I want you there. That answer mattered. Desmond agreed. For the first time, he had chosen to step toward her world rather than remaining inside the safety of his own. Later that afternoon, the garage called.
The truck problem was worse than the battery. A failing transmission component needed to be replaced. The estimate was $875. Desmond stood beside the truck after the call, staring at the amount on his phone. Without the truck, getting to different job sites would become difficult.
Without work, everything became difficult. That night, Tessa left another orthodontist reminder on the kitchen counter. Desmond saw it beside the supervisory training brochure. Three expenses, one paycheck. Tessa looked up from her homework and asked whether everything was all right.
Desmond gave her the answer he always gave. I've got it. The next day, Celeste asked Desmond to sit with her for a few minutes at a workroom table while they reviewed the Saturday schedule. She had spent the morning thinking about the weekend. Desmond would give up a shift Victor had mentioned.
He would spend hours at an event he never would have attended on his own. Celeste knew his time mattered, and because she was accustomed to solving unequal exchanges with compensation, the solution seemed obvious. She placed a white envelope on the table and pushed it toward him. Desmond opened it. Inside were $900.
For several seconds, he said nothing. The garage estimate was still on his phone. $875. The money would repair the truck. It would leave the orthodontic savings untouched and stop his training fund from moving backward. All he had to do was close the envelope.
Instead, he looked at Celeste. You want me to go Saturday? Yes, because you want me there? Yes. He lifted the envelope.
Then what is this? Celeste explained that he was giving up work, that his time had value, and that she did not want inviting him to cost him money. Desmond asked why she was paying him if she truly believed his time mattered. Celeste called it compensation. The word landed badly.
She saw it immediately. Desmond closed the envelope. Celeste tried to clarify that she did not want to take advantage of him. Desmond told her that if he chose to spend time with her, she was not taking anything. I didn't mean to make it transactional, Celeste said.
But you did. Desmond slid the envelope back across the table. Keep it. Celeste stared at him. Desmond picked up his keys and rose.