Chapter 10 - The Hospital
Real emergencies don't need forged signatures.
My father's hospitalization was real.
That was the good news.
He'd experienced chest pain and an irregular heartbeat.
He was stable.
That was the second good news.
The bad news was that Mom immediately tried to turn it into leverage.
Olivia advised me not to rush home solely because Mom demanded it.
“You can support your father without signing anything.”
“I know.”
“And do not go into a meeting alone.”
“I won't.”
I booked a flight for December twenty-seventh.
Not December twenty-fifth.
Not December twenty-sixth.
I had made my decision.
I would return when I was ready.
Not when someone tried to corner me.
Jason met me at the hospital.
He looked terrible.
His eyes were red.
His beard had grown in.
“How is Dad?”
“Better.”
“Mom?”
He laughed without humor.
“Mom is Mom.”
We sat in the hallway.
After a minute, Jason said, “I owe you an apology.”
I looked at him.
“For what?”
“For believing her.”
“You didn't know.”
“I should have asked you.”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were being difficult.”
“I know.”
He looked down.
“I've spent my whole life assuming you were the difficult one.”
That hurt more than I expected.
“Why?”
“Because that's what Mom said.”
I stared at him.
“She always said you were too independent.”
“She did.”
“She said you didn't care about family.”
“She did.”
“She said someday you'd regret choosing work over us.”
I laughed quietly.
“She really committed to the role.”
Jason gave me a sad smile.
Then he said, “There's more.”
“What?”
“She wants you to come into Dad's room.”
“Why?”
“She says he wants to speak to you.”
I stood.
“Okay.”
We walked into the room.
Dad looked pale.
Older than I remembered.
For a moment, he wasn't the man who had dismissed me on the phone.
He was simply my father.
“Riley.”
“Hi, Dad.”
“Come here.”
I sat beside him.
He reached for my hand.
I let him hold it.
“I’m sorry.”
My throat tightened.
“For what?”
“For not stopping this.”
I looked at him.
“What exactly did you know?”
He closed his eyes.
“Too much.”
I waited.
He whispered, “Your mother was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Losing the house.”
I frowned.
“The house isn't worth enough to cover everything?”
“No.”
“What else?”
He looked away.
“She borrowed against it.”
“How much?”
“Some of it.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“That isn't an answer.”
He sighed.
“I cosigned for her.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because she said it was temporary.”
“And now?”
“Now the lender wants collateral.”
“My property.”
“Yes.”
Everything went quiet.
“Dad.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you ask me?”
“You would have said no.”
There it was again.
The assumption that had poisoned everything.
I stood up.
“Exactly.”
Dad grabbed my wrist gently.
“Riley.”
I stopped.
“Please don't destroy your mother.”
I looked at him.
“I didn't create this.”
“I know.”
“Then don't ask me to fix it.”
His eyes filled.
“I’m asking you to give us time.”
“You had time.”
I pulled my hand away.
Then Mom came into the room.
She shut the door behind her.
“We need to talk.”
“I already know about the debt.”
Her face changed.
Dad whispered, “Linda…”
She ignored him.
“You don't understand how bad this is.”
“I understand enough.”
“You can save this family.”
“No.”
“You have the property.”
“I do.”
“You have the income.”
“I do.”
“You can refinance.”
“No.”
“You can help your father.”
“Through a formal arrangement.”
She stared at me.
“What does that mean?”
“It means if you need money, you ask me. You don't impersonate me.”
Her face hardened.
“We didn't have a choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
She started crying.
Then she said:
“You've always had the ability to walk away because you never had to carry this family.”
I looked at my father.
Then at her.
“For the first time, you're right.”
Mom blinked.
“I’m walking away.”
I opened the door.
Behind me, my mother said something in a voice I had never heard before.
“Then you'll regret it.”
I turned.
“What?”
She wiped her face.
“You don't know what the lender has.”
My heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
May you like
She smiled through her tears.
And that was when I realized the debt wasn't the worst part.
