PART 13 – Jordan Finally Came Back With More Words, but I Was Done Mistaking His Promises for Proof That He Intended to Change

Jordan called on a Tuesday afternoon.

I was at the office, sorting through papers I had kept long after they were needed.

The window unit was rattling, and my coffee had been sitting untouched for nearly an hour.

I saw his name on my phone.

For a moment, I considered letting it ring.

Then I answered.

"Gary, you got a minute?"

I told him I was listening.

He said he wanted to come by the house that evening.

I asked whether he had the records we had requested.

There was a pause.

"I'm still working on that."

I looked at the folder beside my keyboard.

"Then what do you want to discuss?"

He sighed.

"I want us to stop going around in circles."

I had to admire the way he could make a problem sound like something other people were doing to him.

I told him he could come over, but we weren't going to repeat the last conversation.

He said he understood.

We ended the call.

I returned to the paperwork on my desk, though I couldn't concentrate on it.

I kept thinking about the way Jordan had spoken.

He wanted the matter settled.

So did I.

But settling something and pretending it had never happened were two different things.

That evening, he arrived while Pam was finishing supper.

He came into the kitchen and sat down without making his usual joke about my truck.

That alone told me he understood the mood had changed.

Pam placed a glass of water in front of him.

I took the chair across the table.

Jordan rubbed his palms against his trousers.

"I know I've made a mess of things."

I waited.

He said he had been struggling financially.

He had been trying to keep up with expenses and had made decisions he regretted.

He said the credit cards had seemed like a temporary solution.

I asked why he had used my personal information.

He looked at the glass.

"I thought I could pay everything before you ever knew."

That was the first explanation he had given that sounded like an admission rather than an excuse.

It was also an admission that he had expected to keep me in the dark.

I asked why he had told Pam I was gambling.

He shook his head.

"I didn't mean for it to go that far."

"How far did you mean for it to go?"

He had no answer.

Pam sat very still beside me.

I could see that she wanted to interrupt, perhaps to make the conversation less uncomfortable.

She didn't.

Jordan said he had been afraid that the card companies would contact me.

He said he knew I would ask questions.

He had wanted to keep control of the situation.

I asked him whether he understood what that had cost his mother.

He nodded.

Then he looked at Pam.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

She lowered her eyes.

I waited for him to continue.

He said he had never wanted her to lose money from her retirement.

He had thought he could straighten everything out before it became serious.

I asked whether he had a record of the amounts charged.

He admitted he did not have everything organized.

I asked whether he knew the remaining balances.

He gave me an uncertain answer.

I asked how much he had spent at the casino.

He looked uncomfortable.

"I don't have the exact number."

That answer was not enough.

I told him we needed an accounting of the three accounts, including the charges and any payments he had made.

I also told him Pam needed to know how much of her retirement money had been used and what he intended to do about it.

He rubbed his forehead.

"Gary, I don't have a pile of money sitting around."

I looked at him.

"I haven't asked you for a pile of money."

He seemed surprised.

I continued.

"I've asked you to tell the truth about what happened."

He stared at the table.

For a few seconds, I thought he might finally understand the difference.

Then he asked whether we could handle everything without involving anyone else.

I told him that decision would depend on the facts.

I wasn't going to promise him anything before I knew the extent of the problem.

He looked toward Pam.

She spoke quietly.

"Jordan, I need you to stop hiding things from us."

He nodded.

I wanted to believe he meant it.

But I had learned not to treat a nod as evidence.

Before he left, I asked him to bring the records when he had them.

He said he would.

I watched him walk toward the door.

His shoulders were hunched, and he moved more slowly than usual.

For a moment, I felt sorry for him.

Then I remembered the credit report.

I remembered Pam's withdrawals.

Feeling sorry for someone didn't require me to ignore what he had done.

After the door closed, Pam remained at the table.

She looked at the glass he had left behind.

"He sounded different tonight," she said.

"Yes."

"Do you think he means it?"

I considered the question.

"I think he knows we're serious."

She looked at me.

"Is that the same thing?"

"No."

I wished it were.

But the truth was that Jordan had spent years getting away with things because we wanted to believe the best about him.

I wasn't going to make that mistake again.

Click here to continue reading: PART 14: I Had Planned to Use My New Freedom to Enjoy Retirement, but the First Thing I Needed to Protect Was the Truth