Desperate Times
It was several months later, and we were struggling with the restaurant, and how to turn a profit. We had good business and quite a few regular customers, but what they were making was not enough to pay the bills. Monica decided it was time to increase the prices on the menu and as a result, business dropped drastically, especially since there was a new gourmet restaurant in the same neighborhood that was charging half of what Monica was, and as a result, was taking a good deal of their business.
Not to mention that they were receiving calls from the bank constantly to advise that their mortgage was past due. They tried to stall as long as they could, but now there was talk of lawyers and litigation. One day I came home to find my wife sobbing hysterically. I went over and asked what was wrong, and Monica showed me a letter the postman had delivered, advising that unless $25,000 plus $2,000 in late fees was paid by the end of the month, the bank would officially foreclose the house
'Where are we going to get that kind of money in 30 days', she asked as she managed to regain her composure. I was speechless and merely shook his head. 'Can we ask your folks for a loan', I asked, which took Monica by surprise as I was usually full of pride and didn't ask for help. She sighed and replied 'They're retired and living on a fixed income'
'I don't know what we're going to do, but I'll think of something' I said matter-of-factly. Monica was amused by my 'conquer-the-world' attitude and said 'Sweetie, this is bigger than you. It's bigger than both if us'. We both sat down as I said 'If worse comes to worse, we'll lose the house. That can be replaced'. Monica started to cry again as she replied 'But I don't want to lose the house'.
Seeing my wife break down was more than I could bear as he just wrapped my arms around her and said 'We'll get through this. I promise' I didn't quite know what I would do, but I wouldn't let them take the house. I was the man and owed it to my wife to take care of everything.
I knew what I had to do. I didn't want to do it, but if you want water, you go to the river. And if you want money, you go to the bank. Unbeknownst to Monica, when we purchased the house, I also purchased a small gun. I made sure she as asleep and quietly reached for a small box on the top of the closet, and pulled it down.
I quietly shut the door to the bedroom, and just sat on the sofa for what felt like hours, staring at the gun. I didn't like the thought that was running through my head. I decided to simply go to the bank and try and explain the situation and to see if we couldn't work something out.
The bank would open in another hour, so I killed time at a donut shop that was a block away. After what seemed like my 10th cup of coffee, I left and walked to the bank, pausing to let an elderly gentleman inside, before I entered and approached the teller.
'Good morning, how can I help you' she cheerfully greeted, and then it just happened. I didn't know what I was doing, and couldn't control myself. I pulled the gun out of my pocket, pointed at her and said 'Yeah, you can give me all the money in your register, right now'