“What if that’s because he’s on the road?” I said.
“Stop being so negative,” he scolded. “We’re going to fight her on this.”
“We’ve been fighting it,” I said. “It’s a losing battle. It has been for the last year.”
“What do you think about the house?” he asked.
“What about it?” I asked.
“How much do you think he’ll get?”
“You’re asking the wrong person,” I said. “Judging by my current situation, I know shit about real estate.”
“I was thinking we should get a lawyer,” he said. “We have to be able to declare him incompetent. We can’t let him sell that house.”
“I’m all about trying to stop it, but I have no idea how to make that happen. We tried this before. Plus, I have no money to pay a lawyer. I don’t even know if I have money to move.”
“I’ll handle it if it comes to that,” he said.
I was glad he was willing to make a next move. I had been the one pushing hard all year. He kept saying it wasn’t that serious. It was good to know I wasn’t crazy.
We finished our dinner and he drove me home. Before I got out of the truck, he stopped me. “What are you going to do about the living situation?” he asked.
“I honestly have no idea,” I told him.
“I’ll try and help,” he said. “But if you can’t find somewhere to go, you have to think about putting the dogs in the shelter.”
“No. Absolutely not. Fuck that.”
“Thea, I’m not saying forever, but you’re trying to do the impossible. Selling and finding a new place and moving in a matter of weeks is next to impossible. You can’t actually let yourself be homeless. The dogs will be fine for a couple days in the shelter. You’ll be able to spend all day with them.”
My heart hurt at the thought. “Rich, that’s like asking me to loan out my heart for a few weeks. Those dogs have been through so much already. They are just now settling in. If I have to put them in the shelter, they will revert to the old behaviors. One more nip and they’ll get put down.”
He nodded and I hoped he understood. I wasn’t a martyr. I wasn’t trying to take a stand. I just wanted to live my life. “Thanks for dinner,” I said. “Let me know if you hear from Dad.”