Page 13 of Proposition 2

9. Cadence

Leo still wasn’t answering me, and I was beginning to suspect it was on purpose. No matter how busy he was, he should have had time for a simple phone call. This felt like payback for my response when he messaged me.

Sighing, I sat my phone on my desk. I was technically on lunch, but someone still had to answer the phones while everyone else left to eat, so it had become habit to eat lunch there.

My stomach gurgled, reminding me that eating was supposed to be the main point of lunch, but I hadn’t brought anything. I didn’t get paid until the next day and I’d left the last bit of sandwich stuff for Momma and Michael.

One hand on my stomach, I decided to double check what was due. I had a detailed list of balances and due dates that I used to plan out payments, but I was so paranoid about missing one that I couldn’t help double and triple checking everything. It was the end of the month and I couldn’t afford to let anything slip by.

I knew when the mortgage was due and since it always remained the same, there was no sense in checking that one. I went to the second on my list of importance, logging into the electricity account to double check the balance. We had gotten behind, but I was slowly paying off the past due amount.

When the screen loaded to show me a balance of zeros, I was confused. Even without the past due amount, it should have showed the amount due for the previous month, but there was nothing.

Dialing the company, I clicked over to my statements. The last one still showed what I expected to see. I knew payments wouldn’t show until the next statement, but I hadn’t made it yet.

After navigating the phone system, I finally got someone on the line and explained the situation.

“We received the full payment over the weekend, and it was processed Monday when we opened. Your account is caught up,” the chipper voice responded.

I shook my head even though I knew she couldn’t see me.

“But I haven’t made my payment yet. I don’t get paid until tomorrow.”

I could imagine the woman’s shrug.

“Maybe someone else made the payment for you.”

“No, I’m the one who handles the bills. No one else would be able to log into the account.”

“All they need is the account number to make a payment. Even the address and name on the account would work since they’re paying the bill, not making changes.”

I sucked in a deep breath, panic rising. I couldn’t help the feeling that this would come back to bite me.

“What if it was a mistake? Could someone apply a payment to the wrong account? Will I get in trouble?”

The woman’s tone made it clear what she thought of my questions.

“I assure you, mistakes like that are rare. We’re very careful when handling people’s money. If it turns out there was a mistake on our end, you wouldn’t be penalized.”

The phone on my desk rang, interrupting the internal tail-chase going on in my head. Stammering a thanks, I hung up my cell and moved a hand to the receiver on my desk. Blowing out a breath to calm myself, I gave the usual greeting.

The call only distracted me for a moment before I was back to questioning what could have happened. Even if Momma had called the company to make a payment, it would have bounced since the account was empty. The only thing I could think of was that maybe it hadn’t hit yet, so the company assumed it was covered.

Stomach roiling, I opened the next account on my list. The car insurance looked like I expected it to, so I moved on to Momma’s hospital bills.

My jaw dropped open.

Between the doctor visits, specialists, and testing, we had owed over eleven thousand to the hospital. They were working with me on payments, but each month the number only seemed to increase due to her continued issues.

Zeros stared back at me from the screen. No past due amount, no current due amount. Once again, the bill had been paid in full. This time I could see the payment history showing me that the lump sum had been processed the day before.

My head was spinning, and my chest refused to pull in any air. Leaving the tab open, I checked the next bill.

Cell phones were the one ‘extra’ bill that we had since I considered them a necessity for both work and in case something happened to Michael or Momma while I was gone. We didn’t have cable or internet at home, but Michael and I both had a phone with a basic plan. I’d paid off my past due balance with the money I’d received from my auction, and the account showed me the usual monthly charge.

Glancing down at my list a thought struck me. I hesitated to look, but I needed to know.

Going to the mortgage lender’s website, I typed in my information, holding my breath as I waited for the page to load. The air whooshed from my lungs when I saw what I suspected, and my hands moved to cover my mouth.

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