Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

"You ready to go?"

"No. I don't want to go to Dad's this weekend," her daughter said.

"You know your dad loves you, right?"

"I know. Or at least I know he says he does."

"Honey. Listen. Your dad left me, not you. Whatever happened, happened between me and your father. And yes, he does love you."

"Then why is he always with her?"

"His girlfriend?" her mom asked even though there was no need to do so because the answer was obvious.

"Well, yeah. When he lived with us, we always did stuff together. Just me and Dad. Now...she's always around, and we never do anything!"

Trying to be a good mother and be honest she said, "Your father is in love, honey. That's what people who are in love do. I know it's hard, but just give him some more time, okay?"

"I guess," her daughter said with zero emotion.

"Okay. So hurry up. He's gonna be here any minute. Go on. Get changed. Pack a bag. Go! Scoot!"

Her mom knew the divorce and the joint custody were hard for her daughter, but she also knew there was nothing she could do about it any more than she could have stopped him from having the affair—or running off with his new girlfriend.

It killed her to have to admit those things had happened, but the truth was they had. It was also true she could find another husband. Her daughter, Courtney, was 14, and could never find another father. And she was right. This new woman stuck to her ex-husband like glue making it impossible for Courtney and her dad to the kinds of things they used to do—alone.

And yet, like she always did, Courtney kept on keeping on. She was her mom's rock and her best friend—mature beyond her years.

Mandy Barrow had just turned 42, and had officially been single for six months; eighteen if the year before the divorce was final counted. Since then, she'd gone back to work at the same bank she'd spent ten years at before quitting to be a stay-at-home mom.

So much had changed during the decade she was away from banking that it was almost like starting over. She'd gone through the worst kind of learning curve her first year back and was just now finally feeling comfortable again. The manager she'd worked for back then was still there, and he'd allowed her to keep the seniority she'd once had, and that had given her her choice of jobs. As a result, Mandy preferred working in new accounts and also took care of the safety-deposit boxes.

It was nice being able to get out of house, but she desperately missed being married and staying at home. And truth be told, she missed lovemaking almost as much as the comfort of having that special someone to be there even if they were doing separate things in separate rooms. That said, she vowed never to marry the first guy who came along (or any guy for that matter) she found charming or interesting. Loneliness was bad. Marrying the wrong man—again—was far worse.

And in the six months or so since she'd started dating again, she'd met several nice men. And yet no matter how nice they were, she just wasn't ready for any kind of commitment. Between the stress of raising of raising her teenage daughter alone and the constant strain of never having enough money, romance was her bridge too far.

It wasn't that she didn't want or need it, she just couldn't enjoy it when she was constantly preoccupied with so many concerns. Currently, her biggest concern, other than her daughter, was the mortgage. Thankfully, the bank she worked at owned her home, and the manager who'd rehired her had it made it clear he was more than a little interested in her. Mandy had no romantic interest in him, but his in her made being late or only making partial payments month after month possible.

However, she knew she was getting very close to the end of her rope, interest or no interest from the bank manager. She was already working as many hours as she could, and to his credit, her ex-husband was never late with child-support payments. Even so, the mortgage was crushing her, and she also had all the other bills everyone else had.

She'd already cut back on all luxury items, and she and her daughter were eating about as little as they could and still remain healthy. Mandy had always been thin and even now was a size 4. Fortunately, she didn't have that 'hollowed out' look many so-called supermodels had from malnutrition.

In fact, she was still a very attractive woman who found twenty minutes every other day to do so form of aerobics or resistance-band training to keep her body fit and toned. She still wore her very dark hair almost to her shoulders, and her young-looking face made doing so look amazing. With just a touch of makeup, she was definitely the kind of women men noticed. She just wasn't really doing much noticing the other way. Well, she was noticing. She just wasn't ready to act on it.

She still had a very nice, rather extensive wardrobe but could no longer afford to buy herself nice things, and that was fine as long as Courtney was taken care of. So she gladly wore the same things over and over (meaning once a month or so), and rarely gave it a second thought.

This day was no exception, and once Courtney was on her way with her father, she would head off to work wearing a very pretty, light-pink dress with white heels and a strand of pearls with the pair of pearl earrings her ex had bought her for their fifth anniversary.

Things had been so good back then. He was making money hand over fist, and Mandy was able to stay home with their daughter and devote all her time to that most enjoyable task. And for several more years, things were equally sunny and happy. And then the business started losing money and not long after that came the occasional late night at work which became more and more frequent until he 'needed' to go in on Saturday afternoons and just before she found out, Sundays, too.

Mandy had always been there for her husband in every way from supporting his career to the bedroom where she was as eager for love as he was, and she was very good at it, too. Therefore, the affair still made no sense to her, and the only reason she could come up with was that he'd just gotten bored 'eating steak' every night.

One evening he set her down and broke the news and her heart all at once.

As hard as it had been for her, it had devastated their daughter. Courtney was a 'daddy's girl' from day one, and since he left, she'd been even more quiet and reserved than normal. Her grades were still very good in school, but they'd fallen from straight A's to all A's and B's. Mandy could live with all that, but it was still hard to watch.

Courtney came back downstairs packed and ready to go, and as always, her ex showed up right on time. However, when Mandy saw his girlfriend coming up the steps, she said goodbye to Courtney then let her open the door and deal with the hot, younger girl her father was doubtlessly banging every night.

Mandy didn't hate her even though she was younger and gorgeous and had to have known she was dating a married man. She didn't even hate her former husband. She just felt so...cheated and betrayed as the life she'd planned to live and so dearly loved was ripped from her in an instant. The affair had been going on for months, but to her, the 'big reveal' made it seem like it had happened literally overnight as her world crashed and burned in that instant.

Mandy had barely settled in at work that morning when the branch manager stopped by her desk.

"Well, well. Don't you look nice today, Ms. Barrow."

"Thank you, sir," she said, hoping he wouldn't start flirting with her—again.

"Listen. I got a call from Mrs. Martin, and she's going to be stopping by this morning."

"Oh, my. It's been a year already?"

"Well, she's come in once a year for as long as I've been here, and it's always on the same day, so yes, I'd say it's been a year."

"No worries, sir. I'll take good care of her."

"I have no doubt, Ms. Barrow," he said with the smile he only seemed to sport when he was talking to her.

He went to leave then stopped, turned around and said, "Just a friendly reminder. You're a little over two months behind on your mortgage. If you get to three months, then even I can't help you."

"Oh, right. Automatic reporting on 90-day delinquencies. I haven't forgotten, sir. And thank you for the reminder. Since tomorrow is payday, I'll be able to bring it back down under two months. I won't forget."

"I'm not worried...Mandy," he said with a smile. "Just trying to be helpful."

He rarely used her given name, and it always seemed to happen at those times when she was most vulnerable with the note on her house. She could always sell it, but homes were so expensive, she'd end up losing money unless she moved to another city or state. And there was no way she was leaving the Seattle area until Courtney was out of high school.

No, somehow she'd find a way to get by robbing Peter to pay Paul for as long as she could. This time, she'd have to go back to the power company and make arrangements for another partial payment in order to get the mortgage back under two months overdue. Next month it would be the car payment that would suffer, and then it would be something else the following month.

The whole thing was so embarrassing it caused feelings of shame to well up inside her every time she was forced to confront her inability to pay her bills. For now, however, she had Mrs. Martin to take care of, and then she could go back to fretting about her own life.

At exactly 9am, the tiny, elderly lady walked into the bank and stopped by the branch manager's office to say hello. After exchanging pleasantries, she asked him to escort her back to Mandy's desk.

As they approached, Mandy stood up, smiled, and welcomed her.

"Mrs. Martin. It's so good to see you again!"

She set her purse down, smiled, then said, "You too, dear. You know, I remember you from when you worked her before."

She'd told Mandy that a year ago, but rather than bring that up, Mandy said, "That was a while ago."

"Oh, not really," she said. "Ten years goes by so fast now it's scary! You're too young to understand, but one day you'll see."

The branch manager excused himself and assured Mrs. Martin she was in good hands.

"So, would you like to open your safe-deposit box?" Mandy asked knowing that was always the routine.

"Oh, yes. I have my key right here! Do you have yours with you?"

Mandy had the master key to every box which had to remain with the bank at all times, but again, she only said, "Yes, ma'am. If you're ready we can go back now."

"Well, okay. That sounds fine," Mrs. Martin replied.

Mandy led the way, found the right box, then inserted her key and pulled out the box. She'd forgotten how heavy it was and nearly dropped it. She put both arms under it and somehow safely got it on the table. Then, per regulations, she left Mrs. Martin alone in the room so she could unlock it and add or remove whatever she liked from the box in privacy.

When she sat back down at her desk, Mandy realized the older woman had left her purse. She went to pick it up and was surprised that it weighed so much. If felt like it had rocks or something in it. She glanced down and saw it only half zipped and inside it was stuffed with roles of $20 and $50 bills and gold coins. The entire bag was chock full of them.

It wasn't her business, but more importantly, Mandy wasn't allowed to carry the purse into the room with her.

Now very concerned and confused, she left the purse alone, went back to the vault, stood outside and said, "Mrs. Martin?"

"Yes?"

"You left your purse at my desk," Mandy told her.

"Oh, yes. Silly me! Can you bring it to me, dear?"

"No, ma'am. I'm sorry but you'll have to retrieve it yourself."

"Oh. All right. Just one second."

Mandy saw her leave the large room and just smiled.

And then curiosity drove her to take a peek inside without entering and she did just that.

Mrs. Martin had left the very large box open, and Mandy could just barely see the tops of more rolls of green bills leading her to believe the entire box was also filled with the same items in her purse.

Mrs. Martin came back a few seconds later clutching her heavy purse as she walked by.

"I'm getting so forgetful these days!"

She took a few more steps then said, "Oh, I'm going to need another box, dear. Could you do the paperwork while I take care of this?"

"Sure. Of course," Mandy told her. "Just let me know when you're finished in here, okay?"

Mandy had heard of many such stories over the years of elderly people hoarding cash and/or coins, but had never personally met one until today. What she couldn't understand was how this 'little old lady' could possibly come up with so much cash—even over the course of a year. She knew better than to ask or even comment so she got the paperwork ready for the new box.

By the time Mrs. Martin was done, Mandy put her first box away, but only after another employee came in and helped her lift it, then took her client to the branch manager to certify the paperwork.

He thanked Mrs. Martin profusely then walked her to the door. When he came back he stopped by Mandy's desk and said, "Nice work. As usual."

Mandy thanked him, smiled, then went back to her work when he said, "Say...if you're not busy or have plans, how about lunch today?"

She looked up at him and said, "That's so kind of you, sir, but I'm really swamped today."

"Okay. How about Monday or the day after that then?" he asked.

"Well, the truth is, I'm not really dating. I...I just haven't felt like getting involved or anything, so I..."

"It's just lunch, Mandy."

He smiled that smirky grin of his then said, "I'm sure we could find a way to work out something on your mortgage while we eat."

The way he said that sent chills down her back and not in a good way. It sounded like he was implying if she went, things could work in her favor, but more importantly, if she didn't, they could get even worse.

Feeling caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place, Mandy forced a smile and said, "I suppose Monday would be okay."

"Wonderful! I know a nice place just a few blocks away," he told her. "And I meant what I said about...you know."

He winked and tapped her desk a couple of times then walked away leaving Mandy with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The remainder of the day dragged on, and Mandy spent that evening and the rest of the weekend trying to think of some way out of her financial dilemma that didn't involve the branch manager or doing something illegal.

Coming up blank, Courtney's return home Sunday afternoon at least cheered her up. Evidently not enough, though, as her daughter countered her mom's 'how was it' question with one of her own.

"What's wrong, Mom? And don't tell me 'nothing' again, okay?"

Mandy had never cried in front of her daughter no matter how bad things were, but after the weekend she'd had, and feeling coerced into going out with someone she didn't want to go out with, she couldn't help it.

Courtney sat next to her mom, put her arms around her and said, "Is it money?"

Mandy nodded and did her best to get her emotions under control before speaking.

"Honey, none of this is your problem, okay? I'll figure something out. I promise. You just keep your grades up in school, and being the great daughter you are, and we'll get through this."

Courtney was too old to buy what her mom was selling, but didn't feel like telling her she thought it was all 'BS'. She just held her for a while then agreed she'd figure something out, the way she always did, before going upstairs and blasting her iPod to try and forget about how bad things were at home and, although different, at her dad's.

Her dad had money, and lots of it. But he had his girlfriend, making visits there very unpleasant. Her mom needed her, but staying home all the time was awful, and at some level, Courtney wondered how much more she could take.

Mandy barely slept that night, and when Courtney saw her the following morning, she knew her mom had had a rough night.

"Don't worry about it so much, Mom," she said with a smile. "I don't need a lot of stuff, and we always get by, right?"

Her mom shook her head then said, "Yes. We do manage to get by, but I can't even take us out for a decent dinner once a month. I can't buy you nice things or even pay for field trips. I...I just feel so...helpless."

And then the tears came again, and she still had to get through lunch with a man she had no interest in dating who clearly had that kind of interest in her.

Somehow, she pulled herself together before leaving the house, dropped Courtney off at school, then headed to work.

Lunch was even worse than she'd imagined as her boss carefully laid out his way of helping her with her financial problems. She could be easily be brought up to date on the mortgage and even get a substantial raise were she willing to...spend some time with him. Time that included long lunches and maybe the occasional weekend.

"No need to decide right now, Mandy," he told her as he put his hand on hers without asking. "But don't make me wait too long, okay?"

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, two days later, Mandy got a call at around 4pm from the Seattle Police Department.

"Mrs. Barrow? We have your daughter Courtney at the westside precinct. It's my very unpleasant task to inform you she's been arrested for shoplifting."

Mandy thought she'd throw up when she heard those words then asked, "What did she steal?"

The officer told her he'd rather discuss it in person, and her manager was more than willing to let her take off an hour early with the caveat she understood he was 'scratching her back' and that his was getting very itchy.

When she got to the precinct, Courtney was sitting in a room with a female officer. The male officer who called her introduced himself then explained what happened.

"Food? My daughter stole...food?" Mandy said, barely able to believe what she was hearing.

"I'm afraid so, Mrs. Barrow. It's all being tagged as evidence, but I can show it to you."

There was a fully-cooked roasted chicken in a plastic tray, two baked potatoes, and two slices of cheesecake wrapped in individual boxes.

"The store owner was pretty angry. This wasn't a can of Coke or a candy bar. Even those small items add up, but this was close to $30 worth of food."

He looked right at her then asked, "Do you have any idea why she'd take these particular items? To impress a boyfriend maybe?"

The thought of Courtney doing it for her mom never crossed his mind, especially after he saw the very attractive, nicely-dressed woman walk in. Were she homeless or destitute-looking, it might have made sense, but this woman clearly had money or at least appeared to.

"I...I really don't know, Officer," she told him, her voice hollow and sad.

"Well, since she's a minor, we're releasing her into your custody, but she will have to appear in juvenile court tomorrow and then the judge will decide what to do from there."

Courtney didn't say a word on the ride home. There was no need to as both she and her mother knew why she'd done what she did. As they pulled into the driveway, Courtney finally said, "Are you mad at me?"

Mandy parked the car, looked at her daughter, and said, "No, honey. I'm not mad. I'm disappointed and hurt, but I'm not mad."

"I...I just wanted us to be able to have a nice meal together," her daughter said, now on the verge of tears herself.

"I thought you were going to become a vegan," her mom said. "Did that change?"

"I don't know. I guess. Maybe it just sounds cool because that what so many kids are doing. I never even thought about taking tofu or..."

Mandy, who was ready to cry again, started to laugh. The laughter came and it wouldn't stop. Courtney started laughing, too, and the two of them laughed until they cried.