April walked through the door, throwing her graduate cap onto the couch.
I did my best to be cheerful. "Congratulations, my little graduate girl."
She disrobed her back-pack and threw it onto the couch also. "It's just rehearsal."
"What's wrong?"
She threw her arms out. "What's wrong? Oh, let me see. I don't have money for college. I don't have a car. And I'm the only one who borrows her mom's '85 sedan...freaking embarrassing."
I crossed my arms. "We've been over this, April."
"Yeah, I know." She became animated. "You promised me a car for my 18th birthday. Then you promised me a car for my graduation. Ever since your last boyfriend left, all you say is, 'things are different'."
I stood my ground. "Yes, they are."
She plopped onto the couch. "Are they really?"
I rubbed my forehead. "Must we go through this again? You know my hands are tied."
She shook her head. "No they're not. Why don't you just ask your stupid boyfriend to help you out? He has a lot of money, he drives a nice car."
"Jake's on the road a lot for business. He needs that car. If it wasn't for him, we would have lost this house. No telling where we would be." I pointed to the floor. "We were quickly sinking. Be thankful I have Jake. He pays the bills and puts food on the table."
She grunted as she leaned forward and sank her head into her hands. "I just don't get it. You two have been together for six months now. Why doesn't he just give you some money?" She then raised her head back up and said sarcastically, "Hey, I have a better idea. Why don't you just ask him to buy me a car?"
I looked at her for a moment, not wanting to fight. Instead, I sat next to her, putting my hand on her back. "I know you're upset, and I know things look dim. But don't ever think I have forgotten about you. It's just too soon to approach him for things like that. I just don't want to scare him off. Can you understand that?"
"But mom, he has a lot of money. He needs to cut you in."
"It doesn't work that way, April." I put my hands on her shoulders and gave her an optimistic shake. "It's not the end of the world. Just give it a little time and things will get better. I promise."
Jake came through the front door.
April looked to him and then rose in frustration. She turned back to me. "I'm tired of your promises." She then stormed off, going upstairs.
Jake stood quietly as she left, then gently shut the door behind him and asked, "Is everything okay?"
I played if off with a solemn smile. "Just girl matters."
"Oh." He reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope and pointed it toward me. "I got you a little something."
I stood up as a true smile came over me. "Well, you little devil, what did you do?" I took the envelope and opened it. My eyes widened as I saw a check for $5,000. I put my hand to my chest. "Oh my goodness." I looked at him with disbelief.
He was smiling. "I was waiting for this day. I got my quarterly bonus and decided to help you open up a bank account." He pointed to me. "Your account."
I put my hands over my mouth as a tear streamed down my cheek.
He put his arm around me and simply chuckled.
I didn't know what to say. I had mixed emotions. I was so happy but guilt was setting in. It must have been obvious.
"What's bothering you?" he asked.
I took a deep breath and made the confession. "Oh, it's April."
"What's wrong?"
I stared blankly ahead biting on my lip.
"Julie, what is it?"
I couldn't take it anymore. "Can we talk about something?"
"Of course."
I took hold of his arm, gesturing for us to take a seat. "Look, I never said anything to you but..."
He raised a brow. "But what?"
"What you just did for me is the sweetest thing. But it makes me feel guilty."
He placed his hand on my arm. "Why feel guilty? I gave it freely."
I had to let it out. "April's been bugging me about getting a car for over a year now. It just makes me feel guilty."
He didn't respond.
I held the envelope at each end, staring at it. "You want it to go into an account. But I need to use it as a down payment on a car. But then it would be like you didn't do anything for me. You know what I mean?"