“Yes, he’s safe.”
“Do you have enough money to feed him and get him home?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“Then come home tomorrow.”
Chloe’s voice sharpened.
“Why? So Maya can sit there looking fragile while you accuse us of things?”
“She’s in the hospital.”
Silence.
“What?”
“She has an infection. Her incision reopened.”
“That’s not our fault.”
I closed my eyes.
I had hoped for surprise. Concern. Regret.
Anything.
“What happened to the money I sent?”
“Ask Mom.”
“I’m asking you.”
“We thought the trip would be good for everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“For the family.”
“My wife and son are my family.”
“You know what I mean.”
“No,” I said. “I don’t think I do anymore.”
My mother took the phone back.
“This is exactly what Maya wanted.”
“Maya wanted to be left alone after surgery with no food?”
“She had food.”
“She had two packets of noodles.”
“She is exaggerating.”
“I watched the security footage.”
For the first time, my mother had no answer.
The silence stretched between us.
Then she said, very quietly, “You had no right to record private conversations.”
“It’s my apartment.”
“That camera was supposed to be for burglars.”
“It was.”
Her breath caught.
“David, you are upset. I understand that. We made a mistake leaving earlier than planned.”
“You took the baby’s formula.”
“We replaced it.”
“You turned down the heat.”
“The apartment gets stuffy.”
“You took the food.”
“It would have spoiled.”
“And you spent the fourteen thousand dollars.”
“That money was for family expenses.”
“It was for Maya and Liam.”
