My son called his dad from our resort and said my vacation was a disaster while I sat three feet away.
Chapter 2
My Ex Finally Said What Our Children Never Knew
I put Mark on speaker with a hand that suddenly felt unsteady.
“Caleb,” he said, “do you know why your mother chose that resort?”
Caleb shrugged. “Because it was cheap?”
Something twisted inside me.
“No,” Mark answered. “Because it was what she could afford after I stopped paying what I was supposed to.”
The café noise seemed to fade. Caleb stared at the phone, while Mia looked from his face to mine.
“What does that mean?” Caleb asked.
“Your mother has been covering more than her share for a long time,” Mark said. “School clothes, activities, groceries, medical bills, things that were supposed to be shared.”
“You pay child support.”
“Not what I’m supposed to.”
Mia quietly asked what child support meant, and I told her it was nothing she needed to worry about. Mark agreed, then turned his attention back to Caleb.
“But the way you spoke to your mother is something you need to worry about.”
Caleb’s defenses rose immediately. “She always complains about money.”
“No. She talks about money because she manages it.”
“You have more money than her.”
“Yeah,” Mark admitted.
“Then why doesn’t she?”
I closed my eyes. I knew exactly what Caleb saw. Mark had the nicer townhouse, the newer car, restaurant dinners during his weekends, and the expensive gaming console he had bought at Christmas. I was the parent checking grocery prices and saying no.
Dad spent.
Mom budgeted.
Without the history, Caleb had created his own explanation.
Then Mark did something I never expected.
“When your mother got promoted years ago, I made her feel guilty for earning more than me. I turned money into a weapon in our marriage.”
“Mark, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do.”
His voice changed.
“Because Caleb just talked to you exactly the way I used to.”
My knees weakened beneath the table.
Caleb stopped looking defensive.
“What do you mean?”
Mark inhaled slowly. “I used to make your mother feel stupid about money. Anything she wanted was too expensive. Anything I wanted was reasonable.”
For the first time that week, Caleb had no sarcastic answer.
