Dereck asked to meet in a public park.
I discussed it with Lena and agreed to talk about the marriage, not negotiate the financial dispute.
I told Mom where I would be.
We sat on opposite ends of a bench beneath an oak tree.
He looked tired.
"I've been sleeping on the couch," he said.
I didn't ask why.
He rubbed his palms together.
"Adam said the building would be worth a lot more after renovations."
"And you wanted to invest."
He nodded.
"I wanted to do something big for us."
"You could have told me that."
"I did. You said no."
"I said no to risking our home."
A cyclist went past.
Dereck waited until the path was empty again.
"I thought once the numbers were in front of you, you'd come around."
"So why put my signature on the form?"
He pressed his fingertips against his eyes.
"Adam said it was just to see if we qualified."
"Did you type my information into the application?"
"I gave him most of it."
"Did you know there was a credit inquiry?"
"I knew they'd check."
I looked at him.
"Why didn't you ask me?"
His answer came quietly.
"Because you wouldn't have agreed."
I waited.
He continued.
"I didn't think they'd need you until a real closing. I figured I'd explain everything before anything became final."
"Then why send me out of town?"
He stared across the grass.
"The trip was supposed to make you happy. I thought I could settle details with Adam while we were away."
"The Monday appointment was while we were supposed to be away."
He closed his eyes.
"I thought I could attend remotely and get everything ready. Then I'd bring it to you."
"And the passport?"
His cheeks colored.
"I knew the paperwork was in that drawer. When you said you'd call your mother, I panicked."
That explained why he wanted to drive home.
It did not prove that the passport had been forgotten deliberately.
I asked him directly.
"Did you leave it there on purpose?"
"No," he said. "I really forgot it."
I could not verify his answer.
But I could see that the missing passport had exposed a plan already underway.
"You made decisions about me without me," I said.
"I thought I was protecting our future."
"You treated my refusal as a problem to work around."
He wiped his face with both hands.
"I know."
He asked whether I would come home.
I said no.
He asked whether we could try counseling.
I told him I would think about it after he fully cooperated with the document review.
We stood.
Neither of us reached for the other.
Before I left, he said, "I didn't expect you to find out like that."
"You didn't expect me to find out at all," I replied.
He did not deny it.
Click here to continue reading: PART 10: The Lender’s Decision and What an Unfunded Loan Still Cost Us
The Passport in the Drawer and the Photograph That Ended Our Anniversary Trip
Part 9 of 16
