What seemed like forever
passed by and finally Skye’s name was called. She stood up and walked over to
the half door next to the bobble headed woman and once there the receptionist
buzzed her in. Everything was dark wood and for some reason that irritated Skye
but seeing as she was already on edge she chalked it up to her nerves and not
awful decorating skills. Skye couldn’t
help watching the receptionist as they walked toward what Skye felt was her
impending doom. The short woman walked with an air of superiority that made
Skye’s back teeth itch. The bobble led her past by a few cubicles on our way down
a narrow hallway and stopped at the 3rd door on the left and she
knocked. From inside a man’s deep voice told her to come in. Skye’s heart gave
her one big pound against her rib cage and she resisted the urge to step back.
When the receptionist opened
the door, on her face a smile formed. Well wouldn’t you know it? The bobble
looked smitten!
She ushered Skye inside and
flashed her pearly whites at the big man behind the desk; unfortunately he
didn’t look up from his paperwork. Her heart hit her rib cage again and the air
got sucked out of her momentarily.
Without lifting his eyes off
of his desk “Thank you, Bonnie.” When the woman didn’t leave he looked up.
“Close the door on your way out please.” That was not the reaction that Bonnie
was looking for and her disapproving look came back to her face and she walked
out of the room, closing the door with a soft snick. Skye returned her
attention to the man flipping through a file on his desk and watched as he then
type on his keyboard. This was killing her in so many different ways and she
just wanted it to stop.
The desk he sat
behind was solid redwood so big it seemed to dwarf the room. Wrapped around
behind him were shelves made of the same wood with so many books and binders
that contained things she would never understand. The carpet was tanned which
made the contrast of the dark furniture a good mix considering the dark wood of
the hall annoyed her. The chairs opposite the desk had the dark wood and tanned
leather padded seats. It was a nice looking office really. On the desk was a
picture of whom she assumed was his wife and daughter sitting on a bench in a
park that looked familiar to her but she couldn’t place at the moment.
“Good Morning Mrs.
Dune,” he said with the ire of too much confidence that annoyed her just a bit.
“It’s nice to see you again.” He extended his hand toward her and she put on
her best fake smiley face and shook the man’s hand. “I am very well thank you.
How are you?” she said so sweetly that she thought could get a cavity. At least
his smile was warm. “I’m good,” he replied “How can I help you today?”
She tried not to
look too tense as her mind chanted ‘you
can do it!’ pumping herself up she opened her mouth.
“Mr. Moody, I know that
my husband used to take care of these things but…” her hands started to shake.
“Since his passing I need to see if there is any way I can get and extension on
the loan payment?”
He stared at her for what
felt like forever and looked at the computer screen again. “Mrs. Dune… the loan
payment is almost 60 days overdue so you right now owe the bank for 2 months,”
He peered at her with a sideways glance and she felt more agitation building.
“I don’t know if there is anything
more I can do here at this point.”
Her felt heart sink
and cursed herself for not paying attention or asking someone like Dom for
help. She hoped like hell it didn’t show through in her face. With her brain
going in two different directions trying to maintain her composure and not lose
it right there in the office. She felt something shift in her head, it felt
like a wave had washed over her and inside she could almost hear Deacon’s voice
telling her it would all be ok, to breathe and start over.
Skye could feel an inner
calm take over with each breathe, she felt the anxiety subside before long she
started to speak surprised at how level she sounded. “Mr. Moody… my husband was
much better at this than I am,” she drawled. She gathered her words carefully
once more. “I understand that we had enough to pay in full for about the first
3 months after he passed away.” ‘Was
murdered.’ flashed in her head. She took a hard swallow and continued. “It
took everything that we had just to bury him, not to mention squeeze enough out
to pay even a minimum on this loan. There has to be another way to do this or
my family has nothing left.”
Despite his earlier
showing of over confidence he looked genuinely compassionate about her
situation and she could see him mulling over what she had said. Hoping her
words meant something Skye tried not to stare but could tell he was making a
decision. It was in the direction of his eyes, not looking at anything but
seeing everything. It felt like time stopped. She waited on the edge of sanity
for him to say something and because she had nothing to add, all she wanted was
an answer so that she knew where to go from this point forward.
He seemed to snap out of his
thoughts. “Mrs. Dune… I have looked over your file and your loan payments had
been made on time consistently but I don’t think that I can give you anything
else…” That’s it the agitation was back and she fought it with every muscle she
had not to explode as she felt it burn through her but he continued. “Beyond
another 30 days to make your payment before the bank will foreclose on the
business and the house since it was used as collateral.
Her face warmed but
not from embarrassment ‘where the hell is
this coming from?’ She lowered her head and put two fingers to her left
temple in slow moving circles she started rubbing “30 days… that’s it?” She
asked knowing the answer but in a way just confirming. Again she could hear
Deacon’s voice in her head telling her to breathe. With a sigh Mr. Moody
replied “Yes, after that it will all be completely out of my control.” He
tapped his fingers on the desk, eyes down thinking again. “How much do you
think you will be able to come up with by then? An approximation is fine.” Skye
mulled it over for a moment and raised her head dropping her hand.
“I’m not sure, I would have
to check I mean there’s stuff I can sell…my car ‘Deacons car’” she left that last part unsaid because she really
didn’t want to sell it. “And I can see what I can do.”
This felt like it
was going downhill…fast, really really fast. Moody shook his head and that
worried her even more. “Ok I’ll tell you what I will do,” The first word came
out loud and forceful and she held her breath. “If you can come up with at
least ¾ of the amount owing I will see if I can get you more time.”
Part of her
immediately felt the tension ease off; she saw some hope surface for her
family…her kids. “Thank you Mr. Moody.”
She said softly it’s all Skye could manage to get out as she took in the
small reprieve she had been given. Feeling like if she had said anything more,
the deal he gave her would fall apart but as she looked at him now he looked
serious. His voice was sincere, “You have to understand Mrs. Dune that if this
amount is not paid in 30 days I will have no choice but to close this file and
foreclose.”
There it was…that button
that gets pushed when she feels like someone thinks she’s stupid, she went
rigid and he continued, “I urge you to make other arrangements for your family
just in case you cannot make the payment.”
Understood his words yet at the same time she wanted to reach across the
desk and smack him hard in the face. ‘Breathe’.
She uncrossed her
legs and began to stand up. “I understand perfectly and will be in touch with
you as soon as I have some numbers for you.” He smiled and stood as he came
around from behind big the desk to extend his hand to her again. For a minute
she didn’t want to take it. It was like she was selling her soul, yet he was
giving her a chance so she put her hand in his and they shook on it.
“Have a nice day
Mrs. Dune. I’ll wait for your call.” He said
“I will and you too
Mr. Moody.” I replied.
He walked her out
of the back office towards the reception area and the little gate she was
buzzed through. Noticing that Bonnie the bobble-head still looked just as happy
go lucky as she had a half an hour before, Skye shot out that fake smile again
at her and Bonnies response was nothing short of a thin lipped ‘fuck you’.
Still sitting in the waiting room the young girl still sat with the clipboard
in her lap not looking at all like she wanted to be there. She lifted her head
when she saw Skye walking towards her and the poor things expression was one of
dismay that made Skye think that she was there for the same reason she was. Skye
felt for her without even knowing her story. She nodded and smiled at her and
the young mother to be returned with a nod as well.
Once she stepped
out of the bank her relief took serious hold. It was over for now and she
resigned herself to worry about the money tomorrow. While she was walking to
the truck she could see Kona and Angel through the back window looking very
happy to see her. You would think she had been gone for days but it made her
feel good that they missed her so that much. Just as she put the key in the
lock Skye looked around the parking lot. Across the street about a block down
from where she now stood she could see what she called the daytime girls in their
short skirts and halter tops waiting to find someone to take them to the cheap
hotel a few more blocks away. There they stood pacing back and forth, hooting
at the odd car that would go by and give them a second look.
‘Not a priority’ flowed
through in a whisper.
Skye finally opened
the door and stepped into the drivers’ seat, Kona howled and Skye covered her
ears with her hands. “Jesus! I love you too now shut it!” When Kona shut his
big mouth Skye picked up her cigarettes out of the center console and shook one
out. She lit the end and it flared as
she took a long pull off of it. Putting
the key in the ignition and turning it just enough to engage the stereo is when
she finally let her body relax. This was when she missed him the most, when she
needed advice he was always the one to give it to her. Deacon was so good at
thinking outside of the box and staying positive about it. He always had a plan
B in the works to cover their asses, not that they always needed that but he
had his ways of making everything alright.
As she took in
another pull of smoke watching the tendrils shift in the air it occurred to her
that she needed to think like Deacon and be smart about how all of this was
going to play out. This situation… which
she had no idea what she was going to do about yet could go wrong and she
needed to be careful. She could hope for the sale of the century to help cover
some of this but that was not likely going to happen right now. They didn’t
even have enough stock within a normal price range to help offset what they
needed. Skye decided she had to think of something no matter what the cost but
again…not right now. Once she realized that she was dwelling on those thoughts,
she reminded her self that she was going to think about all this tomorrow.
It was getting late
and she had to go.
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