Chapter 3 - The Morning Bill
By seven-thirty, I was fully dressed, my suitcase zipped, and the kitchen smelled like coffee, toast, and the blueberry pancakes Maya had asked for.
I made them anyway.
Not for Chloe. Not for Julian. For the children.
Maya sat at the table swinging her legs and telling me about a class rabbit named Poppy. Lucas smashed his banana with one fist and smiled each time I wiped his fingers. Looking at them, it was almost possible to pretend I had misunderstood everything.
Then Chloe came downstairs.
She was already dressed, hair curled, lipstick fresh, and her expression told me she had slept very well.
“Good,” she said when she saw my suitcase. “I’m glad you’re ready.”
I poured coffee into my mug.
“So am I.”
She sat across from me and folded her arms. “Julian’s plane landed early. He’s on his way.”
“That’s convenient.”
“It is. We can settle everything before you go.”
Maya looked up. “Settle what?”
“Adult things,” Chloe said sharply.
Maya went quiet.
That did it for me.
I reached into my purse, removed Chloe’s invoice, and placed it neatly on the table between us.
Then I set a second envelope beside it.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“My response.”
She frowned, opened the envelope, and pulled out the pages inside.
Her eyes moved.
And changed.
Housekeeping services, 43 hours.
Childcare, 39 hours.
Meal preparation and grocery procurement.
Laundry, closet organization, bathroom sanitation, school lunches, transportation assistance.
Out-of-pocket grocery purchases attached.
Total due: $4,860
At the bottom, in my own neat handwriting, I had added:
Less your guest invoice of $2,000.
Balance owed to Eleanor Foster: $2,860.
Chloe stared at me.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am completely serious.”
“You volunteered.”
“And you invited.”
“That’s not the same.”
“No,” I said. “It isn’t.”
She slapped the papers onto the table.
“This is absurd.”
“So is charging your children’s grandmother two thousand dollars for being manipulated into free labor.”
Color rose in her face.
Before she could answer, the front door opened.
Julian stepped in dragging his carry-on.
He smiled automatically when he saw me.
“Mom. You’re leaving already?”
“Yes.”
Then he saw Chloe’s face and the papers on the table.
“What’s going on?”
Chloe stood quickly.
“Your mother is trying to extort us.”
I actually laughed.
Julian looked from her to me. “Mom?”
I took a sip of coffee before I answered.
“Your wife invited me for a week, used me as a maid and nanny, handed me a $2,000 invoice, and appears to have been gathering documentation suggesting I’m too confused and dependent to live independently.”
Julian blinked.
Then frowned at Chloe.
“Chloe?”
“She’s twisting everything.”
I opened my purse again and laid the printed draft from his office on the table.
Care Summary – Eleanor Foster.
Julian’s face went white.
Chloe’s did not.
She lifted her chin.
“We were concerned about you.”
“No,” I said. “You were preparing a file.”
The doorbell rang.
Julian looked startled.
I smiled without warmth.
“That will be Daniel.”
Daniel Price stepped inside carrying a briefcase, with Ruth Bell just behind him holding a folder so thick it barely fit under her arm.
Chloe’s confident expression vanished so fast it was almost beautiful.
Julian set down his suitcase.
“Why are they here?”
Daniel removed his coat calmly.
“Because, Julian, before anyone speaks another careless word, there are several legal and financial matters that need to be clarified.”
Ruth laid the folder on the kitchen table.
May you like
I watched Chloe’s gaze drop to it.
Then Ruth said, “Including why there are two unauthorized withdrawals from Maya and Lucas’s education trust.”
