Foreclosed

Foreclosed

      Aden drove past his house until the back end of the truck was even with the driveway of his house then shifted the large truck into reverse. The rented moving truck beeped loudly as it rolled into its spot. He slammed it into park and shut the motor off. Aden ran his hand through his short blond hair and let out a deep sigh.

      He knew that this day was coming. He had heard about all of the foreclosures and knew somehow that it would someday get to him. The warning signs had all been there. He could still see his boss peeking over cubicle walls until he found Aden's little corner.

      He had called Aden into his office and sat him down in the chair across from the boss's desk. “I'm sorry Aden, but the company can no longer afford to have you with us. We are letting you go.”

      They had a little bit of savings, but not enough to find another job and pay the mortgage. The house had to go. Not only did it have to go, but he was so far underwater that he couldn't give it away. No, it was best just to walk away and let the bank deal with it. After all what could he do? He certainly couldn't keep the house.

      Aden walked past the boxes stacked to the ceiling. He walked past the two rooms where his young children still slept in the rooms that they grew up in. At the end of the hall stood his wife. Her short dark hair was still matted from the pillow and her face was tight and lined. As soon as she saw her husband she grabbed him. He pulled her close, and she cried a soft helpless cry.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

      Kyle took a step back from his pickup truck and sighed. His very first house stood just as beautiful as the day he bought it. The trees in the front had grown since he first moved in, but so had the family that had called it home. Five years is a long time. His old pickup was backed up to the garage and was full of furniture. It was the last load out. They had spent the last week ferrying boxes and couches over to the house that they now rented.

      His wife had snuck up from behind him and had put her arm around his waist. She came around and hugged him. He ran his hand through her long blond hair and sighed again.

     “You know we could keep the house if we really wanted to. Construction was just starting to pick up.” Kyle said aloud, almost to himself.

      His wife squeezed his waist and smiled. “Are you having second thoughts?” she said. “We've been through this. This is the right financial decision for our family. We are so far underwater that it would be a decade before we have any equity in the house. That is just too long for us.”

      Kyle nodded. “I know.” He said. “I did take a pay cut. I don't want you guys to have to sacrifice any comforts.”

      She patted him on the stomach and half joking said. “You know how I feel about my cable TV.”

      “The house that we're renting now is just over half the cost as this one. That's a lot of money that just goes away. We need to do what's right for us. Its just a business decision nothing more.”

      Kyle smiled to his wife. “I know, you're right.  You're right.” He said.

Kyle looked over to the truck and the two kids that were rolling around in the back seat. “Well, I guess we tried. That's the best we can do.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

      Aden slid the back door on the moving truck closed and latched it tight. His wife had gone ahead in their car with the kids to the apartment. He was the last one here. He walked the house one more time looking for anything that they might have forgotten.

      He had plenty of time these last few days to think of what had led up to this day. He could still recall the last foreclosure case he had handled at the bank. They had driven up in an old pickup truck, he worked in construction. Aden ran a hand through his hair and sighed. What was his name? Kyle, that's right his name was Kyle.

      That was the last foreclosure that Aden had worked on. After that his boss had decided that was one foreclosure too many. The bank could no longer afford to keep as many people on staff. They just weren't taking in the income that they had expected for the year. Aden was one of three from that branch that was given their walking papers. Unfortunately, that next job just wasn't coming as fast as he had hoped. Aden jumped into the driver seat of the moving truck and started the motor. He pulled the shifter into drive and slowly pulled out of the driveway never looking back.

 To every story there are two sides.  As people, I believe that it is easier for us to see life as black and white, right and wrong.  We tend to think that there are only two answers to every question in life, the right one and the wrong one.  However often times our view of what is right or not, changes with our perspective. Most of the time it depends on how big our piece is of the Big Picture.  I would suggest that most crossroads are not black vs white but a wide range of grey.  It could be said that there is more grey in life than a Jimmy Stewart film.