Chapter 5 - The Savings
I did have almost two hundred thousand dollars.
That was not family gossip.
It was eleven years of work.
I started saving at nineteen.
Small amounts.
Then bigger.
After my divorce from Tyler and Megan’s father, I became more aggressive about it.
Yes.
I had been married before.
My current wedding ring came from my second husband, Aaron Miller.
He was working overseas on a long engineering contract during the events of that weekend.
The savings had several purposes.
Emergency fund.
A future down payment if Aaron and I chose a larger home.
College costs not covered through existing education accounts.
A buffer in case I lost my job.
Security.
The money did not sit in one pile marked:
Natalie’s house.
Dad had always viewed my saving as excessive.
“You can’t take it with you.”
Mom said I deprived myself.
Natalie teased:
“Rachel probably knows the interest rate on her toaster.”
Then suddenly, my financial caution became proof I owed them something.
You have it.
She needs it.
Therefore:
May you like
Give it.
That logic was the foundation of everything that followed.
