“Football,” he finally said.
The neighbor’s sprinkler came on.
Water tapped against the fence while I tried to understand how ordinary the evening sounded.
“You bet our baby’s money?”
“I was ahead at first.”
“All twenty thousand?”
“It wasn’t one bet.”
I gripped the railing.
He started explaining one loss, then another wager meant to recover it, then trips where he thought he could fix everything before I noticed.
Some withdrawals paid gambling losses.
Others covered charges from the trips.
“And the insurance premiums?”
“I needed the cash for a few weeks.”
“You knew the policy would end.”
“I thought I’d get it back in time.”
I looked through the window at Marlene.
“Why did you tell your mother I might not get into the hospital?”
“Because she wouldn’t understand the other part.”
There it was.
He had chosen the explanation most likely to frighten her into paying.
“I want the account records,” I said. “The transfers, the credit statements, and whatever shows where the money went.”
“If I give you that, will you come home?”
“I’m asking because it’s our money.”
He said he needed help.
I agreed.
Then he asked me to convince Marlene to send the $9,600 anyway.
“I could pay back what I owe and start clean,” he said.
I ended the call.
Marlene had heard enough through the window.
I told her the rest, including that final request.
She sat down slowly.
“I’ll answer him myself,” she said.
That weekend, Kelly came with me to the house while Gavin was away for a scheduled work appointment.
I texted him beforehand and collected clothes, medication, my work laptop, and copies of household records.
The yellow sweater was still in the nursery drawer.
I put it in my bag.
