After the third time Shawna Langley sent money to her brother without asking me, I finally gave up on trying. I quit my high-paying job and stayed home all day playing video games, living off what we had. It only took three days for Shawna to start panicking. She pointed a finger at me, demanding to know what I was doing. “What about the mortgage, the car loan, Gracie’s lessons, the household bills? None of that’s free, you know!” Oh, so she actually realized how much our life costs, huh? Then why did she keep giving away our money to her brother? Content During my lunch break, I got a call from my mom. A storm had torn through, collapsing part of the barn back at Elmwood Ranch. She asked if I could send over a couple grand to get it repaired. I said sure and opened my banking app—only to see there was just $500 left in the account. Last I checked, we had at least five grand. Now there’s only $500? I knew right away Shawna must’ve used it; she had the card. What the hell did she spend five thousand bucks on in just a few days? I called her, holding back the fury in my voice. “Shawna, where did all the money in our account go?” She hesitated, fumbling for words. I felt my gut tighten. “Did you send it to your brother again?” “My brother… needed a little extra for his car, and I just…” Her voice trailed off, barely a whisper. I rubbed my forehead, unsure what to say. We’d dated for three years and were now seven years into marriage with a six-year-old daughter, Gracie. We’d married for love, but even then, our families clashed over it. Shawna’s mother demanded a sky-high dowry, way beyond my budget. Her mother scoffed, “My daughter’s been with you for three years. Surely her youth deserves some compensation, don’t you think?” Shawna sat there, head bowed, silently letting her mother run the negotiations. Finally, we both compromised on $28,800, all of which went straight to her parents, who turned around and gave every penny to Shawna’s brother. Back then, I actually felt bad for Shawna, stuck with parents so blatantly favoring her brother. Little did I know she was just as blind to reality as they were. I pulled out another card and transferred three grand to my mom, then went to the office and put in for vacation time. With my years at the company, I’d built up twenty days of paid time off. Normally, I never took my leave—it was all cashed out as overtime pay. This year, I’d be enjoying every single one of those days. When I got home, Shawna was still busy in the kitchen, while Gracie ran over to me, shouting, “Daddy!” I scooped her up and sat with her on the couch, reading her picture books. At dinner, Shawna kept her silence until I finally announced, “I quit my job. I’m going to take it easy and stay home for a while.” Her hand froze mid-bite, and she shot me a look. “You’re kidding, right?” I stared at her calmly. “Do I look like I’m joking?” She kept eating, not saying another word. Maybe she thought I was bluffing—after all, the job paid well, sometimes pulling in ten grand a month. Why would anyone in their right mind walk away from that?
The next morning, for the first time since getting married, I slept in as long as I wanted. Normally, workdays meant early mornings, and weekends were dedicated to taking care of Gracie—no chance to catch up on sleep. Shawna was up bright and early, though. She made Gracie breakfast, dropped her off at preschool, went grocery shopping, and had dinner cooking by the time I finally woke up, hair a mess. Shawna looked startled to see me. “Why… why aren’t you at work?” Yawning, I said, “Didn’t I tell you yesterday? I quit.” Holding a spatula, she looked at me, trying to gauge if I was serious. “You’re joking, right?” she said, before turning back to her cooking. For the next few days, I slept till noon, had lunch, and spent my afternoons gaming until sunset. Once Shawna brought Gracie home from preschool, I’d come out of the study to play with her. After three days of this, as I was heading back to the study after lunch, Shawna slammed down her chopsticks. “Daryl Hayes, what exactly do you think you’re doing?” she said, glaring at me. I stayed calm. “I told you—I quit. I’m just enjoying my time at home.” “Are you even hearing yourself? Do you realize what you’re saying?” “Mortgage alone is five grand a month. Another two for the car, plus Gracie’s preschool tuition, her dance lessons—let alone all the other expenses! You just quit, and now how are we all supposed to live? Air and sunshine?” I raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. “Oh, so you do know how much our life costs, huh?” “Then why do you keep giving our money to your brother?” “How many times now have you snuck money out to help him?” I started counting on my fingers. “I think I’d need both hands to keep track.” Her jaw clenched as she realized I was mocking her. “It was just five grand, Daryl. What’s the big deal?” “It’s my brother too, Daryl! What’s wrong with helping him out?” I laughed, clapping my hands. “You’re the best sister anyone could ever ask for—a real second mom, aren’t you? When I wanted money to start a business with my buddy, you said no. But when your brother wanted a house, you transferred him thirty grand without blinking. When my mom needed surgery, you said we couldn’t afford it, yet when your brother needed wedding money, you wired him another twenty grand. And this time? The storm flattened our barn, and you went and sent him that money too! Tell me, Shawna, has he ever bought Gracie even a single toy?” Shawna said nothing, staring at me with a blank expression that slowly turned tearful. “Daryl Hayes, I can’t believe you’ve kept track of every single thing over our seven years of marriage!” Her voice cracked. “You’re actually keeping tabs, huh?” “Yes, I am. You’ve given so much to your brother; why even bother getting married? You could’ve stayed single and just paid his bills yourself!” She pointed at me, furious, then swept the plates off the table and stormed out. I didn’t chase her. Divorce had crossed my mind more than once, but I’d been holding back for Gracie’s sake. She stormed by me with her suitcase, not even glancing my way. Perfect, now I could finally breathe a little. Once I’d cleaned up the mess, I picked up Gracie from preschool, giving the teacher some excuse about “family matters.” Gracie’s face lit up when she saw me. “Daddy! You’re picking me up? Where’s Mommy?” I kissed her on the cheek. “Mommy went to visit Grandma. How about we hit the amusement park today?” She was stunned for a second, then squealed with joy. “Yay!”
Shawna never had much affection for Gracie. From the moment she knew we were having a girl, she treated her differently. When Gracie was only a couple of months old, Shawna was already pushing for a second child. I was already exhausted from work and taking care of Gracie at night—I wasn’t ready for another. When I refused, Shawna started poking holes in our, uh, “small umbrella.” She would’ve gotten away with it if I hadn’t caught her. To end that debate for good, I went to the doctor and took matters into my own hands. When Gracie was three, Shawna’s brother had a daughter, Star. From then on, it was clear Shawna favored Star over Gracie. Every time we visited, she’d be holding Star, calling her “baby” and “sweetie.” Gracie would sometimes ask me, “Daddy, does Mommy love me?” It hurt to see my little girl learning to read people’s faces at such a young age. I always assured her, “Of course, Mommy loves you most of all.” Then, when Gracie was five, and Star was two, Shawna’s brother brought his family over. Star wanted to go to the amusement park, and of course, Gracie wanted to go too. But instead of taking both girls, Shawna left Gracie home alone and went with her brother’s family. That night, Gracie clung to me, crying for what felt like forever. “Daddy, I know. Mommy doesn’t love me.” That night, I took her to the amusement park myself. We rode the carousel, the little train, the bumper cars, and had some greasy fried chicken and soda. Watching her munch happily, I wondered if my decision to stay married for her sake was a mistake. It was well past dark by the time we got home. Gracie was fast asleep in the backseat, and I carried her up to her bed. Just as I was settling down, the phone rang. Mrs. Langley was on the line. “Daryl, do you have any conscience at all? Shawna’s been crying all afternoon because of you!” “You can’t apologize? She only took five grand—don’t tell me you’re that stingy! As her husband, isn’t it your job to help her family?” The lecture went on before I’d even had a chance to speak. Eventually, she hung up, and I went to bed, only to be woken by someone banging on my door. I staggered up to open it, and before I could react, I took a slap to the face that jolted me wide awake. There she was—Mrs. Langley, eyes blazing. “Look at you, sleeping like a pig while Shawna cried herself to sleep!” she said, barging in and plopping down on the couch. Shawna followed, eyes red, looking like she’d been crying all night. “Now, you apologize to Shawna,” her mom ordered. “Apologize? Me? For what?” I laughed. Mrs. Langley’s face twisted in disbelief. “Oh, so you’re dreaming now, huh?” Before she could start swinging again, her son, Aaron, came in with his wife and little Star in tow. Great. The whole family had shown up for a lecture.
The whole Langley family sat on the couch facing me, like they were holding some kind of trial. “Hey, Big Bro Hayes, don’t you think you’re being a bit tight with the cash? It was just five grand. Call it a loan, alright?” Aaron Langley said, totally unfazed, as he picked at his nails. “Fine,” I replied, “so that’s five grand for the car, twenty grand for the wedding, and another thirty for the house—that’s already fifty-five grand. Then let’s add on the $880 for the computer you wanted. Oh, and the $180 for those shoes—sent the link to your sister for that one, didn’t you? Then there’s Star’s tutoring, the piano lessons—twenty classes at three hundred bucks each. And…” “Enough!” Mrs. Langley interrupted. “Daryl, all these little amounts, and you keep track like it’s your job! If you’re so good with numbers, why aren’t you an accountant?” “Oh, so I married myself a live-in housekeeper, huh?” I laughed. “I’m supposed to pay her a salary now, too?” And wasn’t it Shawna who decided she wanted to be a homemaker? She seemed to have forgotten that part. Our argument must have gotten loud because Gracie rubbed her eyes as she came out of her room, startled by the crowd. “Daddy?” She walked over to me, looking a bit confused. Mrs. Langley rolled her eyes. “No manners, is it? So many people in the room, and all you see is your dad. Did he tell you to ignore us?” Gracie, in her innocence, defended me. “No.” “Oh, so now you’re back-talking? Where’s your respect?” Mrs. Langley snapped. Even Shawna joined in, scolding Gracie. “Gracie, you don’t talk back to your grandmother, you hear me? She’s your elder, show some respect.” Respect? Only if the person deserves it. Gracie had never once been to her grandmother’s house, even though Shawna visited her mom’s place every holiday. She’d claimed bringing Gracie there would ruin Star’s “luck.” I used to argue with her about this ridiculous idea, but over time, I stopped bothering. Every year, Shawna would head to her mother’s, and I’d take Gracie to Elmwood Ranch. “Alright, Daryl, just apologize to my sister, and let’s put this to rest,” Aaron said, only ever calling Shawna “sister” when he wanted something. “We’re family. You don’t need to be so hung up on money. You can always make more, but blood ties? You can’t replace that.” I sighed, letting him know: “I quit my job, Aaron. So whatever money was there is just… gone.” “What? You left your job?” Aaron shot up from the couch. “Sis, why didn’t you tell me this? What about that twenty grand you promised me for the business?” His wife elbowed him hard, and Aaron bit his lip, glancing awkwardly over at Shawna. Oh, so that’s how it was. When I wanted to start a business, she told me it was too risky, that I’d probably lose everything, that I should be sensible and stable. But when it came to Aaron, she snuck behind my back to fund his venture. “Shawna,” I said, barely containing my anger, “I won’t go over this again. Pick a day, and we’ll head to City Hall and get those divorce papers signed. That way, you can do whatever you want for your brother without anyone stopping you.”
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