A/N: Another chapter. Please enjoy :)
Money Matters
Friday – Two Weeks Later
The morning began with the incessant screaming of her alarm, only to go downhill from there, but by the time Stef made it home Friday night, she at least had some hope for a peaceful weekend.
"Not a good day?" Lena had asked, kissing her quickly and then moving to unpack the two bags of groceries that she had brought home. "Are we going through more milk than usual?" she asked before Stef had time to answer the first question. "I feel like I just bought two gallons…"
"Yeah, Jude is drinking more to build muscles," Stef said absently. "Love, what's this?" she asked, holding up a letter she had just opened.
Lena put the milk away and then came over to look at the letter Stef was holding. "You remember, I signed you up for free credit monitoring when there was a breach of some of the city records last year. Remember, they offered it for free…"
"No, love, I remember that," Stef shook her head. She handed the letter over to her wife. "It says something about possible identity theft potential."
Lena frowned, "I only signed up because Taylor said that it was a necessity with the way breaches were today…there must be a mistake though…"
"I'll call," Stef sighed. "I'm sure it's just some kind of mistake."
"I'll get dinner started. Salmon, potatoes and spinach okay for the night?"
"Anything you make," Stef said somewhat dismissively. She was already pressing the buttons prompted by the automated voice on the phone. Thirty minutes later, she was finally speaking to an actual person and perhaps even more confused than she was before. "I didn't ask for a third mortgage on my home…" Stef said, tightly.
"Which is well and good," the lady responded calmly, "But a Mr. Adams has been looking into the process and since he is co-borrower…"
"Mr. Adams? Do you mean Mrs. Lena Adams?" she hadn't changed her name yet on the mortgage papers, which is something they should probably get on; "That's my wife…maybe that's the mix-up."
"No. Mr. Adams. Stewart Adams is what the records say ma'am. The co-borrower on the loan."
"My wife is the co-borrower on the loan," Stef said rubbing her temples angrily.
"No. The way your loan appears to be structured is that you and Ms. Adams are listed as primary borrowers on the title and deed, but Mr. Adams was needed as a co-borrower, therefore he still holds that house as an active asset. And this Mr. Adams has attempted to take out a second, I mean third mortgage on the house…"
"Okay, okay…thank you," Stef said rushing the lady off the phone. Lena was just coming back into the room. "Your father has tried to take a mortgage out our home," she announced bluntly.
"Huh?" Lena said obviously confused. "She had changed, and was now ready to get down to cooking. "My father has done what?"
"Exactly," Stef said more calmly than she felt. She explained what the woman on the phone had conveyed to her. "Maybe she's mistaken…"
"I'll call," Lena's brows furrowed with worry "I'll call him now."
"I'll wash up and get dinner started," Stef said kissing Lena's cheek as she headed upstairs.
"Dad, I don't understand," Lena was saying when she came back down. Stef began salting and seasoning the fish as she listened to Lena talk in circles with her father.
"Who is mom on the phone with?" Jesus questioned, dropping his bag in the middle of the floor and heading straight to the fridge.
"No sir, young man," Stef said stopping his progress. Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes."
"Mom, I'm starving now!" Jesus sighed for emphasis. "I just need a snack; I'm a growing boy!"
"You look like you've grown a foot since breakfast," Stef said sarcastically. "We are having salmon and potatoes."
Jesus came over to look over his mother's shoulder. "Mom! I'll have to eat like seven of those small pieces to get full. "Let me at least have some cereal to take the edge off," he said pulling a bowl from the cabinet. It was a good plan, Jesus could get a whole salmon like a grizzly bear by himself and Jude was quickly catching pace with his older brother. He poured himself a bowl and settled on a stool, "They want me to come for the third trimester," he said his mouth full of cereal. "I didn't know schools did trimesters, but I can train and then actually compete in some summer programs," his eyes lit up with desire.
Stef and Lena had met with the recruiter, and although they both hated to admit it, were dually impressed with the man, the school and the program. They had both given the okay and now Lena and Jesus would be flying out to Colorado to tour the actual campus in about a week. "When does the trimester begin?"
"Beginning of April," Jesus answered, polishing off the bowl of cereal. "Is Mariana here yet? I got a math question that only a dork would be able to answer…" he tossed his bowl in the sink.
"I'm sure you won't get far asking like that," Stef said finally getting the potatoes in the oven to roast. "She'll be here in about ten minutes. You have weekend homework?"
"Test on Monday," he picked his bag up and headed upstairs.
Stef wanted to ask Lena if she preferred spinach or an actual salad, but she was deep in conversation with her father or mother at the moment. She decided on a salad, because chopping would come out a lot better than her trying to prepare spinach that was edible. She chopped a head of lettuce, onions, red and green peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes in a bowl and tossed causally, as Lena finally hung up with her parents. "What did he say?" Stef realized her voice sounded too eager, even to her own ears.
"It was just a mistake. He wasn't trying to get a new mortgage. He and my mother are getting closer to retirement, so he is changing financial advisors and he must have gotten some of the papers wrong. It shouldn't have even popped up on our credit reports.
They had been doing well the last two weeks, so there was really no use in backtracking now. "Sounds plausible," Stef agreed. "Dinner is almost ready…"
By the time dinner was on the table, only Jesus, Mariana and Brandon were home. "Where is Jude?" Mariana asked her mothers, already knowing that Callie was at work.
"Conner's. They are going to the batting cages. Getting ready for baseball try-outs."
"Is he really going to try out for the team?" Brandon questioned skeptically. "I mean, he's terrible."
"Kinda like you with everything besides that piano?" Jesus asked getting a second helping. "You barely talk to him; when you do, you don't get to rag on him."
"Why don't you just eat another ten portions you Neanderthal," Brandon rolling his eyes at Jesus.
"Both of you; give it a rest!" Lena warned. She was still uneasy from the conversation with her father and she wasn't covering it up well. She poured herself another glass of white wine and sipped. "I don't really have much of an appetite," she announced out loud. She cleared her plate and moved outside into the warm night air. It wasn't long before Stef was behind her. "I think my parents are not telling me something," Lena admitted, knowing that it was her wife instinctively.
"You wanna try calling your sister?" Stef asked slowly.
"She's actually keeping her distance from our parents, so I doubt she'd know anything. Yet, it can't hurt trying," Lena sighed. "It can't hurt trying."
"You're going to make me drink kombucha, like I've done something wrong," Taylor said, sounding more comical than serious. Zoe tried to cover her laugh, but ended up failing miserably and bring herself to near tears at the distraught look on her wife's face. It was nearly seven-thirty on what seemed to be the longest Friday night in the history of Fridays. The girls had dual dentist and pediatrician appointments and then Zoe had run all of her shopping errands since she had the assistance of her wife for a day.
"Drinking kombucha is not a punishment. It is good for us," Zoe laughed. "And I was going to suggest burgers at Edzo's…I just don't feel like sitting in there. I want to get home, where it is warm and I am close to my bed," Zoe said looking into the backseat where, both Thaddie and Ava were asleep.
"That can definitely be arranged," Taylor agreed smiling. They were about four blocks away Edzo's and Taylor could already taste a shake from there in her mind. She quickly found a parking space and killed the engine. "Okay, what would you like?"
"I'll go in," Zoe volunteered, tightening her winter coat. It was just beginning to snow again, but she was willing to brave it for her wife.
"Why?" Taylor asked suspiciously. She saw something healthy in her future, and she didn't like it.
Zoe leaned over and kissed her quickly. "Trust me," she laughed and got out of the car.
Taylor turned and looked back her daughters. Both had gotten shots; Thaddie had hated it a lot more than Ava, who barely even squirmed during both of hers. Still, Thaddie actually enjoyed her dentist appointment, where her dentist explained that one day she would get her big girl teeth and the concept of the tooth fairy, while Ava just progressively got closer and closer to biting everyone who put her fingers near her. Still, Ava was more well behaved than Taylor assumed she would be, and she was rewarded by getting to pick out her new potty-training clothes.
"What is taking Zoe so long?" Taylor asked herself. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Life was going smoothly the last couple of weeks. Well, work was a bit much. Her responsibility had nearly tripled, and she was really working her ass off. She couldn't complain though, she was getting more than her fair share of the credit at work. So much so, that her boss was pushing this compliance officer position more and more. She had pushed it to the backburner more and more, but eventually she would have to address her work issue. Still, home life had significantly improved. She and Zoe were connecting again, laughing again and actually enjoying each other's company again. They set aside one hour a night to just talk; no phones, no electronic devices and no talking about the kids…just reconnecting.
Zoe hustled through the cold and climbed back into the car with two bags and two drinks.
"That's not nearly enough food," Taylor commented, and Zoe swatted at her.
"I got us a hot fudge milkshake and the girls a chocolate one. They did so well today, I figure they deserved a treat after being so good today."
"Yeah, they were pretty awesome today," Taylor smiled, heading back onto the street. The ground was just becoming covered with snow, so she took her time coming to a stop at the light. There were only five lights until they got home, but she hated driving in the snow. "So, what's for dinner?"
"I got you what you like," Zoe stuck her tongue out at her wife. They joked until Taylor finally pulled into the driveway and they unpacked the girls into the house. "Dammit," Zoe mumbled while beginning to take her coat off.
"What's the matter?" Taylor asked, helping a still drowsy Ava take some of her clothes off too.
"I forgot, Ava doesn't have any diapers. We have all her potty training stuff, but no diapers…I completely forgot," she cursed herself mentally.
"I'll run out and get some," Taylor said easily. She pulled Ava's shoes off so the little girl could comfortably sit on the new couch that Taylor had gotten Zoe for Valentine's Day. Zoe had always wanted a sectional couch for the living room and now she had it.
"No, I'll go," Zoe frowned even as she said it.
"Aww, please. You hate driving in the snow," Taylor reminded her lightly. "Plus, I'm going to Target, where it's cheaper."
"How did you know I wasn't going there?" Zoe asked wrapping her arms around her wife. "Thanks, babe," She kissed Taylor soundly.
"You just keep whatever healthy burger you got me warm…and don't drink my half of the shake," Taylor smiled warmly.
"Mama, I wanna go too," Thaddie said rubbing her eyes quickly.
"Sweetheart, I'll be right back," Taylor promised. "Eat your dinner. You have a milkshake." Thaddie looked at Zoe.
"Mom, do I got a milkshake?" she said forgetting all about going with Taylor.
"I'll be right back, Zo," she said and disappeared back into the cold.
"I can't get in touch with my sister," Lena said wearily. "What could this be about; other than what my parents are saying? Well, what my dad is saying?" Lena asked her wife.
"If Stewart said that it's wrong…it's probably wrong," Stef said giving her father-in-law the benefit of the doubt. "Hmmm…I got some good news today," Stef revealed.
"Oh gosh. I'm sorry, I didn't even ask you about your day," Lena blinked and shifted her position on the bed.
"I have an interview for the open detective position. Mike doesn't think it's the best idea…" Stef began.
"Who cares what Mike says," Lena said smiling brightly. "This is what you want, right?"
Stef smiled softly at Lena's enthusiasm for her career. She knew how much it bothered Lena for her to be in constant danger, but her wife had always stood with her. "We also got the bill for the kids' car…"
"Do I even want to know?" Lena grimaced.
"Trust me, I didn't," Stef shook her head. "I think Brandon should pay for at least half."
"He doesn't have any money," Lena sighed.
"He has his hand money, and if he wants to drive for the rest of his senior year, he's going to part with some of it," Stef said firmly.
"Do you think that's fair?" Lena questioned gently.
"Do you think it isn't?" Stef countered. When Lena said nothing, Stef nodded her head. "I'm telling him tonight. I've already authorized them to make the repairs. Lena, we have to pay for you and Jesus to go to Colorado in the coming week and now this with the house…it's just a lot. And since Brandon is the reason for this problem…honestly, he's lucky we don't make him pay for everything. Coming up with fourteen hundred for a new engine…we are lucky that Mike has a buddy that's going to put it in so quickly and cheaply."
"Baby, you are right," Lena said wrapping her arms around Stef from behind.
"Oh my…said that again…" Stef teased.
Lena didn't have time to respond, because her cell phone rang. "That better be Taylor Marie…" Lena sighed, stretching out to pick up her phone. It was her little sister and Lena started in right away. "Where have you been?"
"Everywhere, doing everything," Taylor offered her response. "The girls had two appointments today and then my wife wanted to shop. I've been up since three this morning, don't push me Lena Foster," Taylor threatened. She knew how much Lena it when she didn't hyphenate her last name, so Taylor did it when she wanted to annoy her big sister.
"Have you talked to our parents today?" Lena questioned, ignoring her sister's poking.
"No, I've had a good day," Taylor replied flippantly.
Lena could hear a cash register in the background. "I'm serious…"
"Okay…no I haven't talked to either of our parents," Taylor said seriously. She was opening her car door now, which was quickly being covered with snow. "Why, what's up?"
"It seems dad's new financial advisor accidentally ran the paperwork for another mortgage on my house and it showed up on Stef's credit report," Lena explained quickly.
"How does that even happen? How does Dad have access to your mortgage material?"
"He was our cosigner."
"Dad cosigned for your house?" Taylor tried to sound nonchalant about it, but the anger in her voice was seeping through. "Did he give you the down payment too?" she tried to joke.
"Some of it," Lena replied, not realizing how upset this was making her little sister. She had completely forgotten that while she was buying this house with Stef, her little sister and parents were pretty estranged and Taylor had no idea that she had received nearly two hundred thousand dollars for the down payment for her home.
"You can't be serious! How much did our parents give you for that very expensive San Diego home?"
"What…what? How is that important?" Lena stammered. "You knew that our parents helped me out…"
"No, I didn't!" Taylor said firmly. "It must have been one of the SEVERAL periods that they were barely talking to me. "How much did they give you for the house?"
"Taylor…this is asinine," Lena said shifting uncomfortably now. "I just wanted to know…"
"I just want to know how much money our parents blessed you with, Lena."
"Nearly two-hundred thousand. We needed twenty percent and we didn't have nearly enough. Dad said I could take my inheritance early."
"And he cosigned?" Taylor asked breathlessly. She physically couldn't catch her breath after that figure. It cost about one-forty for her to get through grad school and her Ph.D. and Dana had been adamant about not helping her one iota. She had worked three jobs and Zoe had worked two, just to keep them afloat for a while. Only after Thaddie was born did Zoe cut back to one job, and Taylor still managed to work three up until the time they moved into their own home in Chicago. The first ten years of their marriage had been plagued with debt and her constantly worrying about money, but somehow, her parents had managed to give her sister an "early inheritance!"
"Taylor, don't get yourself worked up about this…" Lena said, becoming annoyed. "I just had a question…"
"They gave your two-hundred thousand dollars! Don't tell me not to get worked up, Lena. Do you know how much a Ph.D. from Harvard cost! Our parents ceased giving me any money the second I told them I married Zoe and they gave you money for a house! They paid for your Master's, Lena…"
"That was our agreement…"
"What about their agreement with me?"
"Well no one told you to run around and get married, did they?" Lena spat before she could stop herself.
"Oh…Wow!" Taylor said. It was the last thing Lena heard before the line went totally dead.
Lena tossed her phone to the side and growled. "That got off topic very quickly." Lena dove face first into her pillow, and let out a scream.
"What exactly happened?" Stef couldn't understand. It had gone from a regular conversation, to a tight screaming match between the sisters in no time flat.
"I forgot that Taylor didn't in fact know about dad helping us out with the down payment or co-signing our home loan. This night keeps getting…"
"Interesting," Stef finished for her. "Would you like a glass of wine?"
"No…no wine," Lena said sadly. "I just want to close my eyes and pretend like this day just didn't take a turn for the worse," she said doing just that.
"Mine?" Ava looked over into the tiny potty sitting beside the regular sized one in the girls' bathroom. The little girl liked the idea; something that was just hers. She had taken her bath and now wore her first pull-up for the night, which she was getting used to. It felt different, but her moms let her just wear that around, which was promising. She had been practicing the art of taking off her clothes for the last month or so and getting rebuffed every time, but tonight, she only had to wear this new diaper-thing. "Mine?" she asked again, looking at Thaddie and Zoe. Taylor was standing beside her and smiled brightly.
"Yes, Avie. It's all yours," she promised. Ava smiled brightly and closed down the little top and then sat on it. "Okay, just one thing," Taylor spoke slowly and calmly, "You leave the seat up, when you sit down and you pull these down," Taylor pointed to the pull-ups. Ava stood, put the seat back up and then sat back down. "Well, that's progress," Taylor laughed. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Thaddie shake her head and head out of her bathroom. Taylor stayed behind to help Ava get the concept, while Zoe took Thaddie to tuck her in. After sitting on the potty for ten minutes with nothing happening, Taylor encouraged Ava to stand up. "Good job, honey!" she cooed. "We'll try again tomorrow morning."
Ava was proud of herself too. "Okay," she stood up happily. She pulled up her new underwear and ran out of the bathroom.
"Hold on there, buddy," Taylor said scooping her up and kissing the little girl's cheek. "Let's go to bed."
"No," Ava sighed. "No." She was sleepy, but not sleepy and she wanted to go in there and bother her sister. "Ma!" she yelled when they passed Thaddie's room.
"Oh no, ma'am. Thaddie is actually going to sleep, and so are you."
"No," Ava pouted. Still, she got over in her crib easily and lay down.
"You did a good job today," Taylor said seriously.
"Okay," Ava yawned deeply. "Bye Mama," she waved up at Taylor. "Bye bye, Mama," her eyes fluttered closed.
"I love you Avie," Taylor smiled as she turned off the light, leaving only the nightlight to illuminate the room.
Zoe was backing out of Thaddie's room, just as Taylor reached the hallway. "Is she asleep already?" Taylor whispered. Zoe nodded and smiled.
"Keeping them up from seven this morning until now was pretty genius. They'll probably sleep until noon," Zoe laughed. It was a little past ten now, and the girls weren't the only ones exhausted. Still, Zoe was looking forward to her hour of talking to her wife uninterrupted. She went to their bedroom and took a quick shower, while Taylor cleaned up the kitchen and picked up the living room. By the time Zoe made it to the bedroom, Taylor was just stripping her clothes off and putting on something more comfortable than her jeans and button down shirt.
"Is it pathetic that I'm too tired to actually unbutton my shirt?" Taylor laughed.
"That's why I always wear things I can pull over my head," Zoe smiled. She moved closer to her wife and began unbuttoning the dark blue shirt. "You are pitiful," she said kissing Taylor slowly.
"You are just undressing me to take advantage of me," Taylor pouted. "It's a shame…trying to take advantage of a poor, tired soul like me," Taylor ended up smiling brightly.
"Yes…that's me…taking advantage of you," Zoe nodded, kissing the side of her wife's mouth. "You're so full of yourself today," she laughed gently. "Hey, my father got his butt in gear and got us the estimates for the plans I drew up for the basement. He said he can do it for about forty-five…that's factoring in my style and taste," Zoe said pulling Taylor's shirt off her body effortless. "Are you going to jump into the shower?"
"Did you already put my night clothes in there?" Taylor questioned, raising her eyebrow.
Zoe kissed her soundly again. "Yeah," she grinned. "Don't take long…I want my hour," she said pushing her wife towards the bathroom. Taylor didn't make her wait more than twenty minutes and came back into the bedroom wearing her favorite Harvard shirt and matching shorts. Zoe was looking down at her IPad, at the drawing she had figured up for the basement. She loved doing work like this; she was already picking out fixtures and backsplashes. She had drawn the original plans by hand and was delighted by how impressed Taylor was with her work.
"Are you looking at our basement plans?" Taylor asked laying on the bed. Zoe nodded eagerly. "So, your father said forty-five? That's at less than I had budgeted for…"
"I'd like to get it down to forty…I can do some of the work myself," Zoe said, her eyes shimmering. "We can do all the painting, fixtures, and I can lay tilework myself."
"Something you learned at big bad, Harvard?"
"Something Jillian and I learned working with our father every summer since I was fourteen," Zoe said running her finger across her screen. "I can do everything, but electrical…and Jillian can do that….so if we're not in a hurry…"
"You want to do this all by yourself, don't you?" Taylor was obviously amused with the idea. Not because it was insane or undoable, but because she loved seeing this much energy and enthusiasm in her wife.
"All but the framing, and I'd supervise that," Zoe said with wide pleading eyes. She expected some resistance from her wife and for good reasons. Construction disrupted lives and taking it on single-handedly was a lot to handle.
Taylor stretched out and looked at the IPad with her wife. "Do I at least get to pick out some of the fixtures?"
"No…your tastes are …"
"How about that nice couch I got you for Valentine's Day? I thought I did really well."
Zoe kissed her soundly. "You did…you did very well. I love the new upstairs couch. And of course, you can pick out the fixtures and everything else you want. It's going to be our little sanctuary! Bedroom, on-suite bathroom, open-living area and small office for us. Then the girls and our future kids can have all the bedrooms up here. Do you really like the idea? If you would rather my dad handle this…"
"No, Zoe you are so capable; I don't see any problems in it. And I definitely want our kids to understand that they are capable of doing all different types of things."
"You are going to say all the right things, aren't you?" Zoe said putting her IPad on the nightstand. "You know, I read the most interesting article today…"
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"Why would you assume that?" Zoe chuckled. "How do you think we've been doing…physically?" she asked becoming serious.
"We are doing fine," Taylor shifted uncomfortably. They had been practicing the "one-hour rule," which entailed giving each other one full hour of attention without distractions. It was working all too well, and usually ended up with them getting in a heavy make-out session before bed. Taylor was definitely happy with that. Zoe was relaxed, playful, and above-all, affectionate again, and for that, Taylor was ecstatic.
"I was thinking," Zoe said snuggling closer, "Maybe we should step-up our efforts," she slipped her hand under Taylor's shirt and smiled at the intake of breath that this caused.
"No…we can't do this tonight," Taylor said mournfully. She saw the spark disappear in Zoe's eyes and was quick to correct her wife's assumptions. "No, baby, you know how much I want you. Geez, I've wanted you for months…I must be out of my mind for what I'm about to say…"
"What are you about to say?" Zoe asked, removing her hand and sitting upright again.
"I had an argument with Lena while I was out getting the pull-ups for Ava, and I found out that my parents gave her money for the down payment for her house and it bothers me. It really bothers me…and I'm going to be thinking of that instead of how beautiful you are or how good your body feels. Jesus, I must be an idiot…"
"No…no…that's really shitty of them," Zoe said, steeling herself off with anger. "We struggled…a lot those first couple of years while we were both in school. Your parents refused to help, and you were always hesitant to take money from my family because of how your mom made us feel. And then they give your older sister money to pay for a home? Didn't they pay for her entire education also?"
"Yes!" Taylor was all too happy that her wife full understand the situation. "And Lena admitted to mom and dad giving her nearly two-hundred thousand for a down payment and dad co-signed the loan."
"That's a lot of money," Zoe said openly surprised by the number. "Do you think…"
"That they had that amount of money sitting around because it was part of my college fund?" Taylor blurted. "My parents were anal about having enough money to send us to college full-time and having enough that we could live off of…I scholarshipped into boarding school, and they were only paying expenses for my last two years of Harvard because…"
"You had a full ride there too," Zoe said running the numbers in her head. "Most of your college fund would have been for grad school and those living expenses," she agreed. "But they stopped helping out before you even graduated with your bachelors…" Zoe took a deep breath to calm herself. "How did this translate into you and Lena having an argument?"
"She doesn't understand why it upset me…and then she made some off-handed comment about how I was the one that chose to get married…"
"Ugh, that doesn't sound like Lena. Something must be getting on her nerves too," Zoe frowned. Still, she pulled her wife closer to her and kissed her behind the ear. "However, that is no reason to take this out on you, sweetheart. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, and even sorrier that we struggled those years; but you've pulled through pretty nicely, right?" she couldn't help seeing the silver lining. "It's no use us worrying about that now, but I can definitely understand why it hurts. And even more, I really appreciate how you didn't just try to push through intimacy when you aren't in the mood. It means a lot that you preferred to talk to me than just pushing through some sex."
"Wait, we were going to have sex?" Taylor feigned shock. "Out of my mind…" she shook her head sadly.
"You'll be here tomorrow night…and the night after…and the night after," Zoe said wrapping her arms around her wife's waist. "There is always tomorrow…" Zoe assured her happily.
It had plagued Stef's sleep, which was why she and Lena ended up down at their bank the next morning. It was Saturday, but luckily, their mortgage broker was working the weekend because he was behind at work.
"Come in, Mrs. Adams-Foster," he said to Stef, and then the exact greeting to Lena. "What can I help you with?" They had taken out a second mortgage nearly six months earlier, and he really hope they weren't having a problem making the payments already.
"I had a troubling inquiry on my credit report," Stef began her explanation. After explaining everything in detail, Mr. Abbott nodded, scratching his pronouncedly balding head.
"That is troubling," Mr. Abbott agreed. "Luckily, I can look it up," he assured the women easily. He tapped away at his computer furiously and within minutes had pulled up the information he needed. "No, no…Mr. Adams had a preliminary assessment done on the house and the property and after finding that the value of the home is nearly 1.1 million dollars, he authorized the paperwork for another mortgage to be taken out on the property."
"What…wait," Lena shook her head in confusion. "How could he do that? He is only the co-borrower on the property."
"The paperwork Mr. Adams has filed here has him as the primary," Mr. Abbott frowned at the paperwork. "It's not unusual, and most banks wouldn't even check the difference as long as he's listed on the original loan; however, he was denied because of the second mortgage on the property; and unfortunately, it appears that both of your credit scores will take a hit because of it. Would you like me to check them for you now?"
Stef was too stunned to talk, so Lena answered, "Yes…yes, please."
"You'll have to sign this paper," Mr. Abbott said, printing out some documents quickly. Both women signed dutifully and waited for their respective scores. Both of their scores had taken nearly a twenty-five-point hit, not particularly because of the mortgage, but because Stewart had been making several inquiries with different agencies and banks. "It's likely only temporary," Mr. Abbott tried to sound upbeat. "It'll level itself out soon."
Stef felt physically sick to her stomach; not only had Stewart flat-out lied, but now her credit score was affected. She and Lena had worked hard just to get to the respectable range in their credit. Raising five kids was hard and the money they had spent on Callie and Jude's adoption was draining them. Missing a payment here and there was necessary, and now with the numerous inquiries on their reports, both women's scores had dipped to the mid-500 range.
"I'm up for a detective's position…" Stef mumbled to herself more than to the room. "They won't give me that job with a subpar credit score…"
"Maybe it'll be alright," Lena stammered as she reached for her wife's hand. Stef involuntarily jerked away. Lena felt the slight deeply, but returned her attention to Mr. Abbott. "What can we do?"
"Nothing as of right now. The third mortgage was rightly denied, but the damage was done," the older man said sadly. "Given a couple of months and perfect payment and credit practices, you should be fine. It'll increase on its own."
"We don't have time!" Stef said standing and storming out of the room.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Abbott," Lena managed before following her wife. She caught up with Stef when she was close to the car. "Stef…" was all she able to get out before Stef turned to her, anger burning in her eyes.
"How could he, Lena!" Stef boomed uncontrollable. "How could your father do this to us?"
"There has to be a mistake," Lena gathered herself. "Something has to be wrong…"
"He went behind our backs and tried to take out another mortgage on our house!" Stef screamed into the warm March air. "He could have ruined my chances of getting a promotion and what about you looking for principal jobs? This is damaging, and sneaky and just plain wrong!"
"I…I don't know…" Lena said dissolving into tears.
"Lena…we don't have time to stand around crying…" Stef managed angrily. "We need to talk to your father; and NOW!"
"I'm not going to my father in anger and to accuse him of stuff, Stef!" Lena hollered back. "And if you can't calm down, we are not finishing this discussion." Stef's anger exploded through her belly, but rather than saying something hurtful or ugly, she only shook her head at her wife's stupidity. She pulled the keys to the truck out of her pocket and tossed them to her wife. "Where are you going, Stef?" but she received no answer as Stef headed in the direction of the beach with no real plans, just anger fueling her.
Lena was lucky enough to make it back to the truck before she completely broke down. She beat the steering wheel for a few moments before she tried calling her mother and father, and when they didn't answer, she went on to call her little sister. She assumed that Taylor wouldn't answer, which she didn't, but that didn't hurt as much as her mother and father's betrayal. Something had to be going on that Lena didn't see, because her father would never do something like this without a reason. And then it hit Lena, what if one of her parents were sick and trying to find money for treatment? The thought stopped her heart in panic and she dialed her little sister furiously again.
When she got Taylor's voicemail, she left a stern message. "Mom or dad is sick and can't tell us! Stop being an ass and answer the phone," she gritted out angrily. It was easier to be angry at Taylor than distraught about her current predicament. "Call me, immediately," she said before hanging up. She hopped out of the SUV with her phone and wallet, locked it up and then stumped angrily back in the direction that her wife had disappeared in.