Page 25 of His Flash Mate
I’ll see you tomorrow.
~K
Despite knowing he would spell nothing but trouble for me, I was looking forward to it.
The vibrationsfrom my watch woke me at nine, much earlier than I usually set it after working until close.However, I had plans for my Saturday morning, which included a much-needed shopping excursion downtown.
I sat up and looked at the deposit bag filled with my tips on my nightstand.Three-quarters would go toward my student loan payment for the month, and the rest would be spending money.
Excited by the prospect of a new top for work, I got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.On the way, I heard paper shuffling from the kitchen and a sound I hadn’t heard Mom make since the divorce—a sigh full of both despair and resignation.
Concerned, I veered and went to the kitchen.
Mom sat at the table, her back toward the hallway, as she flipped through papers and entered numbers into an old-fashioned calculator.
Bills.Several of them had “Over Due” in bold at the top.
The amount showing in the calculator was concerning when she finally stopped entering numbers.But not as concerning as the notice sitting next to the calculator.
I reached around her and picked up the past-due mortgage letter.
Mom yelped and slapped a hand over her heart as she twisted to look up at me.
“I didn’t know you were awake,” she said.
“And I didn’t know we were in this much trouble.”
“Wearen’t,” she said.“I just fell a little behind when I lost my last job.This one’s stable, though, and I already have a plan in place to catch up.”
“In seven days?”I asked, pointing to the deadline on the paper.Then I pointed to the calculator.“All of it?Are you selling a kidney or something?”
She sighed and motioned for me to sit.
“I’m not trying to pay it all in seven days.I’m just trying not to lose the house.”
CHAPTERFIVE
My heart sankas I sat next to Mom and flipped through the stack of bills in front of her.
“How much do we need for the mortgage?”
“I’m behind three payments.If I don’t pay in full, theymightforeclose.I was thinking of going to the bank with this proposal.”
She slid another sheet of paper toward me.It detailed a payment plan to bring the mortgage current.A second sheet showed how she was juggling all the bills to ensure we’d have water and electricity.We were on the verge of losing everything, but the sheet did show there was hope.It would take three months of zero spending to achieve, though, which explained the lack of food in the house.
My phone, which I’d carried with me, started to ring.
“Sperm donor?”Mom asked, looking at it.
“I told him not to show up here anymore,” I said.
“That’s your father?”
“I don’t have a father.Just the donor who helped make me.”
She glanced at the phone as it went to voicemail.
“You can talk to him, you know.It won’t upset me.”
