After Before and After

Conclusion: Chapter 5

The conclusion of Jack's sentencing hearing paved way for the conclusion of the Langley family's stay in Savannah. Now that neither family was bound to the city of wretched memories, they had all made arrangements to return to something resembling their normal lives.

Paige and Jack had been staying with the Langleys in East Point since they washed their hands of hotels after the sentencing hearing. All their bags were in the basement, where Paige had been camping out on the couch Jeffery usually reserved for watching important sporting games. Jack, of course, was staying with Ralph in his room. This wasn't a permanent solution by any means. Paige was still working out the kinks with the lease she was planning to sign on a new place for her and Jack. The trial, the hearing, and being bound to Savannah all last month made moving, an already challenging thing, even more challenging. But now that it was all over, Paige was quick to step up and get things in order as swiftly as possible.

The house Paige arranged for her and Jack to move into was small, about as small as the Langleys' place. But it was safe, and it was in a good neighborhood, and it was just outside of East Point. A ten minute drive to Ralph's house was all the convincing Jack needed to get on board. And while keeping the boys close was high on Paige's priority list, being close enough to Jeffery and Laurie, her primary adult supports, was higher on the list of reasons she chose the homey neighborhood of Parkview just outside of East Point's city limits.

"Does this mean I can go to school with Ralph?" Jack asked his sister hopefully.

"Actually no. We technically won't be living in East Point, and the house is outside the borders of Eastern Woodland Academy's registration map. I haven't found a vehicle yet either, so I wouldn't be able to do that commute anyway, plus private school definitely isn't in the budget right now" Paige informed him.

"Do you even know what the word budget means?" Ralph halfheartedly asked Jack later that same night as the two laid together in the former's bed.

"Course I fucking do. What am I, an idiot?" Jack defensively countered.

"Then what is it?" Ralph calmly challenged.

"It's money" Jack vaguely answered.

"Specifically what about money?" Ralph pushed him further, despite knowing it could lead to an argument or something worse.

"What is this, a math test? It's midnight for fuck's sake, can't we just sleep?" Jack combated.

"It's how much money you have to work with, Jack" Ralph ignored him, "it's knowing that if you only have $5K in the bank, that you can't just go blow half of it on something unnecessary like private school. You gotta save as much as you can to make it last as long as you can when you're on a budget."

"How long do people stay on budgets? It's like one of those fad diet things that people try and stick to for a week or something, right?" Jack hoped.

It was hard to take Jack seriously right now, but Ralph tried to keep his judgment about the former's blatant ignorance to himself. "We've been budgeting my whole life" Ralph confessed.

"What?" Jack audibly gasped. "That's like saying you haven't had a fucking chocolate chip cookie in fifteen years cause you're trying to lose 10lbs on keto."

"What?" Ralph tilted his head in confusion. It was either late and he was tired or Jack was talking nonsense. Possibly both.

"It's like holding your breath" Jack chose a different metaphor, "for fifteen years."

"Maybe in your social class" Ralph considered carefully, "but most people have a budget of some sort. Some are tighter than others, but ninety-nine percent of people look at price tags before they buy something, Jack. Especially big things."