An eerie silence crept into the night as Philip finished signing the check. He knew he had no other choice. The envelope would be mailed at the earliest convenience by certified mail tomorrow. He exchanged a long, slow glance with his wife and they acknowledged the suffering each one felt. The deadline would come at exactly 5pm tomorrow. There was a feeling of utter hopelessness as the hour drew near. They really couldn't afford to pay but they understood the ramifications for themselves and their newborn. Little Timmy would eat but they would have to hold off such extravagances themselves. "How did it all come to this?", Phillip wondered to himself. They had scrimped and saved for a year to purchase the newer vehicle in the drive. They lived in a modest apartment. They did not spend their money frivolously. In fact, Phillip had never felt so broke in his life. The small business he owned had been his dream since graduating from college two years ago. In many ways, he felt like the garage he owned with his wife which employed two mechanics was still very much in its own infancy. He did not know how but he knew his first infant would live. Somehow. His father had given him a majority to start up the small shop. "Consider it your inheritance." his father had joked. He would only live a few months longer before those words would ring with the truth they now held. This garage meant everything to him now. He had promised his father that he would give it his all to see the business grow into a successful venture for the both of them. After inheriting the medical bills from the hospital and overcoming the grief that still lingered, Philip felt like somehow nothing else could go wrong. Due to the long hours at the hospital, watching over his father, the garage had taken second place in his worries. His wife had done the best she could but their son had gotten sick as well. Her hours were divided between supervising the shop and taking care of little Timmy. There was nothing life threatening about Timmy's sickness but colic can seem to last forever. She was wore down from the hours at the shop and the nights spent comforting Timmy. Jaunice was a strong woman but she was on her last nerve. And now, only days since burying his father, they pondered a total financial ruin. It seemed odd to Philip how the same state that could plunder the reserves of credit and revenue as Illinois had could feel any grounding in their threats against Phillip and his family and his business. "Where does all the money go?" he would often ask himself. The business made too much money for any assistance to be allowed by the agencies set in place by their good state. The requirements were many just to keep the doors open. Every month Jaunice and Phillip would fill out the necessary forms and file away all those receipts for the bureaucracy of it all. And now, a single check would be their undoing. Without the money to pay the help who could blame those men for looking for employment elsewhere? Without the money for supplies and necessary materials how would any cars get fixed? And what of little Timmy's future? Sometimes a man can only face so much before something misfires inside his head. Sometimes the magnitude is just too much. Tomorrow would bring a new day but Philip would not be the same. And someone was going to pay.
My name is Rueuhy and I approve this blog.
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