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Bankrupt
Ryan
In five years, life has only become more chaotic. Having two sets of twins wasn’t a walk in the park by any means. Working long hours while also maintaining a life with my big family wasn’t an easy feat either.
Dragging a tired hand down my face, I glared at the numbers on my screen.
Something wasn’t adding up.
Picking up the desk phone, I dialed Ace’s extension and waited as it rang a few times. He cleared his throat when he answered, sighing. “The numbers aren’t right,” I told him before he could say anything.
“Thought maybe I wasn’t calculating correctly, but man, there’s a huge difference. We are at a massive loss,” he agreed.
That was even worse. It meant my math skills weren’t off today. It meant the company was in trouble.
“Is your dad coming in today?” Ace asked. I rested my head in my hand, still glaring at the screen, trying to understand where all the missing money went.
With the impending holidays, we couldn’t afford to have this kind of loss. We had a holiday party coming up and the Christmas bonuses – not to mention, Ace and I would have to take a cut in salary.
Our families – nor anyone else’s – could afford this, especially around this time of year.
“Yeah; I think he should be in. I’ll go meet with him and let you know what I find out.”
“I’m going to meet Celine for lunch before the kids get off from school on Thanksgiving break. They have the next four days off,” Ace told me.
“Alright, man. I’ll call you in about an hour.” I disconnected the line and glanced at the picture of my family hanging up on the wall in front of me. I would do anything to make them happy, to give them a life they deserved – especially Amber. That woman –I loved that woman.
In the face of darkness, she had persevered, and now, only lightness surrounded her and our kids. She showered us all with kindness and purity. She was my biggest blessing in life. She had given me a purpose, had given me a family.
I couldn’t let her down.
Getting up from my desk, I rounded it and exited the office, trying to prepare myself for this dreaded meeting with my dad.
* * *
“What do you mean?”
I sat across from my aging father. His hair was gray from stress and age, his eyes crinkling at the sides, frown lines etched onto his forehead. It hurt to see him wither before my very eyes, but it was life’s natural course, and I had to accept that, no matter how hard it was.
“Son, we are going bankrupt; we don’t have much time left.” I shook my head. This couldn’t be happening. “I’m sorry, my boy. I’ve let you and your sister down.” He set his weathering hands on the desk, fingers wrinkled, skin leathered from years in the sun.
“I don’t understand. What went wrong?” I looked down at the papers in my hand. Those numbers glared back at me. They weren’t wrong. We were suffering a major loss. How had I missed this?
“I’ve been covering it up for months now, trying to fix it, making promises I couldn’t keep, selling some of the cars.” He sighed. “I can’t get approved for a loan.”
“What can I do to fix this?” I had some money saved up. I knew Ace did, too. Maybe we could save the company.
My dad shook his head slowly.
“We need to sell to the highest bidder.”
I was dumbfounded. “Where does that leave me, Ace, our families, Dad? We can’t be jobless. I have five kids and a wife that rely on me to be the breadwinner. I promised her a comfortable life where she didn’t ever have to worry about money ever, and now?” I pushed a trembling hand through my short hair.
This couldn’t be happening.
I had five kids to put through school – through college. I had to provide a life for them, have food on the table at every meal. My plan to give them all a good life was falling apart right in front of me.
