An Elderly Father’s Unanticipated Homecoming on His 80th Birthday

“Who was that?” one of them asked in a gruff voice.

“Nobody,” Deidre lied, her voice trembling. “Just a neighbor’s kid playing a doorbell prank.”

“Back to business, then,” the second man said. “You’re six months behind on your loan repayments, Deidre. Mr. Marco’s getting impatient.”

“I just need more time. Business will pick up in the winter,” she pleaded.

“Time is one thing you don’t have,” the man replied, pulling out his gun. “People who owe Mr. Marco don’t live long and end up feeding the fishes in the lake.” He pointed the weapon at her.

Terror froze Richard in place. The man stepped back, looking disgusted, and tucked the gun away. “Look around this dump for anything valuable for Mr. Marco, Danny,” he ordered. “She’s a businesswoman; there must be a computer or equipment here.”

“But I need those things to make money!” Deidre cried.

The man patted the butt of his gun. “Boo-hoo. I can still change my mind. Don’t be ungrateful.”

The men ransacked her home before storming out, leaving Deidre sobbing on the floor. Richard was puzzled because Deidre had said her business was doing well. He sensed something was wrong and knew she needed his help. The men loaded several appliances into their vehicle. When they drove away, Richard followed them.

The men stopped at a two-story brick building downtown that looked like a bar. Although it was closed, the door was unlocked. No one stopped Richard as he entered. The men had joined a large table with several rough-looking men. One of them stood and swaggered toward him.

“The club’s closed,” he growled. “Come back later.”

“I’m here to discuss Deidre’s debt,” Richard announced.

“Oh?” The man at the head of the table rose and stared at Richard. He looked like a gentleman except for a nasty scar above his left eye. Richard guessed he was Mr. Marco.

“How much does she owe you?” Richard asked.

Mr. Marco smirked. “A good Samaritan, huh? Deidre took out a business loan of $80,000. She was supposed to pay me back from her monthly profits, but she never made any.”

“I have around $20,000 in my savings,” Richard gulped fearfully, shocked by the amount Deidre had borrowed.

“That’s only a quarter of what she owes,” Mr. Marco sighed. “But there’s something you can do to make up the difference.”

Richard didn’t like the sound of that but had to save his daughter. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

Mr. Marco grinned and beckoned him closer. “My partner and I recently started a small business importing cars to Canada, but some paperwork has been delayed. A kind, innocent-looking Grandpa like you should have no trouble crossing the border in one of our cars.”

Richard had no choice but to agree. Later that night, he pulled into a gas station near the border to use the bathroom and parked beside a patrol. “Jesus!” he gasped as the German Shepherd in the police cruiser began barking. Service dogs were trained not to bark at random people unless… Oh, man. He quickly climbed back into the car and started reversing as the police dog went crazy. Two cops hurried out of the gas station store and yelled at him to stop. The GPS app voiced directions, but Richard shoved it in his pocket to silence it. He pushed the car to its limits, weaving through traffic, narrowly avoiding collisions. Sirens blared behind him.

Richard soon spotted a narrow, unmarked dirt road veering into the forest. He sharply turned, leaving the road behind as he raced into the forest. The muddy trails were tough to navigate, but he pushed on. He turned down a narrow track leading downhill, then up a slight rise, and instantly regretted it. The car was now stuck in a precarious position, balanced on a narrow rise above a wide river. Richard tried to reverse, but the tires spun without traction, and the car slid closer to the water.

“No!” Richard desperately pulled up the parking brake, but it didn’t work. The car’s nose hit the river with a loud splash, sending a wave of dark water flooding over the bonnet. Richard shoved the door open, desperate to escape the sinking vehicle. The pressure from the water started to push the door shut against Richard’s legs. Richard splashed around in panic as the river filled the interior. As the water level crept up his face, he tipped his head back, took one last breath, and pulled himself underwater. Richard squeezed out of the opening and pushed himself up toward the surface. He took in a lungful of air and swam toward the riverbank. Reaching land made Richard realize how close he was to death. He was thankfully breathing. But he still needed to do something about the $80,000. So Richard hitchhiked home.

“I need to mortgage my house,” he told the bank assistant. “And I need the cash in my bank account fast.” Richard waited impatiently as the bank employee processed the paperwork. He jumped in fright when Deidre called him.

“Some thugs from a local gang were just here asking about you, Dad… what is happening?”

“Tell them I’ll be there soon. I arranged to pay off your debt for you. I don’t understand why you didn’t come to me first, Deidre, but this isn’t the time to discuss that.” Richard ended the call and signed the paperwork. He didn’t want to give up the home where he had created memories with his family, but it was the only way to help Deidre. A few hours later, he pulled into the club’s parking lot in a rented car and headed toward the entrance.

“Dad, wait!” Richard looked back as Deidre ran toward him. “I won’t let you face those thugs alone,” she said. “I still don’t understand how you found out about this mess or how you got the money to repay them, but the least I can do is stand by you while you save me.”

Richard saw the determined look in Deidre’s eyes and knew he couldn’t convince her to leave. As they entered the club, the thugs herded them toward the table. Richard placed his duffel bag, which contained the cash he’d withdrawn after the mortgage went through, on the table. “Here’s the $80,000 Deidre owed you plus another $15,000 to cover the cost of your car. I, uh, got into some trouble, and the car ended up in a river.”

Mr. Marco’s mouth twisted angrily, and he thumped his fist against the table. “You have the audacity to offer me a measly $15,000 after you tell me you sank the $100,000 shipment hidden in that car? That doesn’t even begin to cover what you now owe me.” The gangster grabbed the duffel bag and threw it to one of his thugs. “You know, Deidre, I really believed in you, but sometimes, in business, you’ve got to know when to cut your losses.” He removed a gun from his suit jacket and pointed it straight at Deidre’s forehead.

Richard pulled Deidre behind him. “No, please! This is all my fault! Don’t punish her!”

“Well, you made a good point.” The gangster shrugged, and the next moment, Richard was staring down the gun barrel. But suddenly, they heard police sirens outside. Mr. Marco turned and ran toward the back of the club as loud gunfire boomed and shook the place. Father and daughter crawled under the table. There was chaos in the club, and as Richard looked into his daughter’s fear-filled eyes, he knew he had to get her to safety. Richard and Deidre pulled one of the tables over and barricaded themselves in a corner. They hid until the police escorted them to safety. Thankfully, Mr. Marco was apprehended.

“Are you certain you don’t have any heart-related health issues?” Richard shook his head at the paramedic in the ambulance. Richard swallowed hard when the police detective approached.

“Sir, what were you and your daughter doing in this club today?” the detective asked sternly.

Richard explained about Deidre’s loan and their intention to repay it. He hoped not to mention the car he sank in the river. The detective glanced at Deidre.

“If we hadn’t found a car full of contraband in the river, we wouldn’t have been here to rescue you. You shouldn’t be taking loans from such disreputable people, miss.”

“A car in the river?” Richard asked nervously.

“It was registered to Mr. Marco’s cousin, which was exactly the lead we needed to take this gang down,” replied the officer.

Richard sighed in relief. He was in the clear. The cops let him and Deidre go once they provided their statements.

“I owe you a huge apology, Dad. I dragged you into this whole mess,” Deidre apologized as they walked to Richard’s car. Tears filled her eyes. “I didn’t know how to tell you. How does anyone tell their father that they’re a huge failure?”

“You are not a failure!” Richard put his hands on Deidre’s shoulders. “Maybe your business idea didn’t work out as well as you’d hoped, but you tried, Deidre. I wish you’d felt comfortable enough to tell me what was really going on in your life. Heck, I just wish you felt you could be as close with me as you were with your mother,” he continued. “I don’t think you’ve been ‘fine’ for quite a while now.”

Deidre burst

into tears, and Richard put an arm around her. “It’s okay, honey,” he whispered soothingly. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

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