift was thoughtful whether he kept it or not.”
Tommy wiped his cheek.
“Maybe I should’ve bought something better.”
“No.”
“But Victoria—”
“This is important, Tommy. Price and value are not the same thing. You gave your dad your effort, your attention, and almost a year of work. Nobody gets to tell you that meant nothing.”
A car turned onto our street.
Tommy looked up.
Mark’s dark Tesla pulled into the driveway.
Victoria sat beside him.
“I don’t want you to feel like you have to talk to them,” I said.
Tommy stood.
“I want to.”
Mark climbed out first. He looked tired.
Victoria followed carrying the same designer bag.
“Tommy,” Mark began, “we need to explain.”
“Did you return my watch?”
Mark stopped.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Tommy’s face twisted.
“So you thought lying would hurt less?”
Victoria stepped forward.
“Nobody lied to you, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me sweetheart.”
Even I was surprised.
Victoria’s mouth tightened.
“We were going to take you shopping and let you choose something nicer.”
“I don’t want something nicer.”
“You’re twelve. You don’t understand—”
“I understand I worked for it.”
His voice cracked, but he kept going.
“I got up every morning when I wanted to sleep. I did my route when it was raining. I did it when school was hard and when my friends were playing video games. I saved because Dad likes watches.”
Mark stared at him.
Tommy looked directly at his father.
“I wanted you to know I listen to you.”
Mark’s eyes dropped.
“I know that now.”
“You should’ve known before.”
There was no anger in Tommy’s voice anymore.
That made it worse.
Victoria crossed her arms.
“We were only trying to do what was best.”
Tommy looked at her.
“Best for who?”
I said nothing.
He no longer needed me to speak for him.
“Because it wasn’t best for me,” he continued. “And if Dad liked it, then it should’ve been his choice whether to wear it.”
Victoria turned toward Mark.
“Are you really going to stand here and let him speak to me this way?”
Mark looked at her, then at Tommy.
For once, he did not answer her first.
“Son, I’m sorry.”
Tommy’s chin trembled.
“I don’t want another present.”
“I know.”
“And I don’t want to go shopping Saturday.”
“All right.”
Tommy swallowed hard.
“I just want my dad back.”
Mark looked as if the words had hit him in the chest.
“The dad who used to take me fishing. The dad who called me just to talk. The dad who didn’t ask Victoria what he was allowed to like.”
“Tommy,” Victoria snapped.
Mark raised a hand.
“Stop.”
She stared at him.
It may have been the first time I had ever seen him tell her no.
Tommy wiped his face with his sleeve.
“I’m going inside.”
Mark stepped forward. “Can I hug you?”
Tommy hesitated.
“Not right now.”
That was harder for Mark to hear than any accusation.
My son went inside and closed the door.
I faced the two adults left in my driveway.
“The three hundred dollars you transferred is untouched,” I said. “It belongs to Tommy.”
Victoria gave a dismissive sigh. “Then give it back to him.”
“I will. But that won’t erase what happened.”
Mark rubbed both hands over his face.
“I really didn’t know he worked for it.”
“You didn’t know because you stopped asking enough questions.”
He did not argue.
For once, neither did Victoria.
