Ann descends
Last night Ann descended on me like a cloud of black bats. I opened the front door and there she was, looking at me with the most serious face I’ve ever seen. As she stepped into the hallway she said, “Go and make the coffee,” and waved a carrier bag in the air adding, “I’ve got the biscuits.”
I could hear the carrier bag rustling as I made the coffee. I took the cups through to the lounge. On the coffee table there was the packet of biscuits (double chocolate chip cookies), a calculator, a pile of leaflets and the biggest pair of scissors I’ve ever seen.
“OK,” she said, “before you settle down, go and find those credit card bills.” I hesitated. She pointed to the door. “Go on. I’m not asking, I’m telling you. We have to sort this out.” I went into the bedroom, climbed on the bed and lifted the suitcase down from the top of the wardrobe. It took me a while to find the key; I remembered putting it in a safe place but not exactly which safe place. Eventually I remembered it was in an old handbag in the bottom of the wardrobe, along with a lot of other things I need to be secure but easy to find. As I closed the wardrobe door I realised she was in the room with me. “Just making sure you don’t run away.”
Back in the living room, we opened the envelopes between us and sorted out the most recent ones. Ann handed me the calculator and started reading them out. “Barclaycard, six thousand, Mastercard, three thousand five hundred …”
It came to just over 25 thousand altogether. I didn’t think it was so much. We were both quiet for a while then Ann reached over and picked up a biscuit. “Right. Now we know what we’re dealing with. It’s a lot of money and it’s going to take time but you have to pay it back. So, I think the solution is a loan. Consolidate. That’s the word they use.” She brushed the crumbs off her chest and picked up a leaflet. “I’ve looked through these and this seems to be the best. In the Pink Loans.” She pointed. “Here’s the number. Get ‘em rung.”
Like the wimp that I am, I rang. I talked to the woman who, I have to say, talked a lot of sense. She worked it all out. I could borrow twenty five thousand and pay them back over ten years. That was the shortest period where I could afford the repayments but doing it that way would cost me twenty two thousand in interest, on top of the twenty five thou. Forty seven thousand pounds. Can you believe it? I said I’d call her back.
“I need to think about it Ann. It’s a lot of money. Don’t push me any more, I’ll sort it out next week. I promise.”
She looked at me. I think she saw my determination not to agree anything that night. “Alright then.” She wagged her finger. “But you better had, that’s all I’ll say. You better had.”
I picked up a biscuit and took a bite. I thought it was over. I’d forgotten about the scissors though. She picked them up and waved them. “Give me your cards.” I shook my head. She pointed the scissors straight at me. “Get them.” I opened my bag, took out my purse and extracted my cards. I watched as Ann cut them into tiny pieces. “No more online poker for you young lady.”
After she’d gone, I came to the computer and turned it on to write my blog. Wanted to get it off my chest. But I didn’t do that. What Ann didn’t know, and I didn’t tell her, is that I don’t need my credit cards to play. They have my details already. I went into the Aces High site and played all night. Lost five hundred pounds.
This morning I was too tired to go into work. I gave them a call and went back to bed. Stayed there all day.
I can’t go on like this. I really can’t.
I could hear the carrier bag rustling as I made the coffee. I took the cups through to the lounge. On the coffee table there was the packet of biscuits (double chocolate chip cookies), a calculator, a pile of leaflets and the biggest pair of scissors I’ve ever seen.
“OK,” she said, “before you settle down, go and find those credit card bills.” I hesitated. She pointed to the door. “Go on. I’m not asking, I’m telling you. We have to sort this out.” I went into the bedroom, climbed on the bed and lifted the suitcase down from the top of the wardrobe. It took me a while to find the key; I remembered putting it in a safe place but not exactly which safe place. Eventually I remembered it was in an old handbag in the bottom of the wardrobe, along with a lot of other things I need to be secure but easy to find. As I closed the wardrobe door I realised she was in the room with me. “Just making sure you don’t run away.”
Back in the living room, we opened the envelopes between us and sorted out the most recent ones. Ann handed me the calculator and started reading them out. “Barclaycard, six thousand, Mastercard, three thousand five hundred …”
It came to just over 25 thousand altogether. I didn’t think it was so much. We were both quiet for a while then Ann reached over and picked up a biscuit. “Right. Now we know what we’re dealing with. It’s a lot of money and it’s going to take time but you have to pay it back. So, I think the solution is a loan. Consolidate. That’s the word they use.” She brushed the crumbs off her chest and picked up a leaflet. “I’ve looked through these and this seems to be the best. In the Pink Loans.” She pointed. “Here’s the number. Get ‘em rung.”
Like the wimp that I am, I rang. I talked to the woman who, I have to say, talked a lot of sense. She worked it all out. I could borrow twenty five thousand and pay them back over ten years. That was the shortest period where I could afford the repayments but doing it that way would cost me twenty two thousand in interest, on top of the twenty five thou. Forty seven thousand pounds. Can you believe it? I said I’d call her back.
“I need to think about it Ann. It’s a lot of money. Don’t push me any more, I’ll sort it out next week. I promise.”
She looked at me. I think she saw my determination not to agree anything that night. “Alright then.” She wagged her finger. “But you better had, that’s all I’ll say. You better had.”
I picked up a biscuit and took a bite. I thought it was over. I’d forgotten about the scissors though. She picked them up and waved them. “Give me your cards.” I shook my head. She pointed the scissors straight at me. “Get them.” I opened my bag, took out my purse and extracted my cards. I watched as Ann cut them into tiny pieces. “No more online poker for you young lady.”
After she’d gone, I came to the computer and turned it on to write my blog. Wanted to get it off my chest. But I didn’t do that. What Ann didn’t know, and I didn’t tell her, is that I don’t need my credit cards to play. They have my details already. I went into the Aces High site and played all night. Lost five hundred pounds.
This morning I was too tired to go into work. I gave them a call and went back to bed. Stayed there all day.
I can’t go on like this. I really can’t.
posted by Smooth Blue at 9:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home