“Brandon went without us.”
Theo stared at him. “After you left?”
Simon told me that he and Theo had wanted to leave that afternoon. Brandon convinced them to stay until Sunday, but the mood of the trip had already changed.
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“She’s their mother,”” Brandon had muttered.
Simon had zipped his bag. “And you’re their father.”
“After you left?”
***
On Sunday, I placed his post, the feeding records, and the bank statement on the table. His overnight bag waited near the stairs.
Dawn held Ivy, and Summer sat with Lila.
When the lock turned, Brandon walked in smiling, his fishing bag slung over one shoulder.
Then he froze.
“What is this?”
“Close the door,” I said.
Then he froze.
His eyes landed on the screenshot.
“You humiliated me online.”
“I answered your mother’s question.”
“You made me look like I abandoned you.”
I held his gaze.
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“I didn’t make you look like anything, Brandon. I stopped hiding what you did.”
I held his gaze.
“It was four days.”
“No. It was six months. The trip just made it impossible to ignore.”
I touched the bank statement.
“You also spent money set aside for our family after telling me we couldn’t afford one afternoon of help.”
He glanced at Dawn.
“You’re taking her side?”
She adjusted Ivy’s blanket.
“It was four days.”
“Amy doesn’t need me to speak for her.”
Brandon turned back to me.
“Fine. I’m sorry.”
