She pressed her lips together.
“Seth said you’d both planned for it.”
“With what money?”
She remained silent.
I leaned back.
“Six thousand four hundred dollars,” I said.
Heather looked miserable.
“I know how it sounds.”
“Do you?”
Her eyes filled.
“That’s not fair, Natalie. I honestly thought you wanted this.”
I faced her.
“Did you ever ask yourself why someone would give up a full-time job to watch three children for free?”
She started speaking, then stopped.
Her silence told me enough.
Heather desperately needed an affordable childcare solution. Seth had offered one at almost no cost to her, and she’d accepted it.
Eventually, she spoke.
“I should have talked to you myself.”
“Yes. You should have.”
She wiped her cheeks.
“I didn’t think Seth would lie about something like that.”
“Neither did I.”
For the first time, I felt something besides anger toward her.
