Page 54 of The Me I Left Behind

“He asked if either of us were over eighteen—me or Logan—and Logan told him he was nineteen. The guy said he couldn’tdo the inspection unless there was someone over the age of eighteen in the house.”

Maggie nodded.Interesting.Probably standard procedure. “And…?”

“And then he asked a few questions, like how many rooms, was there a basement, how old was the furnace, did we care if he got on the roof, and stuff like that.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him what I could, but that he needed to wait for you. It wasn’t too long until you pulled into the driveway, so I sent him outside.”

Maggie sighed. “Good. So he didn’t go anywhere in the house?”

Carol shook her head. “No.”

“Great.”

Carol made eye contact with her. “Mom, Logan and I were not in the house alone. We know the rules. The guy was already parked in the driveway when we pulled up and I just assumed you had called him. At first, I thought he was a repair guy or something.”

Maggie gave her a smile. “I understand. It’s okay, sweetheart.”

They all stayed silent for a minute. The kids continued eating. Maggie stared off, thinking and wondering what Max was up to.

Then Jason piped up. “Mom. What is going on? What is this inspection about, anyway? I don’t get it.”

She faced him. “Frankly, I don’t either.”

“Does it have anything to do with Dad?”

She waited a few seconds, wondering if she should be honest about that. The thought had niggled at her brain ever since the inspector left. “Probably. More than likely.”

“Does it have anything to do with why he has been in Australia for so long? Is he staying there now?”

She met Jason’s questioning gaze and held it for several seconds. Then pivoting, she glanced at Chloe, who was busy with the cheese pizza, and then at Carol, who sat quietly looking back.

With a sigh, she focused on Jason again. “There are some things we need to talk about. Yes, this probably has something to do with your dad.”

Abruptly, Jason stood up and pushed his paper plate filled with pizza away from him. “Are you splitting up? Is he selling the house? Where the hell are we going to live, Mom?”

“Jason. Stop.” She glanced at Chloe, who seemed oblivious. “I don’t know what is happening with the house. That’s why I called Julia, so….”

“Julia?”

Shit. She’d stuck her foot in it.“Yes. She’s helping me deal with some…things.”

“But she’s a lawyer, right? Why do you need a lawyer?” Jason’s voice rose. “Please tell us what is going on? Because I’m tired of not knowing.”

So, is this why he’s been moody lately?She glanced again at Carol, who nodded.

“See? Carol knows something,” Jason shouted. “Why do you tell her stuff and not me? I can deal with stuff, Mom. I want to know.”

She responded slowly. “I know you do, Jason. And until now I wanted to keep things as normal as possible for all of you, but—”

“Normal! Nothing is normal. Dad isn’t here, he never calls anymore, feels like we have no money, and now this inspector… Something is not right.”

Her cell phone rang on the counter. Maggie ignored it, moving around the island. “Jason, we need to talk. Just you and me. Okay?”

He shook his head. “No. Tell all of us at the same time.”

Her phone pinged with a notification.Voice mail.

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