Chapter 7 — Carol Was Angry for Another Reason Too
Carol’s final letter continued.
Her argument with Mark had not been only about vouchers.
She had been angry because he made decisions alone.
Again and again.
He decided who needed help.
How to record it.
When rules should be ignored.
Who deserved to know what he was doing.
Then when Carol questioned him, he refused to explain.
Mark had believed he was protecting people’s dignity.
Carol experienced that silence as disrespect.
Her note read:
You were trying to help people, but you also decided I wasn’t trustworthy enough to know why my own counter records were wrong.
Mark stared at the page.
Then nodded slowly.
“She’s right.”
Lena looked surprised.
Mark continued.
“I thought explaining meant naming people.”
But he could have told Carol the broader truth.
He could have said:
I’m using vouchers for people who don’t want their situations discussed.
He could have asked Harrison to create a confidential discretionary category.
He could have changed the system rather than secretly breaking it.
Instead, he said:
Trust me.
Then became offended when Carol wouldn’t.
Harrison sighed.
“You two were both impossible.”
Mark smiled faintly.
“Correct.”
Then Evan found a separate envelope inside the case.
FOR EVAN AND LENA.
They opened it together.
Carol explained why she required both children to be present.
After her argument with Mark, Evan sided with her completely.
Lena did not.
That created a second family argument.
Evan stopped speaking to Mark.
Lena continued.
Then Evan accused Lena of betraying their mother.
The siblings drifted apart.
Carol hated it.
Her final instruction was simple:
Don’t inherit my argument.
Evan stopped reading.
Lena looked at him.
Neither spoke.