50 Harbor Street - Debbie Macomber [53]
“Don’t,” David insisted. “Hard as it was, I’ve already gone to him and he refused. I don’t have much left, Charlotte, except my pride. My father knows I’m desperate, but that didn’t make any difference to him. He’s never given me much help.” He hesitated. “I shouldn’t have said that. Forgive me.”
“Of course.” It wasn’t true either, Charlotte knew. According to Ben, he’d lent his son quite a bit of money through the years. Not once had David repaid him.
“I need five thousand dollars, Charlotte.”
The sick sensation returned. “That’s a lot of money.”
He didn’t disagree, even though he’d considered it “measly” a few minutes earlier. “Yes,” he said, “but I have every intention of repaying you with interest. I explained this to my father, but he didn’t want to hear it. I’m due for a big Christmas bonus from my company. I know I’ll be getting a check for five grand, probably more, and it’ll come in two weeks. I only need the money until then. If I don’t get some cash now…” He sat back in his chair and sighed. “I can’t bear to think what will happen.”
“Two weeks is all?”
David leaned forward, his eyes filled with hope. “Two weeks.”
“A bank won’t lend it to you?”
“No. I’ve tried again and again, but with my credit rating, they refuse to even talk to me.”
“Oh.”
“Charlotte, if you could help me, I’d be forever in your debt.” He picked up his drink and drained the little that remained. “It could possibly save my life.”
Their lunch arrived just then, but Charlotte’s normally healthy appetite had vanished. She smiled her appreciation at their waitress and reached for her tea, needing to think carefully about this. “Save your life?” she asked, resuming their conversation.
David turned and looked out over the cove. “I don’t want to get into the medical aspects,” he said in a low voice. “It’s rather complicated….”
“No, please tell me.”
“I need this money so badly, I’ve—I’ve considered—” he paused, dropping his head “—suicide.”
Charlotte’s hand flew to her heart and she gasped.
“If I don’t have the surgery…”
Charlotte hadn’t recovered from the first shock and now there was a second one. “The money is for surgery?”
David nodded. “Funny, isn’t it? No one’s ever asked me why I need the five thousand dollars. My father assumes it’s to pay off gambling debts. That’s just like him. Sad as it is to say, my own father chooses to think the worst of me.”
“You need surgery?” Her mind was reeling with this information. Surely Ben would have given him the money if he’d known that.
David’s eyes were weary. “I won’t humble myself any more than I have already. You know what hospitals are like. They want the money up front before they’ll agree to do any kind of procedure.”
“But surely you have medical insurance.”
“Some,” he agreed. “But not enough. I need money to pay the balance.”
“But, David, your father would want to help you if he knew the reason you’re so desperate for this loan.”
He smiled as if she’d made a joke. “You don’t know my father as well as you think. I was never his favorite. Dad always saw the bad in me instead of the good. I suppose I gave him plenty of reason but…we’ve never had much of a relationship.”
Charlotte could see that Ben’s problems with his son were far more complex than she’d realized. For one thing, this wasn’t a recent falling-out, as she’d assumed. She felt sad for them both. Considering the disappointment Will had been to her in the past few years, she understood far better than she cared to admit.
“Dad would be so angry if he knew you gave me the money,” he said, dejection overtaking his voice once again. “I can’t let you do it, Charlotte.”
“You can’t?”
“I don’t want to risk damaging your marriage to my father.”
“Nonsense. Once I tell him, Ben will understand. Besides, it’s my money and I can do with it as I please.”
David didn’t respond.
Charlotte bent down for her purse and pulled out her checkbook. She’d finished writing the check and ripped it free when Justine stepped up to the table.
She glared at David. “Grandma! What are you