Ancestral Magic

The ledger closed with a snap and Sky Hawthorne stretched back in her chair, reaching her hands toward the ceiling.  Her shoulders cracked, one following the other, and she groaned.  Twice a month she went through this torture.  Bill paying.  There was something masochistic about watching a bank account whittle away bit-by-bit, check after check.  Things had always been tight, but lately, she felt like they were drowning in a sea of debt with no rescue boat in sight.

If it hadn’t been for the state funded programs available to them because of Drake’s disability, they never would have been able to afford his doctor bills or school equipment.  Books in Braille were expensive enough when you had a son who was a voracious reader, but with Drake going to a school for the gifted, each of his textbooks had to be specially printed.

Last year, Drake insisted he wanted a dog like their neighbor Telisha had.  Sky applied to accredited training schools all over the country, but most insisted Drake was too young for one of their guide dogs.  She gathered letters from his teachers and school, reports from therapists and doctors, and after a long battle, Drake’s application was finally accepted through a school in New Jersey.

Their friends and family pitched in so they could pay Drake’s fees, which covered his room and board for the month he stayed at the guide dog school, and the travel fare from Milwaukee to Morristown and back.  Sky didn’t like taking charity, didn’t like feeling that she owed a debt to anyone, but she swallowed her pride for Drake’s sake.

Jewel had been a treasure since the day she entered their life.  The freedom her son gained having Jewel as his guide, and knowing Drake was never alone, brought Sky peace of mind. Vet bills and food for a seventy-pound Labrador were not easy on the budget, but even with the extra financial burden, Jewel was still worth her weight in gold.  

For his birthday next January, Sky wanted to give Drake a Braille printer and a computer.  She had saved all last year for the cash and had even looked into loans to get it.  That, too, had fallen prey to the reality of the new situation and the limits their finances placed on any further plans.  She wanted to make Drake’s life easier, to give her son everything he needed, but…

Sky sighed and gathered up the bills.  Throwing on her coat, she checked her pocket for the keys and locked the front door on the way out.  One more batch of bills paid to fend of the creditors, and a large hold burned in an already thin back account.  Just proof that no matter how tough things got, somehow she and Drake got by.  Some months it was close, and lately she almost always came home tired, but they survived. 

She walked across the sidewalk toward the mailbox, the stack of filled envelopes held tightly in her hand.  Things were starting to get desperate, and she wasn’t sure what else she could do.  One more surprise, and the precarious ledge on which their lives perched, might just tumble from under her little family.

“Mrs. Hawthorne?”

Sky looked back at the apartment building to see a man in a sharply pressed suit standing on the top step.  Everything about him, from the serious look on his face, to the well-shined shoes said this was not a social call.  “It’s Ms., actually.  I never took my husband’s last name.”  She opened the door of the mailbox and slid the letters inside.  Her heart raced.  A lawyer?  It had to be.  She took a deep breath and turned to the man.  “Can I help you, sir?”

The man walked down the heavily cracked cement steps and crossed the sidewalk to her.  “My name is Michael Kessing,  Ms. Hawthorne, and I’m here to discuss a official matter with you.”  He held out his card, and she took it.  “Is there somewhere we can talk?  Over coffee perhaps?”

Sky eyed the card suspiciously.  “Any reason why we can’t just talk right here?”

“Ms. Hawthorne.  It’s been a long drive from Columbia County.  I’d like to sit down and relax while we discuss this matter.”  He pulled a leather wallet from the inside pocket of his coat and flipped it open to reveal his driver’s license.  “I understand your caution, and commend it, but what we have to discuss could take a while.”

She scanned the I.D. carefully and matched it with the name on the business card in her hand.  Sky checked her watch.  Three o’clock.  Drake would be home on the bus in an hour and a half.  “Can you tell me what this is about, Mr. Kessing?” 

“Ms. Hawthorne, it would take a long time to give you the details of what I’ve been sent to discuss with you.”  Mr. Kessing walked back to the steps and picked up the briefcase that had been sitting there.  “Suffice it to say, that it would be very advantageous for your family if you agreed to this meeting.” 

She chewed the inside of her cheek in thought at these words.  The last thing her family needed was more trouble.  Panic welled up inside her until she was sure she would choke on it.  Best to get this over with so they could plan how to attack the new problem.

Sky pointed down the street.  The cool fall air was making her arms and hands tingle and she rubbed her fingers together to warm them.  “There’s a diner across from the casino on Clyborn.  I’ll have to call someone to pick my son up from school and to let them know where I am.”

“Understandable.”  Mr. Kessing smiled, and nodded at her arms, which were covered in goosebumps now.  “You may want to get a jacket while you’re at it, miss.  I’ll meet you at the diner in fifteen minutes.  Is that sufficient time?”

“Give me twenty and yes, that should be fine.”  Mr. Kessing’s hard-soled shoes clicked on the street as he crossed, heading for the sliver Acura RSX parked at the corner.   Sky took several calming breaths and headed back inside the apartment building. 

The tiny ledge her family perched upon was getting shaky and there was nothing to grab onto if they fell.
 

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