Chapter 2

Over the phone, I said to Mom, "So, I had no choice but to buy the cheapest bus ticket and sat ten hours home. With the money I had left, I bought you a bag of apples. You said they were so sweet."

There was nothing but the sound of breathing on the other end.

"Now," I said, "he wants my business. Every waking and sleeping moment, I'm wracking my brains about how to run the cafe. That is the only hope I have to cling to."

I sat up. The cafe's ledger was sitting on my nightstand.

I opened it and read aloud the figures by the light of my phone.

"I had invested 65,000 dollars in total. I dumped in my entire savings of 35,000 dollars and got a startup loan of 30,000 dollars. You gave me 20,000 dollars.

"The cafe generates a monthly revenue of about 7,800 dollars. The rent costs 2,500. Then, I need to pay 2,200 for ingredients, 500 for utilities, and another 5,000 for my workers' wages. I have a monthly loan payment of 1,600 dollars. In the end, I make a net loss of 4,000 dollars.

"I thought I just wasn't cut out for business. I kept losing money month after month, only to find out Dad had been taking my money and giving it to someone else.

"Mom, I haven't paid myself in six months. Every day, I eat the leftover bread from the cafe and drink expired milk. I had a physical last month. The doctor told me I had mild fatty liver disease and a stomach ulcer. He told me I needed to eat regular meals."

When I first opened the cafe, Dad came to help out. He even told me to leave my bank card with him so he could keep it safe.

I thought he was looking out for me. It turned out that I was just fooling myself.

I closed the ledger.

Then, I said, "I've always understood Dad's logic. He thinks I'm young, so I can tough it out. Even if I lose the cafe, I can still find a job. Jared is basically useless, so he'll starve without any support.

"Dad believes that we need to keep helping them whenever they say they need us to. That's unreasonable, don't you think? Mom, I'm almost starving to death too. It's just that no one can see it."

I heard Mom crying quietly on the other end.

"Tell Dad three things," I said, "First, I want the Leroys to pay back every penny. Second, if any one of them sets foot in my cafe again, I'll call the police immediately. Third, if he's really sick, I'll pay his medical bills, but I won't go to the hospital to see him."

There was a long silence.

Mom's voice was hoarse as she pleaded, "Hugh, he's your father…"

I replied, "I know. That's why I'm still answering your calls."

After I hung up, I sat alone in the darkness.

My phone buzzed again.

It was an automated bank reminder that read, "Your loan payment is due in 27 days. Please ensure sufficient funds are available in your account."

I placed my phone face down on the table. I went back to work, but my hands were trembling slightly. When it was time for a break, I reported that I'd lost my bank card and had a new one issued.

That afternoon, my uncle, Liam Cohen, and his wife, Jane Smith, came by. They made quite an entrance, taking the best booth in the cafe and ordering two of the cheapest lemonades.

Liam was a retired government official. He liked to speak bossily with an air of authority.

"Hugh, I'm not trying to lecture you, but you know your father. He cares about his reputation more than his own life. You humiliated him in front of everyone yesterday. He has a heart problem. Are you trying to make him have a heart attack?"

I brought them their drinks without responding.

Jane chimed in, "Exactly. You're a business owner now, and you've gotten so full of yourself that you don't listen to your elders anymore. I asked around about the Leroys. They're genuinely struggling. Your dad is a man who takes gratitude seriously. What's wrong with helping them out?

"Just think of it as doing a good deed and building your reputation. Your good deed will eventually be rewarded."

I stared at her and said, "Aunt Jane, we have more than a hundred thousand dollars in debt. Whatever the cafe makes each month is barely enough to cover the loan and operating expenses. Before doing good deeds and building my reputation, shouldn't I take care of myself first?

"If I had the means, I wouldn't mind helping. But right now, I'm barely keeping my own head above water. Besides, hasn't Dad already taken my profits and given them away?"

"There you go again!" Liam rapped his knuckles on the table. "You need to think long-term. If you help the Leroy family, all the neighbors will see it. They'll say you are generous and kind. You can't put a price on that kind of reputation. It'll help your business!"

I laughed and countered, "Trade all the profits from my cafe for a good reputation? Do you want that reputation, Uncle Liam? I'll sell it to you cheap."

Liam's face darkened. "How dare you speak to your elder so rudely!"