She came in talking about something that had happened at recess involving a dispute over jump rope rules that had apparently escalated to a level requiring teacher intervention. And Marcus listened and asked the right questions and laughed in the right places. And they ate their tacos and it was normal and good and exactly what Friday evening with his daughter was supposed to be. After she went to bed, he sat at the kitchen table and looked at the phone for a long time. Then he called Raymond.
Raymond picked up on the second ring. I saw the statement. He said immediately. You were good, Marcus. You were really good, Vanessa called.
Marcus said a short silence. Tonight, right after I got home and texted, said it was important. Raymond made a sound that wasn't quite a word. A considering sound. What do you think she wants?
I have no idea, Marcus said, which wasn't entirely true. He had some idea. He just didn't want to be right about it. You going to call her back? I don't know yet.
I wanted to think out loud first. All right, Raymond said. Think. Marcus leaned back in his chair. She left when I was nobody.
She left when I was doing the work, building the thing, filing the memos, doing everything right, and getting nothing back for it. She decided I was too small for her life. He paused. And now my name is on the news and she calls. Yep.
Raymond said simply, that's not a coincidence. No, Raymond said, "It's not. But Marcus, hears the question. Does it matter why she called or does it only matter how you respond?" He thought about that. Both fair.
Raymond paused. She has a right to speak to you about Zoey. That's legitimate. Whatever else is going on, she does not have a right to anything else. You know that, right?
I know that. And you know how to tell the difference between a conversation about your daughter and a conversation about whatever Vanessa has decided she wants now that your life looks different from the outside. I know how to tell the difference, Marcus said. I just wanted to hear myself say it to someone. Then you've heard yourself.
Raymond said, "Go to sleep. Call her tomorrow if you want or don't, but go to sleep first." He went to sleep. Saturday morning arrived with the particular insistence of Georgia Saturdays in late summer, bright and already warm. By 7:00, the birds loud, the neighborhood slowly coming to life. Marcus was up at 6:00, habit and muscle memory, and he sat with his coffee and his phone and made a decision.