“This is Travis?”
“Yeah. Who is this?”
“This is Officer Barnes with the 7th precinct.
Your stepson Caleb was just picked up after breaking into a convenience store. He claims he hasn’t eaten in days.”
Pause.
“What? I haven’t heard from him in weeks,” Travis said, voice tense.
“Well, we’ve got him in holding.
The store owner is furious. He says he’ll press charges unless we work something out. He’s demanding $15,000 in cash to forget the whole thing.”
“That’s extortion!”
“I don’t disagree.
But the owner’s got a good lawyer. He knows the system. You have until tonight.”
Travis cursed under his breath.
“Where do I send the money?”
Marcus gave him an account number we’d set up for the sting. We hung up.
Ten minutes later, I called Travis.
“Jennifer!” he said, trying to sound upbeat. “How’s Germany?”
I smiled coldly.
“Funny you ask. I came back early.”
“You… what?”
“Yeah, I’m in town.
Been trying to reach Caleb, but he’s not answering. You said he’s with a friend, right?”
A pause. “Yes.
He’s just staying over with a buddy. Everything’s fine.”
“Funny. Because I just got a call from a cop saying he was arrested.”
Travis’s voice tightened.
“What?! No, that’s, uh, it’s a misunderstanding.”
I let him sweat.
“Anyway,” I said lightly. “I’ll be home soon.”
That evening, Travis transferred the cash.
Marcus handed it over to me, every dollar accounted for.
“Smoothest scam I’ve run since retirement,” he said with a grin.
The next morning, I filed for divorce.
When Travis received the papers, he lost it. Showed up yelling in the lobby of my office building. I met him downstairs.
“You lied to me!” he shouted.
“You set me up!”
I stared him down. “You kicked a teenage boy onto the street. Then you lied to me about it.
You partied while he starved. You don’t deserve honesty.”
“You tricked me with a fake cop!”
“No. I taught you a lesson.
One you’ll never forget.”
He looked like he wanted to scream. But I turned and walked away.
I gave the entire $15,000 to Caleb.
“Put this toward college, or a car, or whatever you want,” I told him. “It’s yours.
Compensation.”
He blinked. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to.”
Months later, we moved into a cozy apartment closer to his school. Life wasn’t perfect, but it was peaceful.
One night, we were on the couch watching a rerun of “Parks and Rec,” laughing over something ridiculous Leslie said, and Caleb nudged me with his elbow.
“You really got him good, you know?”
I smiled. “He had it coming.”
He paused. “Thanks for finding me.”
“I’ll always find you,” I said, kissing his cheek and forehead.
“That’s what moms do.”
Source: amomama
