“Mistake?” she repeated softly.
Mark pointed toward the door. “You need to leave.”
Suddenly, the anonymous envelopes with money over the past year made sense!
“You knew she’d been sending money,” I said slowly. “Mark?”
“Yes.”
“I only wanted to talk,” his mother interjected.
“Leave!” he shouted.
“Mistake?”
The boys stirred in their crib.
Margaret picked up her duffel bag. Before stepping outside, she looked at me. “I never meant to frighten you. I just didn’t know how else to reach him.”
The door closed behind her.
I turned to Mark. “You owe me the truth.”
“I can’t do this.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Then explain it to me.”
He stared at the floor. “I can’t. She’s a monster.”
“You owe me the truth.”
My chest tightened. “But a monster whose money you gladly took?”
“She owes me.” Mark’s jaw clenched. “She didn’t fight hard enough for me.”
“You were eight,” I said softly. “You wouldn’t have known whether she fought or not.”
Mark stood abruptly. “Don’t defend her. It’s over. She’s gone.”
He headed to our bedroom.
But it didn’t feel over for me.
“She owes me.”
***
The following morning, after Mark left for work, I called the nanny agency.
“Margaret?” the coordinator confirmed. “Yes, she’s been with us for six years. Excellent record. Families request her by name.”
“Has there ever been a complaint?”
“No, ma’am. She’s one of our most trusted caregivers.”
That didn’t fit the picture Mark had painted.
I called the nanny agency.
I found her number in the employee paperwork she’d signed. I shouldn’t have called her without telling Mark. I knew that. But if I hadn’t, I would’ve spent the rest of my life wondering.
Margaret agreed to meet me at a nearby restaurant the same day.
I brought the twins along.
“Thank you for reaching out,” she said gently.
“I need to hear your side,” I replied.
She smiled at the sleeping twins before sighing. “His father abandoned us. Then someone called Social Services, and they took Mark. I wasn’t allowed visits without supervision. Then there were court dates. Lawyers. I ran out of money.”
“I need to hear your side.”
“Mark said you didn’t fight.”