This time, I chose to go.
We reviewed our finances and set up a repayment plan.
Afterward, Jason handed me his phone.
“Check whatever you want.”
I pushed it back.
“I don’t want to police you.”
“I want you to trust me.”
“Those aren’t the same thing. You get trust back by telling me the truth before I have to find it.”
He nodded.
A few days later, Jason asked Diane if she could help with one more payment.
“No,” she said.
“Mom, we’re fixing it.”
“Then keep fixing it.”
He looked surprised.
“Don’t use me to hide another problem from your wife,” Diane said. “Being your mother doesn’t mean I help you lie to her.”
Jason nodded.
For once, Diane wasn’t using family as an excuse.
She was refusing to let Jason use it as one.
Over the next several months, Jason and I paid down what we owed.
