“Do not send company documents to my phone.”
“Why?”
“Because right now I resigned. I don’t want them claiming I walked out with confidential material.”
Mike was quiet.
“You’ve thought about this.”
“I started thinking at the clock.”
“What do I do?”
“Keep doing your job.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a terrible plan.”
“It’s the only one that doesn’t make you collateral damage.”
Mike swore.
Ethan almost smiled.
“Go back inside.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You have a mortgage too.”
Mike did not answer.
“Mike.”
“Yeah.”
“Stay.”
The call ended.
At 4:23, Ethan parked outside Maddie’s school.
She came out carrying a poster board covered in aluminum foil and blue marker.
She opened the passenger door.
“You’re early.”
“I know.”
She climbed in.
Then noticed his clothes.
“You’re still in work stuff.”
“Yes.”
“You’re never early in work stuff.”
Ethan put the truck in gear.
Maddie stared at him.
“What happened?”
He drove two blocks before answering.
“I quit.”
Maddie blinked.
“What?”
“I quit my job.”
She looked straight ahead.
Then back at him.
“Did they fire you?”
“No.”
“Did you get mad?”
“A little.”
“You said you weren’t worried.”
“I know.”
“That was a lie?”
“Technically.”
“Dad.”
“I know.”
She hugged the poster board against herself.
“Why did you quit?”
He thought about how much to tell an eleven-year-old.
Then remembered Rachel’s philosophy.
Children did not need every detail.
They did need truth.
“My boss tried to make me fail in front of everyone.”
Maddie frowned.
“Why?”
“Because she wanted somebody else to have my job.”
“So she cheated?”
“Something like that.”
“And you didn’t fail?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“I fixed the airplane.”
Maddie waited.
“And then?”
“I quit.”
She stared at him.
The corner of her mouth moved.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“That is kind of dramatic.”
Ethan laughed for the first time in hours.
“Yes.”
“Did you say something cool?”
“No.”
“You definitely did.”
“I said I quit.”
“That’s not enough.”
“It felt like enough.”
Maddie considered the story.
Then her expression changed.
“Do we have money?”
There it was.
The real child question beneath every adult event.
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Long enough.”
“What about the house?”
“We’re fine.”
“Insurance?”
Ethan glanced at her.