My mother had spent years carefully putting aside $5,000 for emergencies. Then her refrigerator broke down. That was when I learned that every dollar of her savings was gone.
One phone call to my sister-in-law changed my anger into something far more calculated.
When I arrived at Mom’s kitchen that Saturday morning, the freezer door of her old refrigerator was hanging open. Melted ice had already spread into a puddle across the linoleum.
Mom, Diane, stood nearby with a towel.
Apparently, the refrigerator had finally stopped working sometime during the night.
Of course, she hadn’t called me.
Mom almost never called when she needed help.
“Mom, this thing is finished,” I said, staring at the water spreading over the floor. “Get your purse. We’ll go buy another one today.”
She immediately shook her head.
“I can’t do that right now, honey.”
I frowned.
“Why not?”
She hesitated.
“I don’t have my savings anymore.”
I stopped.
“What do you mean?”
For years, Mom had kept emergency money aside specifically for situations like this.
“You had five thousand dollars saved.”
She looked embarrassed.
“I lent it to Lauren.”
Lauren.
My brother Kyle’s wife.
The name alone made my stomach tighten.
Lauren hardly ever called Mom unless it was a holiday or she wanted something.
“How much did you give her?”
Mom lowered her eyes.
