Cathy is bewildered when she sees her son wearing new clothes and listening to music through brand-new headphones. One day, she follows him, eager to discover where or who he’s been getting everything from. She’s taken back to her childhood when she sees who it is. Recently, I started noticing that my son, Alex, has been dressing up in new clothes that I didn’t buy for him. Yesterday, I saw a new pair of headphones slung around his neck. Honey, where did you get the earphones from?” I asked while making breakfast.”From Dad,” he replied, texting furiously. And the clothes, too?”

“Hmm,” he said. “Yeah.” It made sense — Alex’s father, Ian, and I were divorced, so between the two of us constantly getting Alex new things, it was difficult to keep track. But even so, Ian was a practical man. I was the one to splurge on things when shopping, not Ian. He always got Alex good quality items, especially clothing. But never name brands — Ian hated spending money on them, saying they were a complete waste. That’s why I was suspicious because all Alex’s new clothes were name brands. “I don’t know what to tell you, Cathy,” Ian said into the phone. “But it wasn’t me. Maybe he got a part-time job or something.” He’s fourteen,

Ian. No part-time job would pay him that much.” “I’ll ask him,” Ian reassured me. “We’ll get to the bottom of it.” I’ve never wanted to be one of those moms who micro-managed every move her child made. But nothing made sense — Alex couldn’t have gotten the money alone. While washing the dishes after dinner that evening, I heard Alex whispering into his phone. Mom,” he said, walking into the kitchen. “I’m going to my friend Jeremy’s house to work on a project together, okay?” “Need me to drop you off?” I asked, wiping my hands. “No, it’s not far. I’ll walk.” A few minutes later, he left. This was my only chance to see if Alex was up to something. I gave him a head start but watched him from the window.