Chapter 7 - HIS MOTHER'S LAST DEMAND
Thursday began with a phone call from Judith's financial adviser.
I knew nothing about it until Derek came into the kitchen looking as though he hadn't slept.
“Mom wants to talk to you.”
I continued preparing breakfast.
“About what?”
“Her finances.”
“Then she should speak to her financial adviser.”
“She says she needs your help.”
I set down the knife.
“What kind of help?”
He hesitated.
“She bought the bracelet before confirming that the money would cover her other expenses. She also paid a deposit on a private wellness retreat.”
I stared at him.
“How much was the deposit?”
“Three thousand dollars.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
“So she spent eight thousand on jewelry and another three thousand on a retreat.”
“Yes.”
“From your ten-thousand-dollar paycheck.”
“Yes.”
“And she now needs help paying her regular expenses.”
He looked miserable.
“Yes.”
I wiped my hands.
“Derek, I am not going to rescue her from a spending decision she made with money you voluntarily gave her.”
“She says she'll repay it.”
“With what?”
He didn't answer.
I returned to breakfast.
At nine, I left for work.
At ten, Judith called me three times.
I declined the first two calls and answered the third because I wanted the conversation documented and finished.
“Natalie, we need to discuss an urgent matter.”
“What is it?”
“I need you to transfer five thousand dollars into my account.”
I nearly laughed.
“Why?”
“Because I have expenses.”
“You have Derek's salary.”
“Most of it is already committed.”
“To what?”
“The bracelet, the retreat deposit, and some other obligations.”
I leaned back in my office chair.
“Judith, you have known for days that Derek transferred his money to you. You had the opportunity to budget.”
“I am not accustomed to being interrogated.”
“Then you may prefer not to discuss your finances with me.”
Her voice sharpened.
“You are my son's wife. You have a responsibility to this family.”
“I have responsibilities I agreed to. I did not agree to fund your lifestyle.”
“You're wealthy!”
“That doesn't make my money yours.”
She took a shaky breath.
“Derek told me you might help.”
I felt a pang of disappointment.
Not because I expected Derek to solve everything immediately, but because he had apparently tried to make peace by suggesting that I might pay.
“I'll speak to Derek about what he told you,” I said. “But my answer is no.”
I ended the call.
That evening, I arrived home to find Judith waiting in the living room with two suitcases beside her.
Derek stood near the fireplace.
“What is this?” I asked.
Judith lifted her chin.
“I'm leaving.”
I glanced at the suitcases.
“Where are you going?”
“To a hotel.”
Derek stepped forward.
“Mom, please don't do this.”
“You've chosen your wife over your own mother!”
“No, I haven't.”
“You allowed her to humiliate me, question my spending, and refuse to help me when I needed it!”
Derek's expression tightened.
“I'm not asking Natalie to pay for the bracelet.”
Judith looked at him in disbelief.
“You're taking her side?”
“I'm taking responsibility for my own decision.”
For a moment, Judith seemed unable to comprehend the words.
Then she turned to me.
“You've always wanted to separate Derek from his family.”
“No. I've wanted my marriage to be treated as a partnership.”
She shook her head.
“You'll regret this.”
She grabbed her suitcase and walked toward the front door.
Derek followed her onto the porch.
I remained inside.
Through the window, I watched him speak to her quietly. She gestured angrily, then climbed into a rideshare vehicle.
Derek stood on the porch long after the car disappeared.
When he returned, his eyes were red.
“She's going to stay at a hotel for a few nights,” he said.
“I hope she's comfortable.”
He looked at me.
“You don't have to sound so cold.”
“I don't wish her harm, Derek. But I can't keep accepting responsibility for decisions she makes.”
He sat down.
“I think I enabled her.”
The admission surprised me.
He stared at the floor.
“Every time she wanted something, I gave it to her because I thought it would make up for everything she went through when we were kids. If she complained, I felt guilty. If she cried, I gave in.”
I sat opposite him.
“You can love your mother without agreeing to every demand she makes.”
He nodded.
“I know that now.”
“Do you?”
He looked up.
“Yes. I need to learn how to say no.”
For the first time in years, we were having a conversation without him insisting that I was the problem.
I wanted to feel hopeful.
But hope frightened me more than anger because it tempted me to forget what had happened.
“Derek, I need you to understand something,” I said. “I can't be the only person responsible for protecting our future.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
“No more secret financial decisions. No more treating my income as a backup plan. No more promising your mother things that involve my property or my money.”
“I agree.”
“And if we're going to stay married, I need us to work with a counselor.”
He looked startled.
“Marriage counseling?”
“Yes.”
He was quiet for several seconds.
Then he said, “All right.”
I hadn't expected him to agree so quickly.
The following morning, we scheduled an initial consultation.
I also arranged for a financial adviser to help us review our household finances separately from the counseling process. Claire would continue handling the legal questions.
For the first time, our next steps were being discussed rather than dictated.
At noon, Derek received another call from his mother.
He listened for several minutes before saying, “No, Mom. I'm not going to ask Natalie for money.”
A pause.
“Because it's not her responsibility to pay for everything.”
Another pause.
“I love you. But I can't keep doing this.”
He ended the call and sat quietly at his desk.
I watched him from the kitchen doorway.
He looked frightened.
Setting boundaries with someone you love can feel like betrayal when you've spent your entire life confusing love with obedience.
But he had finally taken a step toward becoming his own person.
That evening, he transferred a portion of his next paycheck into an account he controlled, after confirming the arrangement with his employer. He also contacted his creditors and reviewed his personal obligations.
He did not ask me for money.
It was a small change.
But it was the first one that cost him something.
Not money.
May you like
Comfort.
And for the first time, I began to wonder whether the man I had married might still exist beneath the expectations his mother had built around him.
