Chapter 5 - Karen Had Opened My Mail
The answer came from my bank.
A letter had been mailed to the house five days earlier.
It concerned an investment account Dad had left for Ella.
The account had recently reached a value just over $190,000.
I never saw the letter.
Karen had.
She admitted it when I asked.
“It was sitting on the counter.”
“It was addressed to me.”
“We’re married.”
“That doesn’t make my mail yours.”
She rolled her eyes.
Then I asked the real question.
“Did you read the balance?”
Her expression changed.
“Yes.”
“And that’s why you were angry when Ella came home with medals.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
Karen folded her arms.
“You treat her like she’s special.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“And Tyler?”
“My stepson. I care about him.”
“That’s not the same.”
She was right.
It wasn’t.
And pretending otherwise would have been dishonest.
I loved Tyler.
But the relationship was different.
His father was involved.
He had two homes.
Two extended families.
Ella had me.
Her mother, my first wife, died when she was two.
Karen knew all of that.
Yet somehow fairness in her mind had become equality of outcome.
If Ella had an investment account, Tyler needed one.
If Ella won medals, Tyler needed praise.
If Ella inherited from my father, Tyler should receive something equivalent.
I had contributed to Tyler’s college savings.
Paid for camps.
Covered sports.
Bought clothes.
But Karen kept a private ledger in her head.
Then she said something revealing.
“Your father made sure Ella would always have more.”
I stared.
There it was.
Not Tyler’s sadness.
Her resentment.
“This isn’t about medals.”
Karen looked away.
“No.”
“What is it about?”
She finally answered.
“Security.”
“For who?”
“My son.”
Then I asked:
“What were you planning to do with the house?”
Karen’s eyes lifted.
May you like
That question frightened her.
And I realized there was already a plan.
