My neck hurt today. It was probably because of dossing in the mistaken position last night, though I didn't feel that way. This really intruded on my ease of doing.
It was 6.20 am. Everyone had pancakes as breakfast. However, the pancake looked diverse today. It had a weird tang. Even so, it was still worth eating.
The bell of front door tinkled. It flabbergasted us who were in the middle of breakfast. Everybody gazed at the door, except Lucy.
Amanda stopped eating. She got up from the chair and walked towards the door. She placed her right eye on its peephole.
I was curious. I finished the rest of my food with one bite. I stood and approached Amanda. She stopped peering out and looked at me.
"Who's that?" I asked her.
"I don't know. He looks like a postman. It's just... his uniform is a little... different. And, he's holding a big envelope."
"A postman? Why doesn't he just put it in our mailbox?"
"I have no idea."
"Is he still there?"
The bell door rang again. It answered my question.
"Stand back," I demanded.
Amanda moved away from the door. She looked confused.
I stood behind the door and took a peek. A well-dressed man showed on the lens. He wore a purple shirt and blue cap. His left hand was holding a white envelope. This man gave the impression of being suspicious, though his face looked friendly.
I stopped peeking and stayed away from the door. I had a bad feeling about this. Amanda and I remained silent.
"Looks like he's holding a bill," I whispered.
"What? No way!" she denied.
"Have you paid all the bills?"
"All bills are settled. Electric, water, gas, I have paid those all."
"How about the telephone?"
"No one has used the telephone since two months ago."
"Well, I guess that's why this guy is here. Maybe there's a... some kind of new rule. You know, time keeps changing everything."
"Should we just ignore him till he leaves?"
"I don't think it's a good idea. You should face him."
"Why not you?"
"It's your turn. I've done that the last time."
"Damn!"
"Don't worry. I'll watch you."
I walked to the couch and hid behind, just to make sure that guy wouldn't see me. I noticed Amanda's every move. She opened the door. The man looked at her with a gentle smile.
"Good morning!" the guy greeted.
"Good morning!" Amanda greeted back. "Can I help you?"
"Is Mr. Steven Cavergon here?"
"He's not here right now."
The man showed the envelope to Amanda. "If so, could you give this to him later?"
"What's that?"
"I don't know what's inside. But, they said this's a special delivery."
"They? Who are they?"
"I have no idea. Uh, I'm just a courier."
Amanda kept staring at the man. Her sight terrified him.
The guy put the envelope closer to her eyesight. His motion displayed he really wanted to leave this place.
"Okay then," said Amanda.
She took the envelope and stepped back.
"Thank you," the man spoke in a little fear.
Amanda didn't reply. She just slammed the door in front of his face. She took a deep breath after the guy left our front yard.
I stopped hiding. I walked back to Amanda and stared at the envelope.
"What's that?" I enquired.
"I don't know," she said. "It looks fishy."
"You should open it."
"But, we don't know what's inside."
"That's why you need to open it."
Amanda opened the envelope gently. She took out a folded paper. Its outer shell looked more like a letter than a bill. She straightened the paper and read it. Her face began to differ as her eyes moved each second.
"What the hell!" she bellowed.
Amanda couldn't control herself. Her wrath turned up directly after she read the paper. The entire vein was clearly visible behind her palms. She squeezed the paper and stomped to the dining room. She came close to Uncle Steven and slapped his empty plate with that paper.
Uncle Steven was shocked. He needed a minute to twig everything in front of his view right now.
I followed Amanda to the dining room. She was so wrathful. I couldn't remove her rage now. Also, this was the ferocious anger I'd ever seen.
"Screw you, Dad!" she snapped. "Do you have any idea about what you've done?!"
"I do," Uncle Steven defended. "I did for all of us,"
"Yeah, you did! And now, you're risking all of us!"
"You told me to change. And I've changed now."
"No! You never change, Dad. I've told you not to do any stupid thing, but you still do. You're a damn parent! You never care about us, about anything!"
"I've not finished yet. This's not like what you think."
Amanda just left this place. She went upstairs and entered her bedroom straightaway.
Everyone was silent. We all just stared at each other.
Uncle Steven got up. He left us and walked to the living room with a straight face.
"What happened?" Lucy asked.
I shrugged. I move towards the chair where Uncle Steven sat just now. I took the paper and perused it.
"Holy crap!" I blurted. "You must be kidding me."
"What's that?" Lucy inquired.
I placed the paper in the middle and pointed to the letter "D" which was struck by a dollar symbol. They hauled up their butts and brought their eyes closer to it.
"It's Dockerney," I mentioned.
"Oh my goodness!" Ryu spoke in a startling tone. "We're in danger now!"
"Yeah, I know," I said. "We're all in danger."
"What should we do know?" Lucy queried.
I shook my head. I didn't know how to face this all.
This was very baffling. Uncle Steven had warned everyone in this house many times to never deal with Dockerney Company, but instead, he licked his own spit now. It was actually a licensed money lender company. However, everyone in this town saw it as a loan shark because of its unreasonable interest. We'd seen a lot of entrepreneurs going bankrupt because of that. No wonder we found some news about rich men who committed suicide.
"How much did he borrow?" Ryu asked me.
I turned the paper over. I pointed to a number that had a lot of zeros. It stunned everyone in this room.
"Two hundred and seventy thousand," I answered.
"Oh my goodness!" Ryu gasped. "What did he do with that kind of money?"
"I have no idea," I said.
"Why don't we just ask dad?" Will suggested.
"It's useless," I refused. "He'll definitely lie again."
"Should we borrow Caroline's money?" Lucy asked.
"No," I rejected. "She's helped us too much. She's our neighbor. Plus, she certainly doesn't have that much money."
"If so, let's look for an additional job," Lucy opined. "We can collect it little by little."
"I hope we can do that," I chuckled.
My finger moved and pointed to the words below the numbers.
"But," I continued, "the problem is we must pay this no later than two days."
"Seriously?" Lucy asked with an astonished tone. "They sent the bill this day and will take payment in the next two days?"
"That what Dockerney is," Amanda said.
She surprised us with his sudden appearance. She leaned against the door that connected this room with the living room. Her face was still furious.
"That was why Steven reminded us not to deal with them," she continued.
She walked to Uncle Steven who was sitting on the sofa. We left this place and followed her.
"Isn't that?" Amanda snapped at Uncle Steven. "Why did you betray us?!"
It was very unpleasant. Moreover, Uncle Steven just closed his eyes and remained silent.
"Answer me, Dad!" Amanda kept scolding. "How could you do that?!"
Many varieties of swear words came out of her mouth for five minutes, till it made Uncle Steven open his eyes back. He took a deep breath and got up from the sofa. He chortled.
"What's so funny?" Amanda asked with an angry voice.
"Are you that angry with your own father?" he chuckled. "C'mon! Let me show you something! You all!"
It altered all circumstances in this room. The rage of Amanda abated for a moment. Everyone was taken aback by listening to those words.
Uncle Steven stepped to the front door and opened it.
"C'mon!" he demanded. "Follow me!"
He went out. We followed him. Everybody got out of this house. We walked to the west, crossed several streets, and spent ten minutes arriving in front of an abandoned building. The reason he brought us here still needed to be questioned.
"What place is this?" Amanda asked.
"You'll know it," said Uncle Steven.
He opened the large front door and entered the building. Everyone followed him. He turned on the lights.
We all looked around. This place was very spacious. It had a solid foundation, wooden floor, dense walls, engraved ceilings, patterned light bulbs, and a nice oak stair. Everything looked similar on the next floor. The bad things were it was dusty and didn't have any furniture.
"Was this a restaurant?" I inquired.
"I don't know exactly," Uncle Steven replied. "But, you might be right. It's—"
"Wait," Amanda interrupted. "You spent two hundred and seventy thousand bucks to buy this place. Have you lost your mind, Dad?!"
"Of course not. I got the best deal ever. Who can get a two-level building just... with that much money?"
"So, what are you gonna do? Open your own restaurant?"
"Not a restaurant. I just wanna have a bar."
"Well, you'll have your own bar, then you can drink as much as you can without getting in trouble with the officers forever. Is that what you think?"
"You're wrong. It's our bar. We'll run our own bar. That's the best source of money in this town. It can help us much... for a living."
"Well said, Dad. It's well said. But, I don't think we can live as usual before your stupid idea comes true. You suck!"
Their talk began to contain resentment. It wasn't good for immature to take notes.
"Ryu, take them to school," I initiated. "It's almost late."
"Okay," he obeyed.
Ryu, Lucy, and Will left this building. They headed back home.
"This is crazy," Amanda argued. "We can't possibly cover up the debt. Even selling our home won't be enough."
"You can use your savings or Richard's," Uncle Steven argued.
"No way!" I disagreed.
"It won't make any difference," she rebuked.
"Then, I don't know what we should do now," he claimed.
Amanda was lost for words, and so was I. She went out of this place. I followed her. We left Uncle Steven alone in this empty building and walked back home.
My watch showed 7.40 am. It was close to my work hours. I might not be able to make it on time at Pearson's Mart. Worse, I didn't feel like going there now.
I took my phone and tapped some icons on its screen.
I called him, "Hi, Pearson!"
"Hi! What happened?" he replied.
"Uh, I'll be late to your place today."
"Why?"
"It's... an urgent matter, you know, sometimes... it happens in the morning. I'm so sorry."
"Oh, it's okay. No problem."
"Thanks! See you later!"
I ended this talk. I turned off my phone and kept it back in my pants pocket.
Amanda was sitting on the couch. She closed her eyes. She was thinking. She opened her eyes after five minutes. She got up and went upstairs, exactly to her room. Then, she came back down in a hurry with a purse in her right hand. She nipped down to the front door. Her face turned to me.
"Richard, can join me?" she spoke fast.
"Where're you going?" I enquired.
"To the bank."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. It's the best way I can think right now."
"I didn't know you have savings in a bank."
"Actually, I've not saved money in the bank for a long time. I just... plan to borrow money from there."
"What? Wait a minute. Do you mean... you want to borrow money from the bank to pay for Dockerney's loan?"
"More or less."
"What about the bank loan? Its... you know, the charge."
"I'll think about it again. We better pay off that damn Dockerney first."
"Okay then. Let's go!"
I approached Amanda. She called for an Uber. As one, we went to the bank named Halfin Bank and arrived there at eight o'clock. This place was crowded. It was odd that many clients were here at this hour. Most of them queued in front of tellers.
Amanda took a queue card. It said number eighteen. They're serving the sixteenth at present. We had to bide for around fifteen minutes.
Time kept running. It was our turn now. Amanda and I stood in front of the teller desk that had a set of computers. An old lady served us. Her face looked pale. She had a name tag written Susan on her shirt.
"Good morning," said the lady. "Welcome to Halfin Bank. How may I assist you?"
"Good morning," Amanda replied. "Well, I just started a restaurant business and I need some money for growth."
I remained silent. I didn't need to speak up since their talk started well.
"So, do you want to apply for a loan?" asked the old lady.
"Yes."
"May I know whether you have this bank account?"
"I do."
"Well, may I have your saving book and a copy of your ID card, please?"
"Sure."
Amanda took out her ID card and a saving book from her purse. She gave those to the teller.
The lady took the card and book. "Thank you," she said.
She examined those items. Her hands kept pressing some buttons on a keyboard. She returned the card and book to Amanda. She stared at the monitor screen and dipped into each data appeared on it.
"I'm so sorry," said the old lady. "I'm afraid we couldn't fulfill your request."
"But... why?"
"It's written that you applied for a loan one week ago and received it on the same day."
"What? How can it be?"
"Let me show you."
The teller printed a paper full of numbers. She placed it on the desk and pointed every single sentence and number to Amanda.
"Here," said the lady. "It's twenty-second April. Your account received a loan of fifty thousand dollars. It's reached the limit. I'm afraid we couldn't provide another credit since your account isn't categorized as a premium account."
"I don't understand," Amanda resisted. "I haven't been here for a long time. How's it possible I received a loan from you?"
"I'm so sorry. It's clearly written—"
"Oh, c'mon! You can't do this to me!" Amanda scolded. "It's really out of fact. What kind of bank can't secure its clients from a robber! You all suck! I shouldn't open a bank account in here!"
That was enough. She began losing control. It was very unpleasant.
I held her shoulder and soothed her, "We better leave now. Nothing we can do in here."
Amanda tried to restrain her rage. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a while.
"If you don't mind, we can help check these all," the old lady offered.
"No," Amanda refused. "Just forget it!"
She took the printed paper and left the teller. I followed her. We walked out of this bank.
"Next time, don't ever bother my debate," she cautioned.
"Are you kidding me?" I denied. "It won't be funny if she calls the security, okay?"
She shook her head. "Fine!"
I took out a cigarette from my shirt pocket and gave it to Amanda.
"Here," I recommended. "It'll make you better."
Amanda received the cigarette. I took out a lighter from my pants pocket and helped her light it. She started smoking.
"Thanks!" she said.
"Let's move to Pearson's Mart," I demanded. "It might help calm you down."
"Okay."
We ambled this street. It looked new to me. Somehow, I could find out all the routes I had to take a long walk to get to Pearson's Mart. Amanda just walked beside me. We'd crossed several roads and walked through various aisles.
"Why did you reject the teller's help?" I asked her.
"Because I know who applied for the loan."
"I guess the person is Steven, isn't it?"
"Exactly."
Amanda and I kept moving while she was smoking. The lane was pretty long. However, we made it to Pearson's Mart at 9.10 am. We entered the shop together.
"Morning, Pearson!" I talked to him who was counting money.
Pearson turned to me. "Morning too!"
"Sorry for my tardiness."
"It's okay. Besides, there haven't been any customers yet."
"Really?"
"Yeah. End of the month. It's very influential."
"You're right. It really makes sense."
"Anyway, who's this girl?"
"She's my—"
"Hi! My name is Amanda," she cut in. "I'm his sister. Good to see you!"
"I see. Well, I'm Pearson. Good to see you too!"
I requested Pearson, "If you don't mind, can she be here all today?"
"Sure," he allowed. "No problem at all."
"Thanks, Mr. Pearson," said Amanda.
"Don't mention it."
Amanda and I left Pearson. I asked her to sit on a small chair located beside the fruit racks. I bounced to the storeroom and began my initial tasks. I wasn't sure why, but I felt energetic today. Each duty looked easy to me. I finished everything twenty minutes earlier.
Hour by hour, several people visited this mart. Some of them had accepted my assist. It made the time run faster.
It was time to close. Amanda and I went home. We walked on the common street.
A familiar man with a cart stood far in front of our view. It made me curious. I sharpened my sight till I recognized those. It was the guy who sold shrimp pasta and hot dogs.
"We should buy some food for everyone at home since you don't have time to prepare dinner," I demanded.
"Okay," Amanda agreed. "Make it fast. I'll wait for you here."
Her tone of voice sounded unpleasant. She seemed to be unable to repress her wrath any longer. Moreover, her facial expression reinforced that statement.
I approached the hot dog cart. I greeted the seller guy. He still remembered me.
"Give me six portions," I said while pointing to the pasta.
The guy prepared the food. He took out some packages from the cart drawer. He filled those with shrimp pasta and wrapped them in a plastic bag. He gave me the food.
"Here you go," said the guy. "Twelve dollars."
"What?" I complained. "Doesn't each portion cost one fifty?"
"Rising price."
"Oh, c'mon! I bought your food last month. Make it ten."
"Alright, alright. Ten dollars."
I gave him ten bucks.
"Thank you," he said.
"No, no," I chuckled. "Thanks to you."
I left this guy and returned to Amanda. We continued moving. Our feet stopped in front of the house door at 6.08 pm. Amanda opened the door. We entered the house together.
Ryu, Lucy, and Will were in this room. I never expected them to come back so early. Furthermore, Jimmy, Caroline, and Eddie were also here. They all were staring at us.
Caroline approached Amanda. She hugged her for a while.
"Lucy told me everything," said Caroline. "You have to calm down, okay?"
Amanda gulped. She didn't respond.
After a few seconds, Uncle Steven appeared. He came out of the kitchen.
Amanda saw him. Her anger burst out as the crow flies. She took out the printed paper from her purse. She stomped toward him and threw the paper to his face.
"Screw you, Dad!" she shouted. "What else have you done?!"
He took the paper and skimmed it. He realized it was a bank loan report. Somehow, his face showed no guilt. He smiled. It was very nauseating.
"Are you still a kindergartner?" he chuckled. "It's a bar, a beer bar. It needs tables. It needs chairs. And the most important, it needs the dispenser, the machine."
"You can't be serious!" Amanda snapped. "You borrowed another money using my bank account for your pride! You're sick!"
She moved toward Uncle Steven and clenched her left hand. She really wanted to beat him, but Jimmy stopped her act.
"Don't do that," Jimmy commanded while holding her left arm.
"Let me go!" she insisted. "Let me go, Jim!"
"Calm down, okay?"
Amanda shook her left hand. She tried to let Jimmy's hand go.
Caroline helped stop her. She grasped her right hand and rubbed her nape gently.
Uncle Steven walked away. He went upstairs to escape from this conflict.
Amanda was getting out of control. Jimmy blocked her view with his body. He released his grip from her left arm. She hit Jimmy's chest repeatedly and tried to push him away. She really wanted to chase Uncle Steven.
"Amanda, stop it!" Caroline demanded. "C'mon!"
Amanda kept hitting Jimmy until her hands ached. She stopped with her hands still pressed against his body. Jimmy hugged her while comforting her.
"I'm sorry," Amanda sobbed.
"It's okay, Dear," he appeased. His T-shirt was wet with her tears.
Caroline let go of her hand. She walked away from Amanda and moved to Eddie.
Uncle Steven was horrible. He caused this problem and ran away from it. This was the most repugnant he'd ever done before my eyes. He was the real criminal in this family.
I walked to the front table of the sofa and placed a plastic bag of food packages on it.
"Dinner time!" I commanded. "Bring these to dining room."
I left them and walked up the stairs.
"Wait! Don't you have dinner?" Lucy asked.
"I'm not hungry."
I went upstairs and entered my room. I didn't want to know any more about this. I just relied on Jimmy to calm Amanda, no matter what method he was treating.
We were in terror now. Confronting single trouble that turned into double was none of our dexterity. This situation fashioned countless fright to my mind, since Dockerney could erase my family from this town by using a simple pen. Thereto, miracle never existed for us.