Chapter 7 - The Sister’s Intervention
By Saturday afternoon, Nathan was drowning so completely that he actually considered calling a professional cleaning service or begging his mother to fly in, but pride and shame held him back.
Unbeknownst to him, Rachel’s sister, Claire, had decided to drive by the house just to check from a distance and make sure the children were safe. Claire pulled her SUV into the driveway at 2:00 PM and walked up to the front porch.
When Nathan opened the front door, looking like a ghost of his former self with wild hair, dark circles under his eyes, and a stained t-shirt, Claire crossed her arms and stared at him.
"Good afternoon, Nathan," Claire said coolly. "Looks like project management is going swimmingly."
Nathan swallowed hard, all his usual arrogance completely stripped away. He didn't snap back or make an excuse. He just looked at her with hollow, pleading eyes.
"Claire... please," Nathan whispered, his voice cracking. "I messed up. I messed up so badly. Rachel isn't answering my calls. Do you know where she is? Is she okay?"
"She's fine, Nathan," Claire said, her tone softening just a fraction as she looked past him at the toy-strewn, chaotic living room. "She's sleeping, she's eating warm meals, and for the first time in eight months, she isn't carrying the weight of an entire family on her shoulders alone."
"I had no idea," Nathan said, a tear finally slipping down his unshaven cheek. "I genuinely thought she was just exaggerating. I thought staying home was easy."
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"Well," Claire replied gently, stepping back toward her car, "now you have the rest of the weekend to finish your project. Good luck with the bedtime shift tonight."
She turned and drove away, leaving Nathan to face the music entirely on his own.
