Chapter 2

With Sara gone from the house, almost everything ran the way I wanted.

I could set the thermostat below sixty-eight and nobody complained about the cold.

I could crank the TV to full volume and nobody told me I was disturbing her rest.

I could leave my clothes wherever I dropped them, and no one with a swollen belly stood there ordering me to put them in the washer.

Sara always liked being in charge of people.

At the office she ran other people.

At home she ran me.

Big things, small things.

She had to manage all of it.

Even pregnant, she kept up the same management routine.

Someone pounded on the door.

Had Sara actually found a way to get herself back here?

"Roy!"

My parents came in flushed and out of breath.

The moment they saw me, they lost it.

"You dumped Sara on the highway?"

"Mom, keep it down, you'll bother the neighbors."

"I don't care! Go get her back right now!"

"Mom, I just wanted her to learn her lesson."

"Learn her lesson?"

My father's eyes went wide.

"That's your wife! And my grandchild's inside her!

"I don't care what you two are fighting about. At the very least, while she's pregnant, you accommodate her a little!

"Go bring her back now! This instant!"

I clicked my tongue.

Accommodate.

The exact word Sara used.

"Roy, I'm pregnant. Can't you accommodate me a little?"

"Roy, I'm carrying a baby."

"Roy, my stomach really hurts."

I'd accommodated her for seven months.

But since my parents were standing right here.

I couldn't make too big a scene of it.

The car pulled up outside the police station.

Sara was in a new set of clothes.

A female officer draped a coat over her shoulders.

Held her up as she walked out.

Her eyes and nose were both red.

Both hands rested on her belly.

She looked at me.

Tears filled her eyes all at once.

"You finally came."

The officer shot me a look.

"What kind of dispute makes a man dump someone on the highway? A pregnant woman, no less."

I managed a thin smile.

My mother rushed over and steadied her.

"Sweetheart, you've suffered. Get in the car, I already gave this brat a talking-to.

"He swears he won't dare do it again!"

Sara glanced at me.

I couldn't find that hard edge in her eyes anymore.

She seemed to be slowly learning how to be a good wife.

She came up to me and sniffled.

"Roy…"

"I'll take you home. Fine."

I said it plainly.

"But from now on, I manage your paycheck."

She froze.

"Do you agree?"

Her eyes got even redder.

She nodded.

Her voice caught a little.

"I agree…"

I brought her home.

Only after my parents warned me over and over not to pull anything like that again.

Did they finally turn and leave.

Sara handed every last bit of her money over to me.

"A hundred and eight thousand in total.

"A hundred and five of that is the baby's education fund. I haven't touched a cent."

"Good."

I put the money away.

Together with the paycheck I hadn't handed over during her pregnancy.

What I was holding now.

Came to just under two hundred thousand.

So this was what it felt like to have the money in your own hands.

The next day.

I pulled out a booking slip for a private postpartum care center.

Sixty thousand dollars a month.

From delivery and labor support to postpartum care and recovery.

The full package, all in one place.

"I booked it for you."

I watched Sara take the slip, stunned.

My tone didn't rise or fall.

"So you can't say I mistreated you while I held the money."

The slip trembled in her hands.

She pressed her lips together.

Lifted her head, eyes red.

"Thank you…"

That same night.

I moved her in.

She stayed there three days.

The light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

One hand braced on her lower back, she stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, her whole face full of wonder.

"Thank you, Roy. I'd never have brought myself to stay somewhere this expensive."

I stood a little way off, smoking.

"You should be careful while you're pregnant."

"Is there… still enough money to get by? Am I costing too much because of the baby?"

"That's not something you need to worry about."

I stubbed out the cigarette.

"As long as it's good for your health."

She seemed a little embarrassed.

Pressed her lips together.

And, awkwardly, got out a single line.

"Thank you.

"Once I've had the baby, I'll pay this money back."

"No need."