"I'm very sorry Scott. There's really nothing I can do at this point." Mr. Ryan felt helpless as an insurance agent. "I know this fire was not any of your own doing but the fact remains that the house insurance was not paid for over a year." Scott couldn't believe a word he was hearing from the insurance agent. "But I paid! I paid money every month for the insurance. How could I possibly not have paid?"
"If that's true then we need to see proof of it otherwise my office hasn't received any of the money."
"That's not a problem! I write out the check every month and hand it to my wife...." Suddenly it dawned on Scott what happened with the money. He looked over to Bev, "What did you do with the money for the insurance?" Bev looked at him and said, "Same as always, drop it off here at the office. Maybe his office girl stole it."
"Hey! I don't appreciate accusing my employees of stealing!" Mr. Ryan was vividly upset. Scott, held his hand up to Mr. Ryan as if to say he would handle it. Mr. Ryan calmed down.
"Bev, you know that's not true. What did you do with the money?"
Bev got up and walked out of the room. "What did you do with the money Bev?"
Scott was stunned as he watch his wife disappear from the office and slowly turned to look at Mr. Ryan. "I'm sorry. I honestly thought I paid the insurance."
"No, I'm sorry Scott. I honestly want to help you but my hands are tied."
Scott left the insurance office with a sinking feeling about what lied ahead for his family of five girls. He worried about his daughters the most. To make matters worse, Scott called the mortgage company and found out that they too had not received payments in months and the house was about to be foreclosed on without his knowledge. The utility companies were also behind on payments. Credit cards were maxed out. The debt kept growing and growing with no end in sight. Already, he felt as if he overstayed his welcome at his in-law's house. Five girls in a small two bedroom house was more than cramped. It was over the boarder claustrophobic. To make matters worse, Scott's mother-in-law nagged and complained about five girls being too many to which Scott would reply with an inquiry of which daughter should he not have.
If things could get any worse, Scott did not want to know. He needed a reprieve from his gloomy prospect. Josh was the only person he could think of to get away to. Scott sat in a chair in the back porch of Josh's house. It was perfect. Josh had a forest for a backyard with a babbling brook not far. He felt welcomed in Josh's house and that's what he needed. A place where a stranger could relax and be silent. Scott appreciated that Josh didn't mind his silence and waited until he was ready to talk. Truth is, Scott wanted to talk. He just didn't know where to begin or what questions to ask. What scared Scott most was that he was afraid that if he did start talking, tears would stream and he wouldn't be able to stop the flow. Josh had known Scott for over five years. They became instant pals when Scott started working in the lab with Josh for a tractor corporation. In all that time they knew each other, Josh had never seen Scott like this. It worried Josh.
After an hour of solitude, Josh decided to help Scott put his thoughts together. He takes a sip of ice cola from his glass and takes a deep breath, trying to be careful as though he was about to break the glass. "Scott." Scott remained silent but just the sound of his name robbed him of a tear.
"Scott, I can't put into words how terrible I feel for you and your family. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you to wrap your head around what's happened." Scott closed his eyes and braced himself as he knew that it was finally time to face his horrible truth. "Scott if you ever need anything at all, you're welcomed to it, just please do me this one favor."
"What's that?"
"Don't take your life."
Scott laughed because he knew the thought did cross his mind. "I can't tell you how many times that thought crossed my mind." Scott leaned forward in his chair as his smile faded and tears were streaming now even more. He didn't want Josh to see the tears. "I moved here thousands of miles away from my own family for Bev because it was what she wanted. I worked this job and two others at the same time to save money for the down payment on the house. I could never get her support in the home. She doesn't cook, clean or do anything with any of the girls. My baby almost died in the hospital. My wife never visited the baby, not once! I had to work all night to come home to take care of the girls with very little sleep!" Scott stopped for a moment to breathe. The nice thing about Josh at this moment is he still kept silent as he knew Scott had more to say.
"And what does she do!? She destroys everything! She lies, manipulates and won't answer any of my questions. She tells me I'm accusing her when all I'm asking is what did she do with the insurance and mortgage money? She doesn't believe that I deserve an answer. Instead, she accuses me in front of her mother of sending our family to the poor house. And now I have all this debt that has to be paid and I have no home..." That was it, Scott finally gave way to uncontrollable tears and cried as he sat in his chair. Josh couldn't help but to shed a few tears himself as he watched his friend in distress.
"What are you going to do?" Josh finally asked. Scott took in a deep breath as a sense of relief had finally lifted his shoulders. He dried his eyes. "I'm not entirely sure. Bev's mother doesn't want all the girls to stay in her house for too long. The house is too small for five girls. I'm going to have to find a place for the girls to stay until I am able to get another home for them."
"Any idea of where they would go?"
"No, not yet but I'm going to have to. I just hope that this is temporary... A very short temporary. I don't like the idea of being separated from my girls for too long."
"Sounds like your daughters are the ones that keep you going."
"They are. My daughters steal my heart when they were born and everyday when they greet me at the door when I come home. They are the ones I look forward to everyday when I get home."
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