All Chapters of Charity Starts at Home: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

“Mrs. Turner, the hospital requires a 150 grand deposit for your father’s surgery, and the subsequent treatments are likely to exceed 30,000 dollars.” The message from the attending physician stung my eyes. I tapped into my banking app, only to find a sad balance of 201 dollars and 38 cents. Overwhelmed with disbelief, I had to check the amount three times.Roddy and I had been married for three years. Between us, we earned a combined monthly income of 26 grand. Even after paying 6,000 for the mortgage and 3,000 for living expenses, we couldn’t possibly be left with only 200 bucks. Besides, I recalled seeing at least 20 thousand dollars in there just the other day. Unless… Jolting to my feet, I dialed Roddy’s number. It took the seventh to eighth ring before Roddy answered the call. “Yeah? I’m in the middle of business right now. Why are you calling out of the blue?” Roddy sounded annoyed. “Roddy,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “Why is there only 200 bucks left

I stormed out of the apartment. Roddy came up from behind and stopped me. “Laurel, don’t go there and cause a scene!” I slammed the door in his face, shutting out his angry voice.Drawing a deep breath, I rang the doorbell next door. The sound of shuffling feet approached the door, and a young whiny voice boomed. “Who is it in the middle of the day?” Natasha opened the door, dressed in her expensive nightgown, a facial mask plastered to her face. She was surprised to see me. “Oh, Mrs. Turner. What is it?” She looked rather impatient. “Is Lorelei there?” “Mom’s out getting a facial,” Natasha said offhandedly. “You can just talk to me.” “Fine.” I inhaled deeply. “I’ll be straight with you then, Natasha. My dad is in the hospital in need of surgery. Roddy has loaned your family 187,400 dollars. I need you to return the money now. It’s a matter of life and death for my dad.” Natasha’s face behind the mask stiffened. She looked me up and down like she was staring at

The next day was Saturday. I woke up first thing in the morning. After getting up, I was sorting through work files in my room when Roddy’s screams suddenly came from the next room around ten o’clock, and the frantic clattering of a keyboard soon followed. “Darn! What’s going on? Jesus! I worked all night on this proposal!” Barefoot, Roddy stormed out of the bedroom and pounded on the door of the guest suite. “Is the power out? Why is the electricity cut?” Roddy tore into me the moment I opened the door. “Laurel, did you forget to pay the water bill? I can’t flush the toilet!” Snapping my laptop shut, I met his gaze offhandedly. “Yeah, I didn’t make payment.” “Why you little—” Roddy yelled profanities and darted toward me, standing inches away from my face. Specks of his saliva almost splattered onto my face. “Where’s our money? Didn’t we just get paid two days ago? Why didn’t you pay the bills? Do you know how important the proposal was? I need to present it on Monday!

On Sunday afternoon, after an initial consultation with Fred Adams, my lawyer, I arrived home with drafted divorce papers. Roddy was there, sitting on the sofa with a grimace. The apartment was heavy with the smell of burnt toast and lingering cigarette smoke. His quality of life took a dive once I stopped covering the household expenses.I slipped the document across the coffee table toward him. “Have a read. If there are no questions, just sign it.”Roddy glanced at the header. Jerking his head up, he looked at me in disbelief. “Are you for real, Laurel?” “Do I look like I’m kidding?” He snatched the papers up and leafed through them, his scowl deepening. “You get to keep the apartment and the savings? I’m supposed to fork out 100 grand as compensation to you? Are you that desperate for money? Where am I going to find that kind of money?”“I bought the place and paid the down payment. I covered the mortgage even after we were married. Of course, the apartment goes to

The updates came from my former neighbors and some of Roddy’s colleagues I was still in touch with. Apparently, Roddy jumped straight into the arms of the widow and moved into Apartment 302 the moment the ink dried on the divorce papers. Lorelei kept Roddy pretty sweet for a while, fussing over him. Natasha was all smiles around him, too. However, things went sour soon enough. As Roddy was now living in Apartment 302, Lorelei felt entitled to charge him a fortune for living expenses. Natasha kept finding ways to ask Roddy for money, whether it was for a new bag, clothes, or a trip. If things didn’t go her way, she would sulk at Roddy. By the second week, Lorelei had gained control of Roddy’s wages by taking hold of his bank account for ‘safekeeping’. I heard that Roddy even had to beg Lorelei for the smallest expenses, like a phone bill. Nine times out of ten, he’d be lectured for being reckless with money, and she would give him little or nothing at all.Because Roddy