face it, but had failed to prepare either of them for the eventuality.
He, Ryan, had been throughst into the role of parent. One day, he
had just been Bing’s protective older brother. The next, he was
brother and parent. It had happened so quick.
Now, he was facing it and knew that he had to get his little
brother to face it too. He knew that his job had only been a two-hour
stint, but he’d also taken time to go to an insurance agency and get
the best possible life insurance he could for himself and Bing. At the
same time, he’d gotten health insurance that they both needed
badly.
“Bing,” he called, “Sam, I’m home!”
“Shhhh,” Sam hissed, holding her forefinger before her lips, yet
smiling, “he’s asleep. But I, on the other hand, am wide-awake. Just
think of what we could do right now.” At this, she waggled her
finger, urging him to follow her up the stairs as she skipped
seductively up them.
He willingly followed her. He knew what was on her mind. Though
it wouldn’t exorcise the demons that haunted him at the moment,
perhaps it would hush their whispers for a while.
An hour later, they lay upon the bed they’d shared for four years.
The satin sheets laid askew over their nude bodies. It would be a
shame for them to have to give this all up. There was nothing set
saying that they would, yet. Nor was there any guarantee that they
wouldn’t. Sure, their finances were not as they once had, but
perhaps they would find some way to prevent what Ryan now saw
looming on the horizon...the loss of all they owned.
“Rye,” Sam whispered, “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry.
We’ll make it. We’re not going to lose everything. And you aren’t
going to lose me.”
“But,” he objected, “we are hemorrhaging money around here.
There’s more going out than we have coming in. My parents
arranged for Bing and I, sure. But their provision wasn’t a permanent
fix. It was only meant to take up the slack for a while...until I was
able to replace it with money that I made on my own.
“At the same time, I am staring at my own mortality and