He looked embarrassed before he had even finished asking.
“I need to borrow a thousand dollars,” he said.
Before I could ask what had happened, Natalie looked across the room at him.
“Tell him to get another job,” she said. “We’re not some kind of bank.”
The words landed harder because Dad did not fight back.
He did not snap at her.
He did not remind her of everything he had done for us.
He just stood there.
His hands trembled slightly.
“That’s enough,” I told Natalie.
Then I took Dad outside before the argument could get worse.
The afternoon was warm, but he kept rubbing his palms together as though he were trying to warm them.
“I didn’t come here to cause trouble between you two,” he said. “If you can’t help, I’ll understand.”
