For once that felt like mercy. By late afternoon she was back in Jefferson Heights. Denise was at the kitchen table. Bills were spread in front of her. Not hidden this time.
Maya stopped in the doorway. Denise looked up. For one second neither woman spoke. Then Maya set her backpack down. "How bad?"
Denise exhaled. Maya, how bad? Her aunt rubbed both palms over her face. "The rent went up again." Maya pulled out the chair across from her.
And Denise pushed an envelope across the table. Electric company. Past due. A second envelope sat beneath it. Medical charges.
Maya recognized the amount. Her stomach dropped. "You said insurance handled most of that." "It handled some." "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you have school." "That doesn't make bills disappear." "I know." Denise's voice cracked just slightly. Maya looked away.
The apartment suddenly felt smaller. She pictured Denise cleaning hospital rooms under fluorescent lights while other people slept. Extra shifts. Swollen ankles. Cold dinners.
And Maya sitting in classrooms where people like Brooke spoke about tuition as if it were simply another expense. "I'll get another job." "No." "I can work nights." "No."
"I can cut training." Denise's expression changed. "Absolutely not." Aunt Denise. Your father did not spend his life teaching you discipline so you could throw away everything that keeps you whole.
This is rent. And school is your future. Maya's voice hardened. "Future doesn't matter if we lose the apartment." Denise stared at her.
For a long moment they were both too tired to pretend. Then Denise reached across the table. "You think I haven't been scared before?" Maya lowered her eyes. After your father died, I was terrified every day for a year.
I was scared when the landlord called. Scared when the hospital cut overtime. Scared every time you said you were fine because I knew you weren't. Maya swallowed. Denise squeezed her hand.
But David wanted you to have choices. "I know." He did not want you spending your whole life proving yourself to people who already decided not to see you. Maya thought of Brooke. Karen.
The phones. That anonymous account. I'm trying not to. Denise studied her. "What happened at school?"
Maya froze. There it was. She could lie again. Instead she said. "Someone's making things harder."
Denise waited. Maya looked at the bills. "Not tonight." Her aunt nodded slowly. Okay.
But the worry stayed in her eyes. Later, after Denise left for another hospital shift, Maya walked to Riverton Athletic Center. Walter was outside locking a storage shed. "You look terrible," he said. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She sat on the concrete steps. Walter joined her. For a while they watched traffic move along the wet street. Then Maya told him about the rent.
Not everything. Enough. "I can pick up work," she said. Walter shook his head. "Of course you can."
Maya frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means your answer to every crisis is to hand away another piece of yourself." "I'm supposed to do nothing?" No.