Page 119 of Thick & Thin

I stood in the first store we went to and daydreamed of a hot bubble bath, candles, and Christina Perri on low volume. All this shopping for expensive crap that would never fit, when all I really wanted was a nice bath and a naughty threesome with Ben & Jerry’s. So much for that idea!

I hadn’t worn a tie since my grandfather’s funeral when I was fifteen. These bank officials damned well better appreciate that. I’d already spent most of the morning stuck in traffic all the way from Walterboro to downtown Charleston. It was usually a thirty-minute trip, if you took the interstate. Today, it took me damn near an hour and a half.

I sat in the lobby and silently prayed that these bank boys would give us a shot at an extension. I just needed some extra time… anything that would keep my little family in our home. Maybe they could give us two more months on top of the ninety days? What was two more months?

The devil on my shoulder stuffed negative thoughts into my brain. What if they refused? We’d have to start over fresh somehow.That was not really a scary thought for me, except for that fact that poor Dad wouldn’t know what to do with himself. The shop was all he had ever known.

The minutes felt like hours, and I found myself dazing in and out. Picking up a magazine, I flipped through it without even looking at the pages. I felt like I was being watched, so I looked around the room once more. I noticed a lady sitting across from me, an attractive lady actually. She was older, late forties maybe? Not really my type, but she was still kind of sexy in a cougar-dominatrix kind of way.

She was openly staring back at me. Doing nothing to hide the fact that she was checking me out, her eyes moved from my eyes down to my crotch. The way she stared at me didn’t match her look. Legs crossed all prim and proper like, she smiled seductively at me. I smiled back. Hey, if she wanted to play, I could play, too. Then her face dropped, and her smile was replaced with a sarcastically lifted brow and a pinched mouth.

Shaking my head, I looked away. I didn’t have time for an old tease.

Finally, after what felt like days, the lady behind the desk called me back. I stepped through the door of the bank manager’s office.

“Mr. Michaels, I presume?” the man behind the desk asked.

He stood and held out his hand; I shook it. My sweaty palm made a squishing noise when I squeezed it, giving away my nerves.

This had to work. It was our last resort.

“My name is Mr. Schaefer. What can I help you with?”

I took my seat and started to fidget a little. This was the most important thing I had ever done and getting refused just wasn’t an option at this point.

“Well, Mr. Schaefer, I won’t waste your valuable time, so I’m gonna get straight to the point. We owe this bank more money than we got, and we only have ninety days to come up with that money. I’m here to ask you for more time, an extra sixty days, maybe?” I said quickly.

He picked up a small stack of papers and tapped them against the desk as he organized them.

“Mr. Michaels, I’m going to be completely honest with you. I’ve taken a good look at your file, and there’s just nothing more we can do. I feel horrible about this, I really do, but if the balance isn’t paid in the next ninety days, we’re going to be forced to foreclose on all of your father’s properties, the business included. I’m deeply sorry. If there’s anything else I can help you with, you just let me know.”

“You’re tellin’ me there’s no other option?” I said loudly.

I knew the people in the waiting room could hear me, but I didn’t care. This was my life he was messing with. This was Jenny’s life. Our home and our work, the way we survived.

“Mr. Schaefer, I appreciate the fact that this is your job and everything, but you gotta find another way!” I yelled. “There’s no way that we can come up with that kind of money that fast, and I’ll be damned if you or any of these stuck-up little bastards you got working here are gonna take our home.”

“Mr. Michaels, I think it’d be best if you left before I have to call security.”

“Then I guess you better call security because I’m not leaving until we come to some kind of agreement.”

“I understand that you and yourdaddyare having money issues, but it’s not really mine or the bank’s problem. If we handed out free money or more time to every poor person that walked through the door, we’d go out of business, too. Maybe your father should think about the way he runs things,” he snapped.

Before I knew it, I was standing over Mr. Schaefer with a sore fist and his blood on my knuckles. That bastard better be glad I didn’t keep going. He had the audacity to talk down about my dad and me… in my face, no less. His high-horsed ass needed a big reality check, and I was glad I was the one to give it to him.

Security arrived just as I was backing away toward the door, and I knew I was going to jail.

I came here to try and fix things, but because I couldn’t control my damn temper, Dad was going to have to dip into our measly savings to get me out of jail. I really screwed up this time.

Four hours later, I laid on the little bunk that the jail provided and ran different ideas through my head. I decided against calling Dad to bail me out. I could spend a night in jail. I knew they’d let me out in the morning and to be honest, I’d rather my dad worry about me for the night than use money we needed to bail my stupid ass out. It was worth being behind these bars. That bastard got what he deserved.

The cell door opened, and a police officer stepped into the tiny space. “OK, Michaels, time to go,” he said.

“What do you mean? I just got here.”

“Your bail’s paid. You’re free to go.”

I followed the officer out of the cell and down the hall to the front desk of the police station. Collecting all my stuff, my empty wallet included, I turned to face my dad.

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