Chapter 9: The Conversation He Thought Would Save Him
Richard called Patricia's office the next morning and asked for a meeting.
Patricia told me afterward that he had come in alone — no lawyer yet, which she said told her everything she needed to know about how he was thinking.
She described it to me over the phone, her voice as measured as always.
"He opened by saying the hidden account was for a family vacation.
That he'd been saving it as a surprise."
"Sixty thousand dollars," I said.
"I pointed that out.
He said it had grown more than he expected." A pause.
"Then I showed him the transfer records.
The pattern.
He went quiet for about thirty seconds."
"What did he say?"
"He said he'd made mistakes but that he loved his family and wanted to keep the marriage together.
That you were both under enormous stress with the triplets and that he'd been struggling."
I looked out the kitchen window.
The garden was overgrown — we'd never gotten around to it after the babies came.
"Then I showed him Vanessa's documentation," Patricia said.
"The messages, the dates, the hotel receipt.
He said she had misrepresented the nature of their relationship."
"Of course he did."
"I told him that the financial misconduct alone, independent of the affair, represented a serious legal problem for him.
That the asset division would reflect it.
That a judge would see the pattern clearly." Another pause.
"That's when he asked what you wanted."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him what you told me to tell him."
Full custody as primary parent.
Child support calculated on his full income, including bonuses.
The house.
Her share of all marital assets, including the hidden account.
"How did he react?" I asked.
"He said you were being vindictive."
"And?"
"I said you were being precise." Patricia's voice didn't change.
"He asked if there was room to negotiate.
I said there was always room to negotiate, and that his lawyer should call my office.
Then I thanked him for coming in and showed him to the door."
I almost smiled.
"Thank you, Patricia."
"He'll push back," she said.
"He'll get a lawyer and they'll make a counter-offer.
But the financial misconduct is documented and the affair evidence is solid.
He doesn't have a strong position."
"I know."
"How are you holding up?"
I thought about it honestly.
"Better than I expected."
"Good," she said.
"That matters."
After I hung up, I went to the nursery.
All three of them were awake — a rare synchronized moment.
I lifted the smallest one, my daughter, and she grabbed my finger immediately, the way she always did.
I stood at the window with her and looked out at the overgrown garden.
I thought about Richard sitting across from Patricia, trying to explain sixty thousand dollars and fourteen months as a series of misunderstandings.
Trying to find the version of events that still left him looking reasonable.
He had always been good at that.
Finding the version.
But Patricia was better at this than he was at that.
My daughter made a small sound and tightened her grip on my finger.
May you like
"I know," I said quietly.
"I've got you."
