“After the separation, she needed a security deposit. Then her car broke down.”
“And you paid?”
“I helped.”
“With our money.”
“Helena had a rough year.”
“We’ve never asked permission for every dollar.”
That was true. I’d grown up hearing my parents fight over every dollar, so I’d promised myself my marriage would be built on trust.
Apparently, Mark had learned how useful that could be.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was Helena?”
“She was embarrassed.”
I’d grown up hearing my parents fight.
“That explains her silence. Not yours.”
His jaw tightened. “I was protecting her dignity.”
“I’m your wife, Mark. And now Emma’s the only kid missing from Sophie’s birthday, so this wasn’t just a private favor.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“Helena decided I was suddenly some kind of problem.”
“That explains her silence.”
“Why?”
“She stopped wanting my advice. About money, Sophie, school, college.”
“And when she stopped wanting it?”
His mouth tightened.
“Go talk to her then, Nina.”
“I will.”
“Good.”
“Go talk to her.”
He started toward the stairs, then stopped.
“And before you decide I’m some monster, remember something. Helena asked me for help more than once.”
I turned.
“She kept coming back to you?”
“Yes.”
“For money?”
“She kept coming back to you?”
“Yes.”
That changed the shape of the story.
It wasn’t enough to clear him.
But it was enough to make me stop pretending Helena had no part in it.
***
The next morning, I drove to her house.
Helena opened the door before I knocked twice.
It wasn’t enough to clear him.
“How many times did you ask Mark for money?”
Her face changed.
“Four.”
Inside, she admitted it covered her deposit, her car, one utility bill, and Sophie’s summer program.
