Chapter 6 - MY MOTHER HAD BEEN COLLECTING PHOTOGRAPHS
The deeper we looked, the uglier it became.
Diane had photographs of my house.
Not normal family pictures.
The utility shutoff warning I had left on the counter one afternoon.
My aging car.
A pile of laundry.
An empty refrigerator shelf taken the day before payday.
A crack in the duplex kitchen tile.
Every ordinary sign of a single mother living tightly had been photographed and labeled like evidence.
Then there were messages.
Diane to Denise:
Clara is barely holding things together.
Denise:
That helps.
Diane:
We need proof she gets angry around Eli.
Then another:
Sunday should give us something.
I read it twice.
Sunday.
The barbecue.
Monica looked at me.
“You need to separate two issues.”
I nodded.
“First, the family conflict.”
“Yes.”
“Second, whether anyone made false statements or took steps involving Eli’s legal or financial interests. We document. We don’t retaliate.”
I laughed bitterly.
“What would retaliation even look like?”
“Calling Denise’s employer. Posting the messages online. Emptying family accounts. Threatening them.”
“I don’t want any of that.”
“What do you want?”
I thought about Eli whispering:
Mom, I’m happy with this meat.
“I want my son to stop thinking he has to accept humiliation to stay with me.”
Monica nodded.
May you like
“Then start there.”
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