After the plumber leaves, I log in to the computer to check my bank account.
A few days ago, we had more than a thousand dollars in the checking account. I watch the screen, waiting to confirm that the money is still there. My heart sinks when the balance of the checking account pops up on the screen:
$213
What the hell is going on? We’re missing about a thousand dollars from our checking account. And we are not extremely wealthy like our neighbors. That’s not an amount that we can just shrug off.
I access the transactions in the history. I do see a $1,000 withdrawal from a few days ago. Presumably, that is the culprit. Except who took that out of our account? It certainly wasn’t me. I can’t imagine Enzo would do that without mentioning it to me.
I’m running late for work, but this is far more important. If somebody stole money from our bank account, I need to do something about it ASAP. So I call the bank and end up on hold with them for fifteen minutes while I glance at my watch and text one of my coworkers to cover me at a meeting that I am definitely going to miss.
“Hello, this is Serena, your customer service representative,” a perky female voice pipes up.
“Hi.” I clear my throat. “I need your help regarding some money that is missing from my bank account.”
“Oh dear,” Serena says. I vehemently agree with that sentiment. “Let me see what I can find out for you.”
I have to hand over all my bank information, and then I get to wait as I listen to the sound of keys tapping in the background. And then more keys tapping. And then more waiting. “Sorry the system is so slow today,” Serena says cheerfully. “It’s just one of those days, you know?”
I’m not in the mood to make small talk while I’m trying to figure out why money is missing from my bank account. “Uh-huh.”
“Ah, okay!” she says triumphantly. “The withdrawal was made two days ago by Enzo Accardi, who is also on the account. Is that your husband?”
“Yes, but ” I frown. “My husband didn’t ” Did he?
“Is he saying he didn’t withdraw the money?” she asks me. “No. I mean, I just I thought he would’ve told me. But ”
Serena seems like she’s at a loss for words. I suppose family drama isn’t her job. “Oh.”
“Thank you for your help,” I mumble. “I think I I better have a talk with my husband. He probably Maybe he forgot.”
“I’m sure he forgot,” she says in a super patronizing voice. “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
Yes, you can tell me why my husband took a bunch of money out of our account without saying a damn word to me about it.
I hang up the phone and stare at the screen for a good minute. I am now extremely late for work, but I can’t focus on anything until I call Enzo and ask him what happened with that money. And I’m not sure why the thought of doing that makes me so uneasy. I trust him. If he took that money out of the account, he had a good reason.
Finally, I select his name from my favorites. If he’s working, he often doesn’t answer his phone, but ever since the incident with Nico getting suspended, he’s been answering immediately.
“Millie?” he says. “What is wrong?”
I rarely call him during the day, so he recognizes this is not a social call. “There’s money missing from our checking account.”
I had been hoping for a string of angry Italian curses. But the way he becomes dead silent confirms that this is not news to him. Even if Serena hadn’t already confirmed it.
“I had written a check for three hundred dollars,” I continue when he doesn’t seem to be commenting. “And the check bounced.”
“Oh.” He sucks in a breath. “So what happened?” “Suzette lent me the money,” I say.
“Well, that is good.”
“So I called the bank to figure out where the money went,” I go on, “and they told me that you withdrew a thousand dollars.”
More silence. He’s not planning on making this easy for me. “So,” I say, “did you?”
There’s another long silence. “I did,” he says eventually.
“Okay. That seems like an awful lot of cash to withdraw from our joint bank account without telling me.”
“Yes ” He’s silent for a few more beats, and I can’t help but think to myself that it sounds like he’s stalling while he makes up a lie. “I am so sorry. We were short this month, and I needed the money to replace some equipment that broke. I thought I would have it back in the account before you noticed. I’ll have it back tomorrow.”
“Some equipment that broke?” I repeat.
“Yes, I need new lawn aerator and rototiller. Is expensive.”
I swear, sometimes I think he’s just making up these words. But I guess it sounds like a reasonable excuse, so I choose to believe him. It makes sense that if his equipment broke, he’d need to replace it immediately.
It’s better than the alternative, which is that my husband is lying to
me.
