The Perfect Marriage by Kimberla Lawson Roby Page B

major credit cards were fully maxed out. They’d been so strapped for cash,
     Denise had also borrowed from and zeroed out her 401(k) retirement account. She was already in the process of paying it back
     through payroll deduction, but all that meant was that they now had another debt they had to worry about.
    Oh how Denise wished they hadn’t taken that trip to Montego Bay or the trip they’d gone on this past summer to Florida. Actually,
     the only reason they’d done the latter was because ever since Mackenzie had been a toddler, Denise and Derrek had always taken
     her on a summer vacation, and they hadn’t wanted to disappoint her this year, either. She’d been so looking forward to it,
     and while they’d both known they couldn’t afford it, they hadn’t been able to tell her no. Then while there, they’d also spent
     just over three thousand dollars for food, souvenirs, and clothing, and now Denise regretted it. The other thing she could
     no longer deny was the fact that she and Derrek had clearly spent way more money on drugs than they should have. They still
     weren’t drug addicts, but she had to admit they did enjoy cocaine and that it had officially become a normal part of their
     daily lives. So much so, they sometimes found themselves spending six or seven thousand dollars a month on it, especially
     when they had coke parties with some of their new friends and it was their turn to host a gathering. They never did this while
     Mackenzie was home, of course, but whenever she spent the night with her friend Alexis, or spent the weekend with her grandparents,
     Denise and Derrek usually had company until the wee hours. They’d gotten to the point where they worked hard at their jobs
     during the weekdays, relaxed in their bedroom with a little cocaine every evening, and then partied on the weekends. As a
     matter of fact, their lives and social calendars had changed so drastically, Denise’s parents now questioned why they hardly
     saw them. Even Denise’s best friend, Michelle, had wanted to know if she’d said or done something to offend Denise, because
     they rarely talked on the phone, went shopping, or had lunch anymore. Things had changed a lot, and now Denise wondered what
     would likely happen from here.
    Another ten minutes passed and just as Denise prepared to shut down her computer and head back up to her bedroom, Mackenzie
     walked into the study.
    Denise tried pretending that all was well and smiled. “Hey, sweetie. Finished with your homework?”
    “Yes, but where’s Daddy?”
    Denise didn’t like the worried look on her daughter’s face. “He went to visit a friend.”
    “So are we going to lose our house now?”
    “Honey, no, and why would you think that?”
    “Because Daddy was fired.”
    Denise stared at her.
    “I’m sorry, Mom, but I couldn’t help overhearing.”
    “We’re going to be just fine. So don’t you worry about anything.”
    “But why has he been missing so much work?”
    Denise hated this because the last thing she wanted to do was lie to her daughter. She’d had to do that a lot lately whenever
     she wanted to get away to her bedroom to get high, but she didn’t want to lie to her about this. “He just did.”
    “Is it because of the drugs?”
    Denise swallowed hard, trying to stay calm. “Honey, what do you mean?”
    “Mom, I’m not a baby. I’m thirteen now, and I know you and dad snort cocaine. I’ve known for a really long time.”
    Denise was too stunned to speak.
    “I know you’re going to be mad, but when you and Daddy started going to your room every single night and closing the door
     until morning, I knew something was going on. I knew something wasn’t right, so one day I searched through your closet and
     I found the box you keep it in.”
    Tears filled Denise’s eyes. “Sweetie, you really shouldn’t have done that.”
    “I know, Mom, and I’m really sorry. But you guys were really starting to scare me. You don’t even