Not Yet
MONEY MEETS TAX · EPISODE 11
Anaheim · Spring 2025
Money & Tax in this episode
Family planning · Career and timing trade-offs · When a child changes the tax return
On Tuesday morning, Daisy’s boss stopped at her desk.
“How does September look?”
Daisy looked up.
“September?”
“Laguna Beach. Full renovation. Smaller than Newport, but not by much.”
Daisy turned toward her calendar.
September was mostly empty.
For now.
“You want me on it?”
“I want you running it if Newport finishes the way it’s going.”
Daisy looked back at her.
“That sounds conditional.”
“It is.”
“Fair.”
Her boss smiled.
“Think about it.”
Daisy didn’t need much time.
“Okay.”
“Okay you’ll think about it?”
“Okay I want it.”
“That’s what I thought.”
The rest of the morning filled up before Daisy had time to look at September again.
A lighting revision.
Two vendor emails.
A contractor question that started with quick and wasn’t.
By lunch, Laguna Beach had moved to the edge of her screen.
But it stayed there.
That evening, Evan was at the dining table when Daisy came home.
His laptop was open.
Daisy put her bag down.
“I might have another project.”
Evan looked up.
“New client?”
“For work.”
“Oh.”
“September.”
“The Newport one isn’t even done.”
“I know.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Yes.”
She opened the refrigerator.
Evan waited.
Daisy took out a container, looked at it, and put it back.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Daisy looked over.
“You stopped typing.”
“I’m listening.”
She smiled a little.
“I noticed.”
Evan closed the laptop.
“What’s wrong with September?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay.”
“I just thought there might be a gap.”
“Between projects?”
Daisy looked at him.
He understood.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
They had not talked seriously about children since December.
Newport got busy.
Evan’s consulting did too.
Then September appeared on Daisy’s calendar.
Evan leaned back in his chair.
“So you were waiting until Newport was done?”
“Not exactly.”
“You said you thought there’d be a gap.”
“I did.”
Evan waited.
Daisy sat across from him.
“I don’t know what I thought.”
“Okay.”
“I think part of me assumed work would get quieter.”
“Does it look like it will?”
“No.”
“Mine either.”
“I noticed.”
Evan smiled.
Daisy looked toward his laptop.
“How much consulting are you doing now?”
“More.”
“That’s very precise.”
“I don’t have the full-year number yet.”
Daisy smiled.
“You have a range, though.”
“I have a range.”
“I’m okay without the range.”
He closed the laptop.
“Look at that.”
“What?”
“Growth.”
Daisy laughed.
Then neither of them said anything.
Evan tapped the edge of the laptop once.
“Are we talking about it?”
Daisy knew what he meant.
“I guess.”
“Okay.”
She looked at him.
“You’re being very careful.”
“I’m trying not to make the wrong face.”
“You have several?”
“Apparently.”
Daisy folded one leg under the other.
“I think I want one.”
Evan didn’t answer immediately.
Daisy watched him.
“You can say something.”
“I’m thinking.”
She smiled.
“I know.”
Evan took another second.
“I think I do too.”
She watched him for a moment.
“That sounded suspiciously calm.”
“I don’t know what volume you wanted.”
She laughed.
“I don’t know either.”
Evan reached across the table.
Daisy put her hand in his.
After a minute, Evan said, “So what does that mean?”
Daisy smiled and pulled her hand back.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“You made it about thirty seconds.”
“I asked one question.”
“I know.”
Evan smiled.
“I’m not asking for a five-year plan.”
“Good.”
“I just want to know what you mean.”
Daisy looked down at the table.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t want to wait five years.”
“Okay.”
“I also don’t want to wake up tomorrow and have this become the only thing we talk about.”
“That seems avoidable.”
Daisy smiled.
“I hope so.”
Evan nodded.
Daisy looked down at the table again.
“I finally got the kind of project I wanted.”
“I know.”
“And now there might be another one.”
“That’s good.”
“It is.”
She paused.
“I don’t want to start making decisions at work based on something that hasn’t even happened.”
“Then don’t.”
Daisy looked at him.
“That was easy.”
“I mean it.”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
Evan waited.
Daisy looked toward the kitchen.
“If I took time off at some point, we’d be okay, right?”
“Money-wise?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
Evan waited.
“That’s not really what you’re worried about.”
“No.”
“I know.”
On Saturday morning, Daisy had a site visit.
Evan had a client call at eleven.
They crossed paths in the kitchen a little after eight.
Daisy was looking for her keys.
“Counter.”
“They’re not there.”
“Other counter.”
Daisy looked.
Her keys were there.
“I hate that we have two counters.”
“That seems like a strong reaction.”
She picked them up.
Evan poured coffee.
“Can I ask you something?”
“That depends.”
“Do you want to know what childcare costs?”
Daisy stopped.
“Do you know?”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“I can find out.”
Daisy smiled.
“I know you can.”
“I feel like we should know.”
“We probably should.”
Evan waited.
Daisy took her coffee.
“Not today.”
“Okay.”
“I have thirty-seven minutes to get to Newport.”
“Thirty-four.”
She looked at the clock.
Then at him.
“Was that helpful?”
“I thought so.”
Daisy smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
“It wasn’t.”
Then she left.
By the time Daisy got home, Evan’s call was over.
He had gone to the grocery store.
There was also a new tab open on his laptop.
Daisy walked past it.
Then walked backward.
“What is that?”
Evan looked over.
“Nothing.”
She read the screen.
Child Care Costs — Orange County
“Evan.”
“I was curious.”
“You researched it.”
“A little.”
Daisy smiled.
“You lasted three hours.”
“Closer to four.”
She looked at him.
He closed the tab.
“I learned nothing.”
“That seems unlikely.”
“Nothing useful.”
“How much?”
“I thought you didn’t want to know.”
“I don’t.”
“Okay.”
She started walking upstairs.
Then stopped.
“How bad?”
Evan looked at her.
“Do you want the answer?”
Daisy thought about it.
“No.”
“Good choice.”
She went upstairs.
A few days later, Daisy was still at the office when her boss came by.
“How are you feeling about Laguna?”
Daisy looked at the calendar on her screen.
Newport was still there.
So were three client meetings, two showroom appointments, and a Friday install.
September sat farther down the page.
“I want it.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
Her boss nodded.
“I’ll send you the hold.”
A minute later, the invitation appeared.
LAGUNA BEACH — DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
September through November.
Daisy looked at the dates.
Then clicked Accept.
The Tax Behind the Story
Nothing Evan and Daisy decide in this conversation changes their 2025 tax return.
If they later have a qualifying child, dependency rules and child-related credits may become relevant for the year of birth. A child born late in the year can still potentially qualify for that year under the special qualifying-child residency rules, assuming the other requirements are met.
Tax can explain what changes after a child arrives.
It cannot tell them when to have one.
Want the tax rules behind the story?
Having a Child: What Changes on Your Tax Return?
A deeper look at dependents, the Child Tax Credit, childcare expenses, the Child and Dependent Care Credit, Social Security numbers, employer benefits, and the records new parents should know about.
Next Episode
The Other Question
Arthur comes back into the picture.
Evan’s consulting is growing again, and the LLC question he thought he had settled has changed shape.