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She paused to answer the question. “I’ve been doing great, staying busy at work, as usual. I don’t know if Mom and Dad told you, but I got a promotion last year that’s been keeping me very busy.”
Royce left the company months ago, allegedly for greener pastures. However, the rumor mill at the office suggested that he’d been asked to leave for stealing Desiree’s idea and other actions unbecoming of an executive at the company.
“Congratulations! I know your parents must be very proud. Both of you girls have turned out so well.”
“Thank you.”
“Next time you talk to Monica, tell her I said hello, and I would love to get pictures of that little baby of hers.”
Desiree laughed. “He’s not so little anymore, but I’ll be sure to do that.”
“I appreciate it.”
Since her parents knew she was coming, Desiree used her key to let herself into the house. As she closed the front door, laughter drifted from somewhere near the back.
“Mom? Dad?”
“We’re out on the patio,” her mother called.
She walked toward the sound of her voice and found her parents seated on plastic chairs beside each other, enjoying the afternoon’s waning sunlight.
“Hey, there she is!” her father, Jonathan, said with a big grin on his face.
One thing about her parents, they always made her feel welcomed.
People were always surprised when they saw her parents because she was tall and they expected her parents to be too. Her father, however, was a little below average, and Desiree was taller than both of them.
She pulled a chair close and engaged in small talk for a few minutes until she could no longer hold on to the secret. “I have something for you,” she said, pulling an envelope from her purse.
“What have you got there?” her mother, Doreen, asked.
“It’s a gift. Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and now I’m finally able to do it.”
She removed the canceled check, as well as the statement from the mortgage company. She showed them the statement, which confirmed their account had a zero balance.
“Baby, what is this?” her father asked with a puckered brow.
“You’re free. I paid off your mortgage.”
It felt amazing to say that. She had worked hard over the years, and she’d saved as much as she could, living a modest life so she could tuck away extra dollars. It helped that she worked for a clothing store, which meant her clothes budget was not ridiculously high. But whatever sacrifices she made, she had happily made them.
Her mother’s mouth fell open. “What? No, how… I…”
Doreen and Jonathan looked at each other in shock, and then they turned their attention to Desiree.
“That’s your money, you earned it,” her father said in a firm voice.
She had anticipated they would argue against her paying off the mortgage. That was simply the kind of people they were, and she had an answer for them.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for you. My college degree, the apartment I rent, the car I drive, the place where I go to work—all of that is because of you. You took a risk and invested in my education, so this is the return on your investment.”
Her father wiped tears from his eyes.
“I don’t know what to say,” Doreen whispered in a shaky voice.
Their emotional reaction was exactly what she had hoped for, and tears filled her eyes too.
“I love you both, and I want you to finally have peace. What that man did was terrible, and I hope your retirement years will be a little less stressful now.”
