Chapter 2 - Cold Cuts and Hot Lines
The drive home was quiet, save for the rhythmic swish of the windshield wipers clearing away a light October drizzle. Leo stared out the passenger window, watching the streetlights bleed across the wet glass in long, golden ribbons.
""Mom?"" he asked after ten miles of heavy silence.
""Yes, honey?""
""Did you really pay for everything back there?""
I glanced at him at a red light. ""Every single dime, Leo. Since you were eight years old, Uncle Justin has lived off my success. When his first three business ideas failed, I paid his debts. When he wanted to marry Paige and pretend he was a wealthy venture capitalist, I let them move into that rental property I bought as an investment and paid the mortgage so they could save up. I gave them credit cards with fifty-thousand-dollar limits to cover their living expenses so Justin wouldn't feel the shame of begging.""
Leo looked down at his sneakers. ""He hates me because I’m not really his nephew, doesn't he?""
I pulled the car over onto the wide shoulder of the boulevard, shifted into park, and unbuckled my seatbelt so I could face him directly. I took his hands in mine. They were warm, but his pulse was racing.
""Listen to me very carefully, Leo,"" I said, looking straight into his eyes. ""You are my son. Not because a piece of paper says so, but because the universe gave you to me when your biological parents couldn't take care of you, and I chose to love, protect, and stand by you every single second of every single day. Justin doesn't hate you because of genetics. Justin hates you because you have more intelligence, discipline, and natural grace in your pinky finger than he has in his entire body. He is insecure, entitled, and bitter that my world revolves around you instead of his endless failures.""
A small, genuine smile finally tugged at the corner of Leo’s lips. ""I really didn't want to eat that steak anyway. It was way too salty.""
I burst out laughing, leaning over to kiss his forehead. ""That’s my boy. Come on, let’s stop at that late-night diner near our place. Cheeseburgers, seasoned curly fries, and chocolate milkshakes. On my real card.""
While Leo ate his burger at the booth an hour later, my phone sat face down on the Formica table, buzzing continuously like an angry hornet. I didn't have to flip it over to know who it was. The screen lit up in pulses: four missed calls from Justin, six hysterical text messages from Paige, and finally, two calls from our mother, Evelyn.
I let them roll to voicemail until Leo was happily finishing his milkshake, showing me a digital diagram of the DNA double helix he’d drawn on his tablet for his biology honors project. Once he was completely relaxed, laughing at a silly meme his classmate sent him, I stepped outside onto the diner's covered patio into the cool night air to return my mother's call.
""Nora!"" Evelyn’s voice shrilled through the speaker before I could even say hello. ""What on earth did you do to your brother? Paige called me in absolute hysterics! She said you threatened to throw them out on the street in the middle of winter! She said you cancelled their credit cards while they were trying to order groceries online!""
""Good evening to you too, Mom,"" I answered calmly. ""Did Paige bother to mention what Justin said to Leo right before I walked out?""
Evelyn paused, her tone shifting into that familiar, dismissive whine she always used whenever Justin made a catastrophic mistake. ""Oh, Nora, you know how Justin gets when he drinks a glass of red wine. He gets blunt. He didn't mean anything cruel by it. He was just stating a biological fact, and you blew it completely out of proportion! Leo is an adopted child, Nora. He needs to develop thick skin anyway. You can't punish your own flesh-and-blood brother over a sensitive topic!""
""A sensitive topic?"" My voice went ice cold. ""He humiliated a fourteen-year-old child at a dinner table paid for by me. He looked at my son and declared he wasn't human enough to belong in a family. And you, Mom, are sitting there defending him because Justin is your golden boy who can do no wrong.""
""Nora, turn those cards back on immediately!"" Evelyn ordered, her voice trembling with indignation. ""He has business meetings tomorrow! He has client dinners!""
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""Those cards are dead, Mom. And tomorrow morning, my attorney is serving them an official thirty-day notice of eviction. If you love your golden boy so much, you’re welcome to empty your own retirement account to fund his luxurious fake lifestyle. Have a good night.""
I hung up, blocked Justin and Paige’s numbers temporarily, and walked back inside to pay for our burgers. The war had officially started.
