Chapter 4

Friday evening, Adam set a blue folder on my desk.

"Can you look over these forms for Noah's sailing practice tomorrow?" Before I could answer, he took a call. I opened the folder. The school email, the club's safety confirmation, and the guardian check-in requirements were all there. The papers clearly said the parent attending had to review them personally.

"Adam," I called after him. "You're the one going tomorrow."

"I know."

"Then you need to look over these yourself. I already forwarded you the instructor's contact information."

He stared at me for a moment. "You're always the one who handles this stuff."

"I used to be. Last week, I told you you'd be the one going sailing with Noah this time."

"Fine." He picked up the folder and tossed it onto the cabinet by the front door.

At ten on Saturday morning, I was going through my moving checklist when Noah called.

"Mom! They won't let me on the boat!" He was practically screaming. "Everybody's out on the water, and I'm stuck here waiting for Dad!"

I checked where he was and made sure a staff member was with him, then called the club. They told me Adam hadn't shown up on time. With no guardian there to sign off, Noah had missed the first round of sailing, but he could still join the afternoon session.

I asked the staff to keep an eye on him and called Adam. It was noisy on his end. He was discussing a project with someone.

"Adam, Noah's still waiting for you. Without a guardian, he can't do the lesson alone."

"I'll be there in ten minutes. Can you head over and sign for him first?"

"It's at least 40 minutes from the house to the club. You're closer, and you're the one who promised to go."

"This isn't the time to argue about that."

"You're right. Go get our son first. We'll talk about whose fault it was later."

When Noah got home that afternoon, he slammed his sailboat model down on the dining table. "It's all your fault!"

I asked him, "Are you blaming me for not reminding Dad enough times?"

"You knew what time it was!"

Adam stood behind our son, looking just as upset. "Erin, you could've stepped in to fix it. He's been looking forward to this sailing trip for so long."

On my phone, I pulled up the school notice I'd forwarded him a week ago. His reply confirming it was right there on the screen. Then I opened the folder. The guardian form was still tucked at the front, untouched.

"I gave you the papers on Friday. You didn't read them, and you didn't show up. Noah's disappointed, but that doesn't make it my fault."

Adam stared at the phone screen and went still. He stopped accusing me of making things difficult on purpose, but he didn't set the record straight with our son, either. Noah waited for his father to stand up for him, and when it didn't happen, he stormed off and slammed his bedroom door.

That night, I knocked on my son's door. He was sitting on the rug, fixing the sail frame that had gotten bent. I sat down beside him and gathered the loose screws into a box.

"I was really looking forward to seeing you go sailing too," I said. "It's a real shame you missed the first round. If I'd made sure Dad actually read the emails sooner, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

He looked up. "Then why didn't you make sure?"

"Because it was his promise to you. You're only nine, so you need the grown-ups to take responsibility. But a grown-up can't make a promise and then turn around and dump it on me."

Noah rubbed his eyes until they were red. "So are you still going to look out for me?"

"Of course. When you do something wrong, I'll still tell you." I handed him the last screw. "There's another lesson next week. Let's make a schedule and write down who's in charge of the gear and who's doing the driving. Whatever's on your list, you do yourself."