Page 48 of His Daughter

"I have to go out. There's a situation at the nonprofit that needs my attention." I kept my eyes on his face. On his face. "Mrs. Parrish can handle Lena. I'll be back in a few hours."

He was already pulling a shirt from the bench. "I'll come."

"You don't need to."

He tugged the shirt over his head. "I'm coming, Thea."

I didn't have time to argue.

I watched Declan take it in at the nonprofit as we walked through the front door — the stacks of case files on the reception desk, the donated coffee maker with the cracked carafe, the waiting room with mismatched chairs and a water-stained ceiling tile.

He didn't say anything.

Diane was in Margot's office. I went straight to her.

The first thing I saw was the black eye. It was purple, fading to green at the edges, her left eye swollen half-shut. My heart broke.

She was sitting in the chair by Margot's desk, her hands folded in her lap, her posture very straight. Mid-thirties. Dark hair pulled back. She was wearing a clean sweatshirt and jeans.

Her kids were in the waiting room, where Declan was. I could hear them through the wall — a boy's voice, a girl's giggle, the scribble of crayons on paper.

I sat down across from Diane. "Hello, Diane. My name is Thea Calloway." I didn’t touch her even though I wanted to offer comfort. I had a feeling she’d flinch away. “Can you tell me what happened?”

She nodded slowly. "I…I took the kids to school this morning. When I came back, the locks were different. My key didn't work. I called him. He said I should find somewhere else to stay."

"How long were you with him?"

"Three years." She looked at her hands. "The apartment is in his name. I'm not on the lease."

"And the eviction notice?"

"He filed it last week. I didn't know until this morning." She pulled a folded piece of paper from her bag and handed it to me. "I don't have anywhere to go. My sister's in Delaware. My mother's…she can't take me in. She doesn't have the room."

I read the notice. Thirty days. I set it on the desk.

"Diane, I'm going to help you. We're going to find you a place tonight." I leaned forward. "But I need you to tell me something. Are you safe? Right now, today, are you and your children safe from him?"

Her eyes met mine. The swollen one glistened. She nodded.

"Okay." I pulled my phone from my back pocket and opened my banking app. I transferred $300 to the emergency account and wrote a check on the spot. Enough for a week at the extended-stay motel on Ninth. I handed it to Diane.

"This will cover a week. I'll have a caseworker call you tomorrow about permanent placement."

Diane looked at the check. Her mouth trembled. "I can't…"

"You can, and you will."

Margot was waiting in the hallway with the children. She watched Diane walk past with the check in her hand. She retrieved her children, and they left.

When the front door closed, Margot took my arm and pulled me into the supply closet.

"How much did you give her?"

"Enough for a week at the motel on Ninth."

"Thea, we can't keep doing this. I have kids. I have a mortgage. We don't have the funding. Every time someone walks through that door, you reach into your own pocket, and one day, there's going to be nothing left in it."

"I'll figure it out."