In this chapter, Leslie makes a move nobody would expect.
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Chapter 25 Taxes
"Here you go." Nancy said handing Leslie a plate of stew.
"Thanks."
Jess glanced at the doorway waiting for his dad to return.
"I wish he would hurry up."
"I thought you would hope to finish dinner before he gets back." Leslie whispered. "Right?"
"Wrong!" "I need to talk with him."
Leslie smiled as she scooped up some chicken stew into her mouth.
Suddenly somebody opened the door and walked up to the dinner table.
It was Jack.
"Nancy!" He called. "Get me some of this stew will you?" Jack pulled off his raincoat and hooked it onto a coat hanger.
Nancy nodded as she went back into the kitchen.
"Hi Dad." Jess greeted calmly.
"Hello son." Jack replied as he took the plate of stew from Nancy. "Thanks dear."
"Hi Daddy!" May Belle called.
Jack just patted her on the head and smiled.
"Jess has something to tell you." Leslie announced.
But she was soon interrupted by the doorbell.
"Oh who could that be?" Jack mumbled angrily standing up from his chair.
"Hello!" Said a completely soaked man in a black suit. "May I come in?"
"Who are you?" Jack asked while shutting the door behind the man.
"I'm Alan Ford from the IRS." "I'm here about a payment on your taxes. "May I sit down over here to go over it with you?"
Jess blushed at Leslie feeling embarrassed.
Jack didn't say anything when the man sat down.
He opened up a black suit case and shuffled papers around in it.
"Here's the amount owed" The man said handing Jack a legal size sheet of paper.
"You got to be kidding me!" "How could I possibly owe over $8,000 in income tax when I only make $18 K a year?" Jack yelled loudly.
"See here sir?" "It says you collected Twenty-two thousand dollars to a Mr. Jesse Aarons, and a Miss Leslie Burke." "I am assuming that this resident is your brother?"
"No...He's my son!"
Jess panicky gleamed at Leslie as he mouthed the words: "We are in trouble!"
Leslie nodded and stood up next to Jess.
"Mr. Ford, Could I explain?" Leslie exclaimed and interrupted the two mens conversation.
"Go ahead and tell the man young lady." Jack said crossing his arms.
"My name Is Leslie Burke and that income tax should be billed to the Burkes' house." "Not my boyfriend's house."
"Why then is his name on the report?" The man asked.
"Because half of the money is hi..."
"Unless you two are married, then the Aarons' still owe $4,000 dollars." The man closed up his suit case and stood up. "I know it is a great sum of money, but what is owed, must be paid."
"I'll come tomorrow to finalize the arrangement." And at that, the man opened the door and walked outside.
"Damnit!" Leslie yelled unexpectedly.
"I'm sorry Mr...I mean Jack." "I should have known." "I'll go over and talk with my parents about this."
"No Leslie, Just stay here." Jack replied. "I'll go over and talk with them."
Jack stumbled out the door and into the rain.
"Oh well that beats that." Leslie groaned slamming down on her chair. "So much for telling him of q..."
"SHHH!" Jess hushed not waiting Leslie to spoil their plan to Nancy and May Belle.
After about an hour Jack came back in and explained what had happened.
"Bill and I are going into town tomorrow to the tax office to see if we can straighten this thing out." "That way, we won't have to wait for that jerk to come back and listen to him."
"Okay." Nancy replied. "Do I need to come too for a signature?"
"No." "Just Bill and I should be enough." Jack replied. "Now could you heat up my cold plate of stew?" He laughed.
The next day as Bill and Jack headed downtown, Leslie and Jess hanged out in Terabithia's treehouse as it rained slowly.
"I wonder what they are going to do." Jess mumbled to Leslie while lying flat on his chest.
"I just hope everything works out." Leslie replied. "That IRS man was really bossy on which household needed to pay."
"Oh I'm sorry Jess!" "I should have asked you first before I signed the paper for the gold." "I just wanted you to have..."
"Its alright Les." "I don't blame you."
"But if Bill and Jack can't get the problem solved, your family is going to have to pay for the income tax!" "You may go Homele..." Leslie sobbed. Tears slowly poured down her cheeks.
"Wait!" "I've got an idea!" "Lets just use the money from the gold to pay it off!" Jess blurted.
"Jess..."
"...That way we won't need to pay it and..."
"Jess!"
"We...What Leslie?"
"I spent all the money." Leslie replied.
Jess turned his gaze back out at the trees swaying in the wind.
"All of it?" He asked.
"Yeah." "All of it." "It was meant to be a surprise and...and..."
A loud clap of thunder muffled Leslie's voice.
"We better be getting home." Jess suggested. "Trees aren't the safest to be in." "Especially when lightning strikes."
Leslie smiled as she climbed down the latter. "What are the chances that our tree, on our land, gets hit by one bolt of lightning?"
"I don't know." "Maybe a hundred million to one?" Jess replied. "A person is probably more likely to get hit!" Jess jumped down the last half of the latter and followed Leslie as she ran on the soft but wet dirt.
Once Leslie and Jess arrived home, they could both hear Bill and Jack arguing.
"Sounds like they got home." Jess joked to Leslie.
"Four thousand dollars!" "I don't have that kind of money!" Jack protested.
"Mr. Aarons, I'm not saying that I won't pay you back, its just I don't have that kind of money right now either." "I will by the end of this month, but not today."
"I have to make a mortgage payment, I've got to keep the lights on and the water running and you want me to cough up 4 K?" "I just can't! "Your daughter got me into this mess." "As her father I would hope you would be able to fix this!"
"My daughter also willingly divided all her saving with the boy she loves!" "I think that should count as something you should respect!" Bill snapped back.
"I have an idea!" Leslie whispered to Jess with a ear to ear grin.
"What?"
Leslie pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to Jess.
"Look, Mr. Burke, nothing I can do will raise the money needed to pay off that income tax!" "If I can't pay them, they are going to come after me!" "But If I do put every last cent to my name for this, I'm going to lose the house!" Jack explained.
Bill turned his head to the two teenagers and quickly back at Jack. "You could let your house be foreclosed on and I would buy it back from the bank for you."
"Absolutely not!" "I will not accept charity!"
"I know this is kind of backwards for me to tell you this, but you have to propose to me now" Leslie said.
"What?" Jess asked a little bit startled.
"You love me don't you?"
"Yes I do Leslie." "Its just that the boy usually asks first."
"Really?" Leslie questioned with a grin.
"Yes" Jess laughed nervously with a big smirk. "Okay um..."
"If we let our house be foreclosed on, that would be a huge embarrassment to my whole family!" "Having the police come over and force us out of our own house is out of the question!" Jack roared.
"So your pride is more important than your son and my daughter being happy?"
Jess put his arms around Leslie and looked her face to face.
"Leslie Sophia Burke, will you marry me?"
"I will!" Leslie yelled out.
She leaned forward and kissed Jess softly.
She pulled his hand up in between the two and whispered: "Open it!"
Jess slowly pulled open the golden little box and gleamed at the wonderful treasures inside.
It was two golden rings.
"Oh Les!" Jess mumbled a little confused but exhilarated.
"I love you." She said sliding the ring over one of his fingers.
The gold sparkle gleamed towards Jack. He noticed it was a ring.
"What on earth did you two just do?" Jack yelled in outrage. "You can't be married!" "Your only fourteen Leslie!"
Bill looked shocked but finally smiled at his daughter. "It really is the only option out of this problem Mr. Aarons." "And the two already love each other."
"The marriage licence will delay the billing process enough for me to help them pay it off." Bill explained.
"I can't believe your agreeing to this!" Jack answered in protest. "They are still children!" "Jess isn't even eighteen yet! "I don't even think they are old enough to even "Legally" be married!"
"Leslie, Hes right." "You have to be at least sixteen to be married in Virgina." Jess pointed out to Leslie.
"Remember what Dayton Park said?" Leslie smirked.
"Oh yeah!"
"Wait." "We are going to Texas?"
-End note-
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to update soon!