Chapter 1

 

"Mum, whatever is the matter?" I asked with concern, noting that my mother looked tired and upset as I sat down by the kitchen table opposite to her.

Looking at her red, swollen eyes, I could tell that she had been crying. She continued to rustle through a bunch of letters in her hands, some of which had bold red writing marked across the sheets of paper.

"Oh, it is nothing, love, nothing to worry yourself about. Go watch TV and I will just finish off dealing with these bills."

"Mum, please! I am nineteen and not some little child anymore. You're obviously upset about something so please don't lie to me. If you tell what it is, I can at least try to also help out with the problem. I thought we were a team after all," I pleaded, not wanting to see my mother in so much distress.

We had both had a really rough time of late with my jerk of a father leaving my mother and I over six months ago to run off with his PA, leaving us to repair the damage he had caused as we picked up the pieces to start a fresh new life for ourselves. It now seemed that there was an issue with the progress my mother and I had made with our lives, perhaps putting us into jeopardy!

"Cindy...it's these bills, there are so many of them. I don't know if we will be able to cover them all this month along with our rent. I am not sure what to do; I may need to take extra shifts at the nursery," my mother finally confessed.

"Can I see them...the bills?"

My mother gave me the sheets of paper with her trembling hands.

As I read through the urgently phrased words on the letters, I understood why my mother was so down. Some of the bills were on their second and third warnings, threatening to take our material possessions if we did not pay up what we owed immediately. I resisted the urge to ask my mother why the situation had gotten so out of hand and she had not told me before about it all instead of allowing the bills to mount up to the point where it would be difficult to resolve.

"Don't worry, Mum," I said, laying a comforting hand upon her own, "we will sort this all out, we will think of something. I will get a job, I'll check at that clothes store down the road that has just opened up. They have a sign up saying they need new staff."

"But Cindy, what about college? Your work will suffer."

"Mum, you worry too much. There are plenty of students who work and study at the same time. It will be fine and it is not like there are any other options," I spoke stubbornly.

"Well..." my mother hesitated, "we could try to speak with your father."

"No way, there is no way I would ever ask him for help. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Mother, how could you even think it?"

"Darling, I am sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. I am feeling just so desperate right now, it felt like a viable option for a moment but you are right. I wouldn't want to speak to your father after what he has put us both through."

"I am glad you agree..."

I was just about to reply fully to my mother when the doorbell rang.

"Don't worry, Mum, I will see who it is. Perhaps you can start calculating in full all that we owe to everyone and then we can work out how we are going to prioritize our payments."

I left my mother sitting by the table. She looked a little less defeated than before now that she had a task to focus upon.

"Hello?" I asked with surprise.

"Hello, I'm Gregory; can I speak with your mother, please?" came his deep, rich, husky voice.