Suzie’s House 383 : Innocent Until Proven Guilty

When her daughter came home and announced that she wanted to move out, Sophie went into full denial. She knew it was denial, but she couldn’t seem to make herself focus on the issues. So she found an excuse to pretend nothing was happening while Emma barricaded herself in her room and waited for Ethan to come home.

Better Ethan than James.

“What do we do?” She caught Ethan at the front door. “He must have done something to her again.”

“Do you have any proof?” Ethan got that stiff expression on his face. He prided himself on his fairness and openness.

“Isn’t the way she’s behaving proof enough?” Sophia tried to keep her voice down even if Ethan didn’t.

“Innocent until proven guilty.” Ethan put his briefcase on the table in the hall. It would stay there untouched until he went to work in the morning.

“I know, I know. But this is serious! She’s really planning on moving out. And James is so sneaky.”

Sophia couldn’t help but think of all the times her son had done something to make Emma cry, then acted innocent. If not for Ethan, Sophia would have disciplined him a lot more. But Sophia never had any proof. Only Emma’s word against James’s.

Emma didn’t help things either. She didn’t bait James a much now, but she had taken great glee in getting James into trouble early on.

“You’re in a fiery mood.” Ethan smiled indulgently.

“This is not the time.” Sophia huffed in frustration. “She’s serious. She says our family is ‘toxic’ and that James is notorious all over town for the way he behaves. She says if we don’t make him move out the way we said we would, then she’ll find a place of her own now.”

“We never said we’d make him move out for her sake. We told him he should move out so he could learn to be a man. Is dinner ready? I’m starving.” Ethan walked up the hall toward the kitchen.

Sophia hurried along behind him, trying not to raise her voice so much that Emma would hear. “We have to kick him out now.”

“Nonsense. He’s our son.”

“You know he steals from my purse.” Sophia crossed her arms and leaned into the door jamb.

“Do you have proof?” Ethan lifted a lid on the stewpot and let out a cloud of steam.

“Well… no. But money goes missing and there’s no one else around. He’s always got money even though he refuses to get a job.”

“Circumstantial. “

“He’s old enough to take care of himself and stubborn enough that he never will if we don’t do something drastic! Isn’t that why we agreed to kick him out in the first place?”

“Yes, but if we didn’t let him move back in he’s have frozen to death.”

“It isn’t Winter anymore. It won’t kill him to spend a night outside.” Even as she said it, Sophia felt like a horrible mother. It sounded so cold and unfeeling, as if she didn’t love her son. Really, he did love James. She had to, didn’t she?

Ethan gave her a sharp look. She knew he was thinking the same things about her that she was thinking, but she didn’t care anymore. She loved Ethan more than life, but she couldn’t keep doing this anymore.

“We’ve already done our job with James. It’s too late to fix our mistakes. We have to think of Emma now. And Emma needs to live where James isn’t.”

“They are both our children. We have to treat them equally.”

Sophia knew where this argument was going. It would put them right back where they always ended up. Not this time. No. It couldn’t go that way this time.

“All right. I’ll say it straight out. I WANT to kick him out. I don’t want to live in the same house with him even if he is my son. If you don’t agree then maybe… maybe… maybe Emma and I should get our own place.”

If you enjoy Suzie’s House and would like to see more, please leave a comment. Suzie’s House is powered by its readers.