The following morning, I received a telephone call from Kevin.
I nearly let it go to voicemail.
But I answered.
"Hello."
"Mom, it's me."
"I know."
He sounded tired.
Perhaps he hadn't slept well.
Perhaps he and Tara had argued.
I couldn't know.
He asked whether I had calmed down.
I looked at the kitchen table.
The blue notebook was open beside my coffee.
"I wasn't out of control yesterday, Kevin."
"I didn't say you were."
"You asked whether I had calmed down."
He sighed.
"Mom, I don't want us fighting."
"Neither do I."
"Then maybe we should talk without all this bank stuff."
I closed the notebook.
"Kevin, the bank stuff is why we're talking."
There was a pause.
Then he asked whether Tara could come over later.
I agreed.
I wanted answers.
And if she had something to explain, I was willing to listen.
They arrived that afternoon.
Tara entered first.
She didn't bring a pie.
She carried only her handbag.
Kevin followed.
We sat in the living room instead of the kitchen.
I thought it might be easier.
Nobody would have to sit in the same chairs where we had argued the day before.
Kevin began.
"Mom, we talked about everything."
I looked at him.
"All right."
He glanced at Tara.
She took a breath.
"We want you to understand that nobody intended for you to lose anything."
I waited.
Tara continued.
"There were some financial arrangements that got misunderstood."
"What arrangements?"
She looked uncomfortable.
"The account."
I nodded.
"The account opened in my name and Kevin's."
"Yes."
"Without my permission."
She looked at Kevin.
He remained silent.
I turned back toward her.
"Did you open it?"
Tara pressed her lips together.
"I went to the bank."
I felt my hands become cold.
"Why?"
She shifted in her seat.
"Kevin and I thought it would be easier to manage some things."
"Which things?"
"Your finances."
I stared at her.
"My finances?"
She nodded.
"We were worried about you."
I almost asked her what exactly she was worried about.
Instead, I waited.
She explained that she believed I might eventually need assistance.
She said Kevin had been concerned about my ability to manage everything alone.
I listened.
Then I asked the question that had been bothering me since the first day.
"Why didn't you ask me?"
She looked down.
"We didn't think you would agree."
The room became quiet.
I looked at Kevin.
He was staring at the carpet.
I turned back toward Tara.
"So you decided to do it without asking."
She didn't answer.
I continued.
"You knew I had refused to add Kevin to my checking account."
She nodded slightly.
"And you opened another account using my name."
She shook her head.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
I leaned back.
"How was it supposed to happen?"
Tara rubbed her hands together.
"We thought we could keep everything organized."
I looked at her.
"Who is we?"
She didn't answer.
Kevin finally spoke.
"Mom, I thought it was just an emergency account."
I turned toward him.
"Did you know your name was on it?"
He hesitated.
"Yes."
"Did you know my name was on it?"
"Yes."
"Did you know I hadn't signed anything?"
He looked at Tara.
Then he looked back at me.
"I didn't know the paperwork wasn't right."
I felt a heavy sadness settle over me.
He knew about the account.
That much was now clear.
He had allowed it to exist.
And he had apparently accepted the arrangement without making sure I had agreed.
I asked another question.
"Did you know about the forty thousand dollars?"
Kevin's face tightened.
He didn't answer immediately.
Tara interrupted.
"We were going to explain everything."
I looked at her.
"When?"
She looked away.
"When we had the chance."
I nodded slowly.
I had heard enough to know that the explanation was not going to be simple.
But I still wanted to know who had authorized the transfers.
I wanted to know why the money had been moved in four separate amounts.
And I wanted to know what Kevin had believed when he received it.
I looked at him.
"Did you think I had given you that money?"
He swallowed.
"That's what Tara told me."
I turned toward her.
She looked uncomfortable.
I asked her what she had told him.
She said she had explained that I wanted to help them.
I stared at her.
"I never told you that."
She looked down.
Kevin spoke again.
"Mom, I thought you had changed your mind."
I shook my head.
"I never changed my mind."
He looked at me.
For the first time, I thought he might understand how much damage had been done.
But understanding wasn't the same as taking responsibility.
I stood.
"I want you both to leave for today."
Kevin looked surprised.
"Mom…"
"Not another argument. Not another explanation. I need time."
Tara picked up her handbag.
Kevin stood slowly.
He looked as though he wanted to say something else.
But he didn't.
They left.
I closed the door.
Then I returned to the living room.
I sat in the chair Tara had occupied.
I thought about her statement.
She hadn't believed I would agree.
That was why she had gone to the bank without me.
And now I understood that the refusal I had given Kevin in my kitchen had not ended the matter.
It had only changed the way they approached it.
Click here to continue reading: PART 15: I Learned That Kevin Had Accepted the Account Without Question, and the Photograph From the Cruise Suddenly Became Even More Important
I Thought My Son Only Wanted to Help Me, Until I Remembered What His Wife Had Been Doing Inside My House
Part 14 of 20
