Epilogue To The Three Matchmakers

Chapter 7: The Unexpected Challenge

Things got busier and busier at the Krelborne household as day of the wedding grew closer and closer. Things were exciting for Seymour and Audrey yet stressful at the same time. Pretty soon they would be married and Audrey's dream of having a beach wedding would finally become reality.

When Audrey arrived home from visiting her father in the hospital she found Seymour staring down at an envelope on the kitchen table. "What's that?" she asked

"It's for you from the IRS. I wanted to wait for you get home for you to open it."

Audrey went pale. "The IRS?" Why would they send us anything?"

"Well it looks like it was forwarded the original address is marked returned to sender."

Audrey had to investigate so she went to the table and opened the envelope. Color slowly returned to her face and spots of red started to adorn her cheeks."

Seymour had a mixture of concern and curioisity on his face "What does the letter say?" he asked

"Remember how Orin was filing bankruptcy for his dental practice before he died?"

"Vaguely."

"Well, this was originally sent to his house on Skid Row but was sent to us because I guess I was his only person to contact in this area after he died. He owes a lot of money to the government. I don't know if we should pay it back or not."

"He didn't have any family in this area… at all?"

"His closest relatives live in Georgia, I think."

"How much did he owe?"

"$13,000."

Seymour was furious that him and Audrey were now responsible for paying back Orin's debt on top of their own bills.

"What are we going to do? We already have to pay so much money for the expenses of the wedding and all our other bills."

"I have no clue… there is a phone number at the bottom of the letter stating that if we have any comments or concerns to call the lawyers office. Do you think we should up an appointment with a lawyer?"

"Couldn't hurt to get a professional opinion. What's the phone number?"

Audrey circled the phone number at the bottom of the letter and handed it to Seymour. He went into the next room and dialed. He got a machine and left a message.

"Well, I got a machine . I guess we'll have to wait til tomorrow to schedule an appointment."

As they were leaving for work the following morning the phone rang. Audrey picked up.

"Hello. Krelborne residence this is Audrey speaking."

"Hello Mrs. Krelborne . This is Moriah calling from Richards and Boylston Attorneys at Law. Your husband called yesterday in regards to a letter you received in the mail and setting up an appointment to meet with Mr. Richards."

"Yes, he did. When does he have available time to meet with us?"

"Wednesday moring at 9:30 or Wednesday afternoon at 3:45."

"The morning would be better for us."

"Okay then. See you at 9:30 Wednesday morning."

The line went dead.

Audrey turned to Seymour. " We have a meeting with the lawyer Wednesday morning at 9:30. Do you think Mr. Mushnik will mind if we come in late?"

"He'll probably give us the morning off. I'll ask him when we get to the store."

"Okay."

"I can't believe that good for nothing left you with all of his debt. This is outrageous!" Mr. Mushnik fumed when Seymour told him of their dilemma.

"Can we get Wednesday morning off sir?"

"You're welcome to take the whole day off. The volunteers can help me. Things haven't been as busy as they usually are lately."

"The whole day? Are you sure sir?" Seymour was surprised at Mr. Mushnik's offer.

"Yes my boy. You two have been incredibly busy with planning the wedding and you deserve a day to relax after how things busy things have been for you over the past several weeks."

"Thank you Mr. Mushnik sir We really appreciate it." Audrey said.

"You're welcome." Mr. Mushnik smiled at his employees who were like children to him. He cared about their well being deeply.

Wednesday morning Seymour and Audrey work up at 7:45 so they could beat the traffic down to Skid Row which would be horrendous if they left any later. They did some window shopping at some of the familiar stores they once shopped at when the lived on Skid Row and then headed to the lawyers office conveniently located across the street from where Orin's former office was.

When the entered Moriah the secretary smiled at them.

"Good morning Mr and Mrs. Krelborne. Mr. Richards will be with you shortly please have a seat."

"Thank you." Audrey said.

It wasn't long before the door opened and a man with a medium build ,blonde hair and glasses opened the door.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Krelborne I'm Devin Richards please follow me to my office."

Seymour and Audrey got up and went down the long hallway to the lawyers corner office.

"So I see you have a problem with paying a back a debt from the dentist office that recently closed across the street."

"Yes sir." Audrey said.

"And what your relation to Mr. Scrivello Mrs. Krelborne?"

There was an awkward silence.

"He was my exboyfriend. We didn't exactly part on good terms." Audrey said

"Sorry to hear that. What seems to be the biggest issue with paying back this debt?"

It was Seymour's turn to interject.

"Well right now we're in the process of getting married. Our wedding in next week."

"Congratulations. I wish you the best of luck with your marriage."

"Thank you. The wedding is very expensive and so is planning the honeymoon. We also have to take into considering all the expenses we have to pay for the new house we just brought up town. We honestly don't know how we're going to pay this outrageous amount of money back by ourselves."

"Do you know if Mr. Scrivello had any family around here?"

"His mom died when he was 4 and he lived with his dad. From what Audrey has told me his closest relatives live in Georgia."

Mr. Richards looked at Audrey. "Mrs. Krelborne , do you have any contact information for anyone in Mr. Scrivello's family?"

"No sir. The IRS didn't either that's why we got his check in the first place."

"Do either of you have any relatives or friends that can assist you in paying back part of the debt."

Seymour nodded.

"Yes We do. Audrey has family on Long Island . our boss at the flower shop is pretty much like a dad to me and we have friends."

"Do you think they would be willing to help you out?"

Audrey shrugged.

"Well, you see sir my dad just got out of the hospital where he had to get surgery. Those bills are pretty expensive. My sister is also getting ready to go to college and we live on such a limited income because my dad is now the only guardian. I'm sure he'd be willing help , I just don't know how much he'd be willing to give. " Audrey said.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father's illness. What about your boss from the flower shop?"

Seymour sighed.

"He's not very pleased by this whole situation. I'm sure he'd be willing to help us though." Seymour said.

"And your friends?"

"Well they don't exactly make a lot of money at their jobs. They work as waitresses at a local restaurants. We hate to burden them but we'll ask anyway."

The lawyer looked at them.

"Let's make a deal. I'll try to see if I can get in touch with Mr. Scrivello's family in Georgia and you talk to your family members and friends and see how much money they can spare. We can schedule another appointment for after the wedding if the plans for your honeymoon do not conflict."

Sounds like a plan to me.

Audrey and Seymour had lunch plans with Crystal Ronette and Chiffon after the appointment.. the perfect opportunity to discuss this very pressing issue.

"How was the meeting with the lawyer?" Chiffon aksed

"It went well. We were actually wondering if you guys could possibly help us out." Seymour said.

"Anything you need." Crystal said

"The debt Orin left behind is pretty steep. $13,000 to be exact. We were wondering if you guys would be willing to help us pay a little bit of it."

Ronette smiled, "We'd be happy to donate as much as we possibly can. How much do you think you will need?"

Seymour and Audrey collectively sighed and smiled at their friends. "Well we know you guys don't really make a lot with your watriessing jobs so what ever denomination you want to give is fine with us. "

$500?" Ronette asked.

"Sounds reasonable." Seymour said.

"Great we'll send you a check by Tuesday." Crystal said with a smile.

Seymour and Audrey were relieved and hoped Mr. Mushnik and Audrey's family would be just as generous.

On the drive home Seymour noticed that Audrey looked nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried my dad won't be able to give us a lot of money. I don't want to be totally screwed over."

"Well the girls already said they'd give us $500 and I'm sure Mr. Mushnik will be willing to help too."

Audrey sighed.

Seymour took one of his hands off the steering wheel and took Audrey's hand in his.

"Don't worry baby, we'll get through this. "