E N C H A N T E D

nonsensical and entirely unhelpful

"So you'll just have to stop at the bank sometime soon and bring the first six pages, signed, with you. They'll issue you a card and you can enroll in statements." Sirius passed two stapled packets across the table, one to Remus and one to Liam. "The account will start with seven thousand dollars and follow a deposit schedule of fifteen hundred a week. Medical bills will be paid with an HSA, which is detailed on the seventh page; Remus your packet includes the physical card."

Remus flipped to the page and ran his fingers over the card. "Sirius, we can't-"

"Yes you can. And you will."

Remus wanted to argue, but they'd been doing too much of that lately. It was Monday and Max was scheduled to be discharged in a day and the hope Remus let himself feel that first day had dwindled pretty quickly.

Max's treatment was working. And that was maybe the only thing that was. The rest of the kids were having an awful time adjusting. Liam was having a difficult time trusting Sirius, and all of the ideas that Remus so easily agreed to started to feel uncomfortable. He couldn't shake the feeling that Sirius would never last and that when the time came, everything would come crashing down and he'd be worse off then than he was now.

Sirius' patience seemed to be wearing extremely thin, and reasonably so.

"The deposit schedule is contracted for the next 12 months, at which point it will be evaluated and renegotiated."

Liam stiffened in his seat, "why won't you provide it all up front?"

"Remus said he was more comfortable with deposits."

"It's less than he used to make weekly." Liam argued as Remus continued to look between them.

He watched Sirius nod and scratch the five o clock shadow that had grown in. "Well..." Sirius sighed and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, "as we discussed, a second account has been opened and a deposit of sixty five thousand has already been made. It will cover the cost of your rent, electric, gas, car payment, wireless, phone, and water bills, plus school lunch for the next 12 months. All of that information starts on page 11. Remus has updated all direct payment information, so no manual withdrawals will be needed."

"Hmm..." Remus knew Liam was just being stubborn. Hell, Liam had been a part of all the decision making that lead them here so he had no reason to be so critical. Remus' hesitancy didn't lie in the logistics, it hinged on the act itself and was fueled by deep seeded doubt that he'd hadn't been able to shake in years.

"Groceries are to be ordered via the store app, which has a saved payment method linked to my checking. There is not a spending limit on food, though we agreed that three thousand a month was probably reasonable, if not generous."

Liam continued to frown.

"Liam, you were there when we did all of the calculations and planning," Sirius tried to reason, "why are you dragging your feet now?"

"I've got to go get Mel," Liam stood and took the packet with him. "I'll figure this out, thanks," he added as an afterthought. Sirius watched him leave with a frown etched on his face.

Remus realized he'd been scowling in return too late. "What did I do wrong?" Sirius asked with a huff.

There was no answer to Sirius' question that would give him the transparency he wanted. The problem lay more in what he was doing right and how Liam had been conditioned to reject that. Remus couldn't say he was much different. Still he knew better than to try to explain it to Sirius who had never understood where the hesitation, mistrust, and fear came from.

Sirius had never spent a night sleeping on the front porch because he'd been kicked out by his mother during one of her mood swings.

He'd never wondered if he'd wake up to a fridge that was empty even though his mother had promised she'd bring home groceries the day before.