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She pulled open the drawer left of center, struggling a little as the contents caught on the desk. She shoved her hand inside to get clear whatever was sticking, and when the drawer jerked open, the contents threatened to spill over the top.
She frowned as she removed the stack of envelopes that had been piled inside. Some were open, some not, which was odd. Her father had always been diligent about going through his mail, even carefully examining junk mail before he discarded it lest he miss something useful.
She started flipping through the envelopes, a knot tightening in her stomach as she read the return addresses.
Bozeman Health Oncology
Bozeman Health Radiology
She grabbed one that had been slit open and pulled out the papers inside. It was a bill from the radiology clinic in Bozeman, claiming that after insurance, her parents still owed over five thousand dollars.
Slowly, methodically, she went through the rest of the mail and discovered, to her horror, that between chemo, radiation, and her father's many hospital stays, they owed over seventy thousand dollars in medical bills.
And if she was reading this right, none of these bills had been paid in months. To the point where the most recent bill from the chemo center was threatening to send her mother to collections.
Hands shaking, she grabbed the bills off the desk and practically ran back to the kitchen.
"Did you find the stamps?" Then, noticing Colleen's obvious distress, "Honey, what's wrong?" her mother asked.
For a few seconds, Colleen's mouth just opened and closed as she struggled to form words. "Mom, I was looking in the desk, and I found these."
Her mother's already pale face went a shade whiter.
"They've been sending them for months and none of them have been paid."
Her mother curled her hands around her coffee mug like it was a life raft in the middle of the South Pacific. "I know," she said softly.
Colleen shook her head in disbelief. "What were you thinking?"
"I don't know!" Her mother threw up her hands. She gave a violent shake of her head that made her gray streaked hair slip out of the loose knot at the back of her neck. "Your father, he always paid the bills..."
"I know, but come on Mom, you know how to write a check."
"We didn't—we don't—have enough to cover it. It would have cleaned us out."
"Why didn't you say anything to me, or to Liam? You know we would have helped out." As she spoke the words, her bank account balance, much reduced thanks to the divorce, flashed in her head.
"I didn't want you to worry... But it will be fine now. Now that we've finally got the life insurance paperwork figured out, I can pay the bills with that."
Colleen's lips pulled into a tight line. She knew for a fact that her father had borrowed heavily against the whole life policy years ago. What was left wouldn't be enough for her mother to live on for a year, and wasn't nearly enough to cover the outstanding bills.
It was a hard fact that she and Liam had already discussed—that with Dad gone, they would have to chip in financially.
And that was before they were faced with paying nearly all of the money for their father's various medical treatments.
Colleen closed her eyes and took a deep breath in a feeble attempt to quell the wave of anxiety vibrating its way through her body. "We'll figure this out, Mom. But right now, I have to get to work."
JT tightened his hand around the bandana he was squeezing, wincing as a sharp sting burned through the palm of his left hand.
Thank God the ER at the Pioneer Medical Center wasn't crowded. Only two other people sat in the waiting room. One was an elderly woman complaining of dizzy spells; the other a little boy of around four accompanied by his mom. Apparently he'd decided to see how far he could shove a Lego up his nose.
"It's okay buddy," he said to the little boy who was snuffling against his mother's shirt. "I once got a crayon stuck up here." He imitated shoving his finger up his nose. "Doctor got iy out in no time."
He looked up as a nurse emerged through the door next to the check-in desk, and started a little when he recognized Colleen.
Why should he be surprised, considering he knew she was working here part-time?
"Sounds like you had a little accident, JT," she said with a friendly smile. "Why don't you come on back?"
