PART 8 – The Secret My Ex-Husband Had Kept

A week after the incident, my ex-husband called.

Daniel Carter had left our marriage three years earlier. Since then, he had made promises to visit the boys that were frequently interrupted by work, travel, or some other convenient excuse.

Logan had stopped asking about him.

Andrew was too young to understand why his father appeared only occasionally.

When Daniel called, I nearly let it go to voicemail.

Then I answered.

"Melissa, I need to talk to you about Logan."

My heart sank.

"What about him?"

"Has he been acting strangely?"

I stared at the wall.

"That's an interesting question coming from you."

He sighed.

"Please. I'm serious."

I told him about the school absences, the hospital visit, and Logan's secret attempts to help with household expenses.

Daniel went quiet.

Then he admitted that Logan had contacted him several months earlier.

My hands began to shake.

"What do you mean, contacted you?"

"He asked if I could help him pay for college applications."

"And what did you say?"

Daniel didn't answer immediately.

That silence told me more than I wanted to know.

Finally, he said, "I told him I couldn't help right now."

"Why?"

"I have expenses."

I laughed once, without humor.

"You have expenses? Daniel, our son is seventeen. He was asking his father for help planning his future."

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do."

He explained that his business had been struggling. He had taken on debts and was behind on several payments.

He said he had intended to tell the boys about his financial problems eventually.

Instead, Logan had apparently found out through an email Daniel accidentally sent to the wrong address.

My son had seen the financial statements and realized his father was in trouble.

Then he had tried to help him.

I sat down.

"Tell me exactly what Logan did."

Daniel hesitated.

"He offered to get a job and send me some money."

I closed my eyes.

My son had been trying to support a mother who worked double shifts and a father who had abandoned the daily responsibilities of parenting.

He was still a child.

Yet both of us had allowed him to feel responsible for our problems.

I told Daniel that we needed to speak face-to-face.

For once, he didn't argue.

Click here to continue reading: PART 9: The Money My Son Had Sent Away