Jordan called two evenings later.
Pam answered.
I was sitting in the living room when she picked up the phone.
She listened for a while, then asked him to repeat something.
Her face tightened.
She glanced toward me.
I couldn't hear every word, but I understood that he was talking about the money again.
When the call ended, she sat down beside me.
"He wants to come over."
"Did he bring the records?"
She shook her head.
"He says he needs more time."
I looked at the clock.
It was nearly supper.
I asked what else he had said.
Pam told me he was worried about what might happen if the matter became more serious.
He wanted us to keep it within the family.
I understood why he wanted that.
But I had already heard that request several times.
It had not produced an accounting.
It had not explained the casino charges.
It had not returned the money Pam had withdrawn from her retirement savings.
I told her he could come over if he was ready to talk honestly.
I would not agree to keep the accounts secret simply because he was uncomfortable.
Pam nodded.
She called him back and told him to come the following afternoon.
The next day, I prepared the kitchen table.
I placed the credit report in the folder.
I set Pam's bank records beside it.
I did not put the sale documents on the table.
They were not needed for this conversation.
Jordan arrived a little after three.
He looked tired.
He sat down and glanced at the papers.
"I know you both want answers."
Pam folded her hands.
"We do."
He said he had been trying to work through everything.
He had looked at some of the charges and was still trying to determine the balances.
I asked whether he had brought the records.
He admitted he hadn't.
I waited.
He began explaining his financial troubles again.
He said he had fallen behind.
He said he had thought he could borrow temporarily and repay the money before anyone noticed.
He said the situation had grown beyond what he could manage.
I listened.
Some of what he said may have been true.
I had no way to verify every part of his explanation.
But one thing was clear.
He had decided to use my identity without asking.
Then he had allowed Pam to believe I was the one responsible for the debts.
I reminded him of that.
He lowered his head.
"I know."
Pam spoke quietly.
"Why didn't you come to me and tell me you were in trouble?"
Jordan looked at her.
"I didn't want you to worry."
She seemed hurt by the answer.
"You let me take money out of my retirement instead."
He didn't respond.
I watched him carefully.
For once, he wasn't making jokes about my truck or my work.
He wasn't telling me what I could afford.
He was sitting in the same kitchen where I had first heard him discussing the payments.
The difference was that we were no longer having the conversation behind a closed door.
Pam asked whether he had used the money at the casino.
Jordan admitted that he had gone to Oklahoma.
He said he had spent money he shouldn't have spent.
He did not give us a complete total.
I asked him to provide the records so we could understand the amounts.
He said he would try.
I told him trying was not enough.
He looked up sharply.
I kept my voice calm.
"You've had time to think about this. We need the information, Jordan."
He rubbed his forehead.
"I don't have everything ready."
"Then tell us when you will."
He gave us a date.
I repeated it so there would be no misunderstanding.
Pam wrote it on a small piece of paper.
I watched her place the paper beside the envelope.
It was a simple thing.
But it was different from the way we had handled the problem before.
We had a date.
We had a request.
We had something we could measure against what happened next.
Jordan looked at his mother.
"I'm sorry I put you in this position."
Pam's eyes filled.
She told him she loved him.
Then she said she needed him to understand that love could not make the truth optional.
He nodded.
I couldn't tell whether he was finally accepting responsibility or simply agreeing because he wanted the conversation to end.
I decided not to guess.
He left shortly afterward.
Pam sat at the table, staring at the date she had written.
"Do you think he'll do it?"
"I don't know."
She looked at me.
"You really don't know, do you?"
"No."
I had spent years trying to predict Jordan's behavior and explain it away before it caused trouble.
I wasn't going to keep doing that.
The date was written down.
The records had been requested.
Now we would see whether he followed through.
Click here to continue reading: PART 20: The Date Jordan Gave Us Was Written Beside the Credit Report, and I Knew His Next Choice Would Matter More Than His Next Apology
The Man Everyone Thought Was Broke Came Home Early, and One Ordinary Conversation Changed What He Believed About His Marriage
Part 19 of 24
