What made me stop thinking about that problem, though, was Ava’s continuous uncomfortable behavior. I saw her gush over items that would, according to her, be the perfect gift for someone, but then she just placed them back on the shelves regardless! Even if they should be well within her price range, she just walked away with obvious regret on her face. It gave me an uneasy feeling, so I tried to find out what was going on.
“Ava.” I spoke up, to signal I wanted a private word with her, and whispered to her when she stepped close. “Why didn’t you just buy that bracelet if you thought Maggie would love it?”
“I don’t have enough money.” she replied quietly, looking to the floor.
I JUST gave her a thousand dollars for her birthday! That was a week ago. Where did that money go!?
“That bracelet was forty dollars. Didn’t you find the little metal box in the gift bag I got you for your birthday?” I asked, causing her to act even more uncomfortable.
“I did. But ... Dad took it.” Her voice was so quiet now, I could barely hear her over our busy surroundings.
“He what!?” I failed to control my volume when I asked that.
She didn’t answer, but I didn’t want to press the matter with Nora and Mia around, who had now started watching our exchange with badly hidden side glances.
“Alright. Let’s make a deal. I don’t have the slightest clue what presents to get for any of them. So, how about we join forces? Your insider knowledge and my funds?”
“Really!?”
“Yes, really.” I said, pulling out my wallet and handing her the 500 dollars I had attached to it.
She raised herself onto her toes to give me a kiss on the cheek, took the money with a bright smile and thanked me before starting her own shopping. Nora and Mia regarded me with a strange look, as they saw Ava’s sudden display of affection while my own face showed nothing but indifference towards her.
Ava’s revelation was unnerving. I just couldn’t imagine that Aaron would simply take her money. From me, sure, but not from his Princess! I already knew that Logan had probably drained their liquid funds, but it surely couldn’t be THAT bad. If they really gave Logan so much money they now had to basically steal from both of his siblings, there was no way for our relationship to ever work out again.
As I thought about it, though, I realized a lot more money had vanished over the last three weeks than just the thousand bucks from Ava. I just hadn’t noticed it going missing because of the cash in my bedroom. I would need to ask Aaron about this.
When we dropped Mia and Nora off at their house, it was already Eight PM. By the time we arrived at the parents’ house to drop Ava off, it was another half hour later, and I realized that I would not get much sleep this night, which had my mood somewhat suppressed before the confrontation with Aaron could even take place. To my surprise, when I helped Ava carry her shopping bags into the house, the living room was filled with people.
“Ah! Finally!” I heard Danielle’s version of a greeting.
“Am I somehow late?”
“Yes.” she laughed. “We have a proposition for you and were waiting for you two.”
My eyes scanned the room as I registered a few strained faces, especially from the grandparents, though most of the others were at least trying to seem relaxed. Claire smiled at me, genuinely happy to see me. Instead of saying anything, however, she grabbed two of Ava’s shopping bags, and accompanied her upstairs while starting a whispered conversation between them. At least this didn’t seem like another intervention.
“Okay.” I sighed, expecting the worst. “But it’ll have to wait a few minutes. I need a word with Aaron.” Shifting my attention to him, I added “Outside? Now!”
He hesitantly got up from the armchair he was sitting in, and made his way to the front door. I was already in the car, waiting for him to get in. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew that, whatever it was, could be potentially embarrassing for him. So, I decided to broach the subject while at least trying not to be an asshole about it.
Suddenly, I realized just what exactly I had just decided to do. It was remarkable how a mere two weeks in my very own home, away from them all, had enabled me to be a lot more relaxed around these people! I just knew, if they got on my nerves or tried any bullshit, I could just walk out of that door, drive home into my very own sanctuary, and ... not concern myself with them. Just as I felt a content smile form on my lips, the passenger door opened and Aaron sat down next to me.
“Nice car! Where are we going?” he asked in a light tone, after sitting on the passenger seat.
“Nowhere. I just thought it would be best to do this without the others overhearing us.”
“Oh?” he now sounded concerned.
“I just accompanied Ava and our newest client on their Christmas shopping. I noticed that Ava couldn’t afford anything, even though I just gave her money for her birthday. A lot of money, actually, since it was her eighteenth.”
He didn’t respond, though he did start to look a little tense. I continued.
“When this whole crap with Logan’s Bookie started, your wife took eight-thousand dollars from my bank account. I told you to use that money for hotel rooms and whatever else you needed to make a quick escape, but you hid out at John’s instead and didn’t need it. Regardless, I never got that money back. On Ava’s birthday, I dropped another four-thousand Dollars on the coffee table, and told you to order Pizza. I never got that money back, either. And now, I hear that you took the thousand dollars I gave Ava for her birthday. That makes thirteen-thousand dollars in three weeks. What is going on, Aaron?”
He still didn’t answer. He just stared straight ahead at his living room window, watching the shadows of his family members projected onto the moving curtains.
“Did the Bookie’s crew or their successors demand more money?” I asked.
“Oh, no! God, no. It’s nothing like that, Son. It’s...” he sighed. “We’re just plain broke.”
“How!?”
I was afraid there was some kind of aftermath from my trip to Austin. I had not expected this development at all! I hadn’t heard anything about that. Which wasn’t unusual, when I thought about it, but I also never heard about any changes in their lifestyle I would expect from people that are suddenly broke.
“The usual way. I screwed up.” he shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “Made a bad investment a few months ago. Well, it wasn’t actually bad, it’s just a long-term thing we can’t pull out of without losing more than would make sense. We didn’t expect your mother’s job to be downsized without warning and her income gone.”
Did that man just freely admit to fucking up, and tried to take responsibility for something that was actually out of his control? Was hell freezing over!?
“Claire lost her job? I had no idea.” His expression turned somber with my comment.
“So, we had already pledged a ... sizable part of our savings before the problem with Logan started. Then your hospital bill came through, and...”
“Wait!” I interrupted. “My hospital bill? I have insurance.”
“Yes, you do.” he nodded. “But they said something about you not being injured on the job, so there was a copay. And since you’re still a minor, the hospital sent the bill directly to us. It wasn’t that much, considering you had surgery, roughly twenty-two-hundred dollars. With my copay and deductibles, that’s actually less than what we’d have to pay if you’d have used my insurance. But with the situation we were already in ... And now we need to come up with Logan’s next board and tuition fee for the spring semester.”