I didn’t know what to think, how was I going to come up with the money to pay the Gold Card bill? Yeah I had been extravagant trying out all those premiums, especially with the TVs but still I never imagined it would be over six thousand or so. Six thousand? Damn what am I saying? Six thousand in just two weeks and damn, they are charging me almost twenty-five thousand dollars.
I went ahead and threw on some clothes so I could head over to Susan’s. Maybe she could help me figure something out, I mean damn, she has a Gold Card too, maybe there’s a way to get them to remove the fees. I grabbed my bill, grabbed my car keys and headed out to my car. Pulling out of my parking lot I headed over to Main and turned right, watching the streets until I passed Seventh.
There was a space open out front so I parked my car, grabbed my Gold Card bill and headed over to the door. Ringing the bell, I heard her on the intercom, “Ted?”
“Yes, I hope I didn’t come here too quickly?”
“No, no,” she replied, “come one in. I’m up in three twenty seven.”
I heard the door buzz and I opened it, stepping into a small foyer. Opening the inner door I saw the stairway in front of me so I immediately began climbing the stairs taking them two at a time. After reaching the first landing, I slowed a bit, taking the steps one at a time now. By the time I reached her door and knocked, I was breathing quite hard. It was a few seconds before she opened the door, but when she did she met me wearing a robe. The room was completely dark behind her.
“Ted, I’m glad you came over,” she said, opening her arms and wrapping them around me.
“I just...”
“Shhh, shhh,” she said, holding a finger over my mouth. She then reached down and took me by the hand and led be into her apartment. There were several candles lit on the kitchen table and I noticed some music playing faintly in the background. I grabbed the Gold Card bill out of my pocket, but she caught my hand and guided it to the table, where I dropped it.
“Didn’t you want to see the bill?” I asked.