I sat beside him. “There is a question about money, and people are checking the records.”
“Did you take my money?”
“No, Bud.”
He looked toward the doorway. “Preston says you did.”
“I know.”
“Is Preston wrong?”
I did not want to make him choose between his son and me. I also would not lie.
“The records don’t show that I took it.”
He held that answer carefully. “Will you come Tuesday?”
“I don’t know yet.”
He nodded, though he clearly did not understand why the answer had become complicated.
The investigation continued through the agency and the officer. I was not present for every conversation, and I do not know what Preston said about each withdrawal. I know what the records established: I had paid for Mr. Enright’s groceries and medication, the withdrawals did not match my movements, and the camera placed Preston in the house on the Sundays connected to the missing cash.
The agency cleared me to return to work. Denise apologized for removing me before the records were reviewed. She did not pretend the accusation had been handled well.
Preston never apologized to me directly.
He did come to the house again. Mr. Enright was in the living room, and I was preparing his lunch when Preston stopped near the kitchen doorway.
“I was trying to protect him,” he said.
“You accused me in front of him.”
“I thought the money was gone because of someone coming in.”
“You knew I was there.”
“I was worried.”
“I understand being worried. I don’t understand why you started with me.”
He looked away. “You had the key.”
“I also had four years of records.”
He did not answer that.
After a moment, I said, “You need to speak to your father without frightening him.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
He glanced toward the living room. Mr. Enright was watching an old television program with the sound low.
Preston lowered his voice. “I should not have said it in front of him.”
“No,” I said. “You shouldn’t have.”
That was as close to an apology as I received. It was not enough to repair the trust, but it was an acknowledgment of what he had done.
Mr. Enright still asks about the money sometimes. He asks whether Preston is mad, whether I am coming on Tuesday and whether Coraline knows where he is.
I answer the question he can manage.
The groceries still arrive on Tuesdays. There are strawberries in the order now, and the good coffee, and the soft bread. Denise told me the agency would make sure those items were included without leaving me to pay for them myself.
I am glad she said it. I am also still keeping the receipts.