I Forgot to Leave Lunch Money for My Son, but He Said, ‘Don’t Worry, Mom. I’ll Look in the Cereal Box Where Dad Hides It’

The morning went sideways before I even left the house. I’d been up since before dawn, still groggy, running the bakery shift and barely hanging on with a second job to come.

Then it hit me—I’d forgotten to leave lunch money for Caleb. I cursed and grabbed my phone. Of course, he’d already texted: “Mom, no lunch money?”

I called him, heart sinking. “Caleb, I’m so sorry,” I apologized, guilty over not making him homemade lunch. He calmly replied, “It’s okay, I’ll just check Dad’s cereal box. He keeps money there sometimes.”

What? A cereal box? I didn’t have time to process it, so I told Caleb to figure it out, but my mind was racing.

How long had Marcus been hiding money? Why? We were barely scraping by, me working two jobs while he insisted we couldn’t afford anything.

Later, after my shift, I found it—an envelope tucked under the Cheerios. Inside was enough cash to cover the car repairs, rent, and bills. Why hadn’t he told me?

That night, over dinner, I brought up the car repairs, and Marcus brushed it off. “We’ll wait,” he said. I snapped. “You’re hiding money, pretending we have nothing. Why?” He admitted his boss had hinted at layoffs, and he’d been saving “just in case,” but hadn’t told me because he didn’t want to worry me.

I was furious. “You lied to me,” I said. “We’re supposed to be a team!”

The next day, I did something I never thought I would: I booked a spa day. When I came home, Marcus was shocked by my makeover. “What did you do?” he asked.

“I found the money,” I said. “I deserved a day off.”

He admitted he’d kept it for “just in case,” but I couldn’t get past the secrecy. “We’re a team, Marcus, right?” I asked, unsure if he truly understood.

We agreed no more secrets. We might be struggling, but at least now, we’re facing it together.