Chapter 9 - The Gate I Left Open
The backyard looked bigger without the branch. I hated that. I hated the extra light falling on the porch, the way the window framed a blank patch of sky.
Ellie left for school without saying goodbye. A few minutes later I found the gate latch hanging loose. I'd propped it open on Sunday to wheel the berry bucket out, then forgotten to latch it. The crew hadn't broken anything to enter. They had simply walked through the opening I left.
That didn't make their work authorized. It did make me feel sick.
I spent the morning arranging emergency safety work with Dana. She proposed temporary exclusion barriers and reducing one damaged section under controlled conditions. Her estimate included a second structural inspection in three weeks. I paid the deposit from money I'd saved for Ellie's summer college visits.
When I told her that night, she stared at the account balance on my banking app.
“Mom, that's not your money to throw away.”
“It is my money. I earned it.”
“It's our trip.”
I had no good answer. I'd let the fight swallow a promise I made before the orange X appeared.
Ellie picked up her keys. “I'm going to Mara's. She says I can stay for dinner.”
“It's a school night.”
“Then call her mom. She's the one who'll actually tell you where I am.”
She regretted it as soon as she said it; I saw her face soften. But she still left.
Later I called Helen. I told her I had taken down the video, had apologized publicly, and would not ask her to help my complaint. She said she had seen the apology. Then she said, “I can talk about what happened when I'm ready. Not because you need it.”
“That's fair.”
Before hanging up, she asked whether Ellie was all right. I said I wasn't sure.
I sat on the kitchen floor beside the broom until Ellie's friend's mother texted that she was staying for dinner. The mulberry tree had been our place to return to after every bad day. I hadn't noticed I was using it as an excuse not to answer what my daughter needed now.
When Ellie came home, I offered to reschedule the college trip before doing anything else about the HOA. She leaned on the doorway, suspicious.
“And the tree?”
May you like
“Dana knows what she's doing. Tonight I'm listening to you.”
Ellie swallowed. “Okay. Then I need to tell you why I was at home when they cut it. I wasn't sick. I skipped my morning exam because I thought somebody needed to protect it.”
