I closed my eyes.
So she didn’t know.
I typed slowly because my fingers had started to shake.
Sweetheart, it seems I’m not wanted there tonight after all.
The reply came so fast I knew she must already have been holding her phone.
What? That’s not true. Dad told us yesterday this dinner was partly for you.
Partly for you.
Something inside me hardened then, not in anger at first, but in clarity.
I set the phone down, reached for the landline, and called Fayetteville Community Bank.
After two rings, a cheerful customer-service voice answered.
“Good evening, Fayetteville Community Bank. How can I help you?”
“My name is Edith Wembley,” I said. “I need to speak with someone about suspending recurring payments and removing an authorized user from my accounts.”
“Of course, Mrs. Wembley. Let me verify your identity first.”
I answered the security questions one by one. My mother’s maiden name. The last four digits of my Social Security number. The amount of my most recent deposit. I could hear keyboard clicks on the other end while I kept my voice calm.
“Thank you,” the woman said. “How can I help?”
“I want every automatic payment, recurring transfer, and scheduled bill-pay instruction from my personal accounts suspended tonight. All of them. I also want Garrett Wembley removed as an authorized signer and agent on every account where he appears.”
There was a pause long enough for me to picture her sitting up straighter.
“All of them, Mrs. Wembley?”
“Yes.”
“You do have quite a few active authorizations.”
“I’m aware.”
Another pause. More clicking.
“We can place temporary holds on the outgoing items immediately,” she said carefully. “For permanent cancellation and revocation of account authority, we’ll need signed forms in person.”
“I’ll be at the branch when it opens.”
“All right. One moment while I review the list.”
I waited, looking at James’s photograph again.
This time, I did not ask him what he would say. I knew.
When the woman came back, her voice had changed. It was still polite, but there was a note in it now, the kind bank people get when they realize a routine request is actually a family earthquake.
“Mrs. Wembley, I’ve placed temporary suspensions on all active items associated with your profile. For your records, there are one hundred seventy-four recurring payments, reimbursements, transfers, and scheduled drafts affected.”
One hundred seventy-four.