Chapter 9 - Denial and Delusion
|
“This is a joke,” my mother declared, throwing the eviction notice onto the coffee table. “It’s a pathetic, manipulative joke. She printed this off the internet to scare us.”
“Helen, it has a watermark from the county clerk’s office,” Arthur pointed out weakly, staring at the paper as if it were a live grenade.
“I don't care what it has!” she yelled, her face flushing a deep, angry red. “This is my house! I picked out those curtains. I bought that dining table. She can't kick us out of a home we’ve lived in for twenty years just because her name is on some piece of paper!”
“That piece of paper is a legal deed, Helen,” Arthur reminded her, the terrifying reality of their five-year-old financial scheme finally crashing down on him. “We signed it over to her to avoid the IRS. Legally, she owns every single square inch of this place.”
My mother snatched her cell phone from the counter and dialed my number.
I was at the boarding house, packing Sophia’s lunch for daycare, when my phone rang. I saw the caller ID, smiled grimly, and pressed ignore.
“She’s sending me to voicemail!” my mother screamed, throwing her phone onto the sofa.
Just then, the front door unlocked, and Karla stormed into the apartment. Her mascara was slightly smudged, and she looked completely unhinged.
“Where is she?” Karla demanded, dropping her designer purse on the floor.
“Who?” Arthur asked.
“Laura!” Karla shrieked. “She canceled my mortgage payment! She’s trying to ruin my life because Mom yelled at her about some stupid soup!”
May you like
My mother and father stared at Karla, then looked down at the eviction notice sitting on the coffee table. The brutal, terrifying truth finally settled over the room.
I wasn't just throwing a tantrum. I was dismantling their entire lives, brick by brick.
