Chapter 5 - Crossing State Lines
Instead of arguing over legal paperwork in an insulated room, Adrianne made an unexpected decision that afternoon.
"Pack a bag," she said, shutting her laptop.
Julian looked up from the dining table. "What?"
"We have two days before the bank files their foreclosure summary judgment," Adrianne said, her voice decisive. "We aren't going to surrender Maya's college fund, nor are we going to cast twelve kids onto the street based on a PDF and a phone call. We're getting on a plane to Portland, and we're driving to that shelter."
"Adrianne, Maya has school—"
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"My mother will take Maya for two days. She'll love spoiling her," Adrianne replied, already pulling out her overnight duffel. "We need to see what David built, Julian. You’ve spent ten years judging his shadow. If we are going to make a sacrifice that alters our family's financial security, we are going to look that sacrifice in the eye."
By seven o'clock that evening, they were on an evening flight out of Newark, soaring above a sea of clouds bathed in twilight amber. Beside her, Julian stared out the window, his jaw clenched, watching the tiny grid of suburban lights vanish into the dark American interior. For the first time in their marriage, they were traveling not toward a vacation or a celebration, but directly toward a reckoning.
