“Saw your daughter-in-law at the grocery store. She looked like she’d been crying. Turned around and walked out when she saw me in the bread section. Richard still living with them?”
“According to Danny, yeah. He mentioned it at book club last night.”
Friday morning, my phone rang. Danny called me. He was different. Quieter. Asked if I really believed he’d treated me badly. I told him,
“Yes. Absolutely. And your father would be heartbroken.”
He didn’t argue. Just hung up.
The family knew the truth now. But truth doesn’t pay debts.
In three weeks, the deadline would arrive, and I wondered what Danny would give up first.
The rejection letters arrived like bad report cards.
Chase Bank: “Unfortunately, your debt-to-income ratio exceeds our lending guidelines.”
Wells Fargo: “Your application cannot be approved at this time due to not enough collateral and recent credit checks.”
Bank of America: “We are unable to give credit based on current money problems.”