The words brought me abruptly back to my own life.
There were enormous investments, suspicious transfers, and corporate investigations surrounding us.
But I still had two daughters wondering whether their father could pay the bills.
I stepped into the hallway and called Sophie.
She answered immediately.
“Dad?”
“Hey, kiddo.”
“You’re fired?”
“Temporarily unemployed.”
“That sounds like fired.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
“Your mother has always said you inherited my talent for inappropriate honesty.”
“Are you okay?”
Her question nearly broke my composure.
Children shouldn’t have to worry that their parents’ lives are falling apart.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you lying?”
“Only a little.”
Sophie hesitated.
Then she mentioned something else.
“Mom said maybe we shouldn’t do the Washington trip next month.”
My throat tightened.
I’d saved for that trip for an entire year.
Sophie wanted to visit the Smithsonian museums.
Lucy wanted to see “the big statue guy,” which I assumed meant Abraham Lincoln.
