Chapter 4 - The Cost of Finally Listening
Celeste followed David into the living room.
Jordan took Lily upstairs.
For once, neither child asked Nia to come with them.
David had quietly told them to finish getting ready for bed.
Nia remained on the couch, holding the papers.
Celeste stopped near the doorway.
“You're making me the villain without understanding what I deal with.”
David looked up.
“Then help me understand.”
She seemed surprised by the invitation.
He didn't raise his voice.
He wanted the truth without giving her another opportunity to turn the conversation into a shouting match.
Celeste gestured toward the kitchen.
“Do you know how many appointments I manage? How much laundry? How many bills I stretch? You're away fourteen hours some days.”
“I know you've carried responsibilities.”
“No. You know the house looks clean when you walk through the door.”
David said nothing.
Some of what she was saying was true.
He had relied on Celeste to keep the family functioning.
He had also been proud of her catering business and encouraged her to grow it.
But the business had started taking over weekends.
Nia became the default babysitter.
Then the default cleaner.
Then the person who had to rearrange her own future whenever Celeste needed help.
“I should have been paying attention,” David admitted.
Celeste leaned forward.
“Exactly.”
He continued.
“But my failure doesn't give you permission to lie to my daughter.”
Celeste's face tightened.
“I didn't lie about everything. She has been difficult.”
David held up the statement.
“You wrote that she was aggressive toward Lily.”
“She gets frustrated.”
“You wrote that she should live somewhere else.”
“She needs space.”
“You signed my name to a form withdrawing her from a program.”
Celeste looked away.
David waited.
Finally, she said, “We needed her here this summer.”
There it was.
Not concern about Nia's behavior.
Not a genuine fear for the younger children.
A scheduling problem.
Celeste had booked several large catering events.
She needed help with the children while she worked.
The free summer fellowship meant Nia would be unavailable.
“You could've asked me to find childcare,” David said.
“With what money?”
“We could've figured it out.”
“You always say that. And then you go to work and leave me to figure everything out.”
David studied her.
“Did you ever once ask Nia what that program meant to her?”
Celeste gave a frustrated sigh.
“It's a summer activity.”
“It's an opportunity she earned.”
“She's sixteen. There will be other opportunities.”
“And when does she get to decide which ones matter?”
Celeste didn't answer.
Nia watched the exchange from the couch.
She had never heard her father challenge Celeste's version of family responsibility so directly.
But she still felt afraid.
If Celeste left, would Jordan and Lily leave too?
Would David resent her for breaking up the family?
She stood.
“Dad, I can stay home this summer.”
David turned.
“No.”
“I don't want everyone fighting.”
“Nia, listen to me.”
She looked up.
“You didn't create this problem by wanting something good for yourself.”
Celeste shook her head.
“Wonderful. So now you get to be the perfect father and I get blamed for everything.”
David took a slow breath.
“I helped create a situation where my daughter didn't feel safe telling me what was happening. That's on me.”
His eyes remained on Celeste.
“But the threats, the false statement, and the forged signature are your choices.”
Celeste folded her arms again.
“So what happens now?”
David thought about the children upstairs.
He thought about the bedroom Nia had slept in since she was little.
Then he thought about the way she'd asked permission to sit at her own dining table.
“Tonight, Nia and I are going to Denise's.”
Nia's face changed.
“We're leaving?”
“Just for tonight. I need you somewhere you can rest. Tomorrow we'll speak to the school, and then we'll make a plan.”
Celeste laughed bitterly.
“Of course. Run to her aunt and tell everyone how terrible I am.”
David didn't respond.
He helped Nia pack.
She took her sketchbook, a few clothes, her mother's photograph, and the damaged blouse.
David insisted she bring the blouse even though she wanted to leave it behind.
“We'll see whether it can be cleaned,” he said.
Nia nodded.
Before they left, Jordan appeared on the stairs.
“Are you coming back?”
David looked at the boy he'd helped raise.
“I care about you, Jordan. That hasn't changed.”
Jordan glanced toward his mother.
Then he disappeared upstairs.
Celeste stood beside the front door.
“If you walk out with her,” she said, “don't expect me to let you come back and pretend everything's normal.”
David picked up Nia's overnight bag.
“Nothing about this is normal anymore.”
Celeste's eyes filled with anger.
“And what about my children? You think you can choose Nia and still have them in your life?”
David stopped.
The threat was unmistakable.
He might lose daily contact with two children he loved.
Nia reached for his sleeve.
“Dad...”
David covered her hand with his.
May you like
Then he opened the door.
He was no longer willing to make his daughter pay for everyone else's peace.
