The Selfish Man

The Selfish Man

“Good morning, my name is Frank Chestnut, I live at 222 Maple, and I’m calling to see if I can get an extension on my electric bill this month.” There’s a long pause on the other in of the line before the call rep says another word.

“Good morning, Mr. Chestnut! If you could verify your account information for me I can take a look at that for you right away, sir.” After verifying my information to the young lady over the phone, I wait patiently and listen to the nothingness on the other end of the line. This was my third time in the last two months asking for an extension on my bill. I’m pretty sure she only put me on hold in order to laugh to herself. I’m already almost three months behind on my bill. I’m sure this company is anxious to receive their payment.

“Hello, Mr. Chestnut, are you still there? Unfortunately, it looks like you have already had two extensions on your bill and it looks like the account is in the red, sir. I’m sorry but the full amount of one thousand and eighty dollars will be due at the end of this month, sir.” I just laugh and smile to myself as I carefully listen to the representative’s words. The determined person inside of me wants to try my hardest to convince her to at least give me until the first week of next month, but I can tell by the pity in her voice that her decision is already set in stone.

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” I calmly respond as I calculate a way to get the rest of the money.

“You know, sir, there are programs that will assist you with this matter. I can give you their numbers if you would like me to,” The woman suggest, as a way to somehow try to make me feel better.

“It’s okay, thank you for your assistance.” Without giving the lady a chance to say goodbye, I quickly press the end button. She had already made up her mind. There’s no need for us to stay on the line any longer. Besides, my time is limited and the only thing that I can think about is how I’m going to pay this bill. And to also make sure my pregnant fiancé and I will still have a roof over our heads at the end of the month.

Even though the big wave of the deadliest virus is over, the reconstructive stage has been the hardest part. Especially since my fiancé, Tracey had to go on early maternity leave, due to a high risk pregnancy. What was once enough for me and my small family suddenly became the bare minimum. I guess my “good job” at the factory just isn’t enough to feed my tiny household anymore. I take a deep breath and take a big gulp of the can of beer in front of me. I know I shouldn’t be drinking before I go to work, but I had too much piled on my plate and I need something to take the edge off, before I go into work and deal with more stress. “How in the hell am I going to come up with almost three thousand dollars by the end of the month? Rents due, car payments due, and my check will be short. It seems like it’s always something.” I take another large drink before I place the beer on the table and try to think of ways I can make some quick cash. As I place my drink back on the dining table, I can’t help but to focus my eyes on a lottery ticket I had brought the night before. “Well, I might as well see if I can hit the jackpot.” Quickly reaching in my work pants for a coin, I hurriedly scratch the ticket in front of me, with the half- hearted intentions that maybe it’ll be the answers to my financial woes. “Great, free ticket.”

“Did you win, baby.” My brain had been so wrapped up with what I didn’t have I failed to hear my love enter into the kitchen. Tracey’s more than my world. She’s loyal, faithful, and I know she’ll be the perfect mother. Even through the hardest time in our lives, she’s been the brightest light through it all. Not wasting another second, I hastily remove myself from my chair and walk over to the other side of the table, so I can tightly wrap my arms around my glowing fiancé.

“Mmmm…I wake up to the most beautiful woman in the world! Of course, I won.” Tracey slightly steps away from me and begins to giggle. The sound of her sweet laugh has always been music to my ears. Every bone in my body wants to be down, but her just being in my presents brings me joy. I pull her closer into my arms and place a gently kiss upon her forehead. “How are my two beautiful girls doing on this lovely day?” I playfully say and I place one last tender kiss on her lips. Before I step away, and bend over to place another kiss on her belly.

“We’re both doing okay this morning. Even though mommy didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Tracey replies as she half-heartedly smiles, and then walks her pregnant walk toward the refrigerator. I can tell from the semi-worried expression on her face that she’s wondering if I had called the electric company or not. I can also see that she’s trying to figure out how she’s going to ask me.

“I spoke to the electric company this morning about the electric bill, Tracey.” I quickly utter, hoping that it’ll make her worried expression disappear. I see her take a deep breath and let out a long sigh before she responds to my statement.

“Oh yeah, what did they say?” She hesitantly inquiries as she nervously waits for what I’m about to say. Like a child trying to find lie to say their parents after they misbehave, I freeze for a moment. As much as I want to tell her the truth, more stress is the last thing that I want to put her. Therefore, I know she needs to hear my version of the truth instead.

“Everything is going to be okay, we’ll have the money to pay the light bill and the rest of our bills this month. You don’t have to worry about that, babe. But, I need to finish getting ready for work. Besides, I need to stop at the gas station before I head in.” I place one last kiss on her forehead before I walk away. I sense of shame and guilt takes over me, when I glance at my fiancé and I see her holding her head down in disappointment.

After I finished getting ready for work, I say one last goodbye to my future wife and my future child, before I head out the door, get into my car, and head to work. Even though I feel bad about lying to Tracey, I know that telling her the truth wouldn’t have made the situation any better. How the heck I’m I going to get enough money to take care of these bills, I think to myself as I focus on the road ahead of me. “Maybe I can put an ad on Craigslist to see if someone is looking for a handyman. I can do a little part-time work on my days off.” As my mind tries to figure out ways to make extra- cash, my ears can’t help but to chime into the music coming from the radio, once I hear Bon Jovi, “Living on a Prayer”, playing through the speakers. I turn up the volume and sing along to the song. I definitely need a prayer right now. It’s as if the radio host knows exactly how I’m feeling. Remembering the lottery ticket that’s in my wallet, I turn down the music and pull into a nearby gas station. “Look at this fellow here. I can’t tell if he’s lost or homeless.” When I pull into the gas station my eyes can’t help but notice a gentleman in an old torn up business suit. The good samaritan in me wants to ask him if he needs help. But, I had my own problems to deal with. I unlock the door to exit the car to go into the store, but before I get out the car somehow the lost man finds his way into my vehicle.

“Sir, I think you’re in the wrong car,” I sternly say as I jump back to get a better look at the stranger in my passenger seat. Without saying a word, he just gazes at me with a look of defeat on his face. I don’t know if I should call the cops, or drag him out the car myself. Either way, his strange behavior’s starting to make me feel uncomfortable. In his lap there’s a small blue work bag, which he tightly grasps in his hand. Still oddly staring at me as if I’m the answers to all of his prayers he attempts to hand me his bag. Confused at the man’s actions, I just hold my hands up and refuse his offer. “Look man, I don’t know what’s going on, but if you don’t get out of my car right now, I’ll call the police!”

“Here, take the bag!” Before I can say another word, my eyes light up once I see the man pull out a large amount of money and flash it before my eyes.

‘Wait, what is this? Is this money stolen, what’s going on here?” Muddled as to why I still haven’t taken the money, he places the money back inside of the bag, and then pulls out a little black book from inside.

“In this book you will find all the answers that you want to know about this money. This money is not stolen, but it’s a gift, but it could also be a curse. If you love her right she will treat you lovely. If you mistreat her, she’ll make your life worse. Read the book first.” Not saying so much as a farewell, the man tosses the bag into my lap, quickly exits my vehicle, and then hurriedly disappears out of sight as if we made an illegal transaction. I suspiciously look around the parking lot to see if anyone’s paying attention to the strange encounter between me and the man. My palms are sweating and my heart’s racing, when I reach my hand into the bag and pull out a stack of the money from inside.

“I wonder how much money is in here,” I inquire to myself as I contemplate if I should pull out the cash and count it in front of the convenient store. As much as I want to hold all of it in my hands, my better judgement is urging me to wait until I get home. Besides, my eagerness and my adrenaline’s through the roof, and I can’t wait to tell Tracey the good news. Before I toss the bag into the passenger seat, I pull out the little black book and curiously examine over it. There isn’t really anything special about the book. To me, it looks like a regular address book. But, the fact that the man told me to read it makes me kind of curious. “I’ll look at it when I get home.” I utter. Although I should read the book, my mind is mostly focused on how I’m going to spend the money inside of the bag. Not only can I pay my bills, but without even counting it, I can tell that there’s probably enough money in the bag to take care of my bills, and get a new car. “I can’t wait to get home to Tracey!”

I woke up this morning feeling like the weight of the world was sitting right on top of me. But I guess it’s true when they say that life can quickly turn for the better. As I make my way back home, my anxiety causes me to glance over at the bag of money beside me. “I have to be living in a dream,” I mumble to myself, and continue to think about the miracle that just happened for me at the gas station. “Is that a car lot that I see?” Overly excited to finally be able to get my own car, instead of driving Tracy’s, I pull into the first car lot that I see. Ignoring the stranger’s final request about the little black book, I gently place the text into the glove department. Like a kid about to open up their birthday present, my heart races with anticipation as I grab the money from the passenger seat and begin to count it.

“One thousand, two thousand, Three, four, five, six … Holy crap, there’s like twenty thousand dollars in this bags.” Trying to maintain my composer, I take a deep breath and lay my head against the head rest. A big Chester grin comes across my face once I see the car dealer slowly walk over toward my car. “Oh yeah, I know which car I want.”

“Babe, how did you get a new car?” Lost for words, I stare with excitement on my face and present my brand new 2020 Challenger to Tracey.

“You like it?” I ask like it really mattered if she liked it or not. Don’t get me wrong, I love my fiancé, but there’s no way I couldn’t turn down putting a down payment on my dream car. Now that we have some extra money, anything is possible. Not saying a word, Tracy just looks at me with another one of her half-hearted smiles.

“It’s nice,” Tracey lies, as she disappointingly stares at me, and continues to figure out how I got the money for the new car. “You still didn’t tell me how you can afford this car when we have bills!”

“You don’t need to worry about the bills! They’re already paid in full. Baby, a miracle happened to me today,” I joyfully announce as I hold up the small blue bag still filled with money. “Come on, let’s go in the house and I’ll tell you what happened.”

Still trying to comprehend the information that I just gave her, Tracey sits across from me at the kitchen table still in disbelief about the mysterious money sitting in front of us on the table. “So, you mean to tell me a stranger just hopped in your car and gave you this money. That’s hard for me to believe.”

“This is hard for me to believe too, Tracey, but it happened,” I express with excitement as I reach across the table to squeeze my fiancé’s hands. “Can you believe that we have the money to pay the bills?” Tracey pulls her hands away, sits back in the chair, and tries to think of what she wants to say. I just continue to smile and stare at her, patiently waiting for her say something. The worry in her face is no longer there, but I can also see that she’s still somewhat cynical about the situation.

“Why would someone just drop a bag of money in your lap? I mean, is there something he wanted you to do with the money?” Tracey inquires, still trying to figure out something that I don’t even know the answers to.

“Look, the only thing the man did was tell me some riddle about money, and then he told me to read the little black book that was in the bag.”

“Well, did you read the book? Where’s the book?”

“I mean, I gave it a little glance, it really wasn’t much to read,” I fib. “Besides I accidently left it in the glove department in your car.”

“Well that’s great! You don’t even know what you’re supposed to be doing with the money. You’re already spending it as if it’s really yours.” I can hear the frustration in Tracey’s voice as she rolls her eyes toward me and crosses her arms. “How much money was initially in the bag, Frank?” There’s a brief silence between us, as I stare at her while she waits for me to answer her question.

“Twenty thousand dollars,” I quietly answer. After hearing my words I can see her eyes begin to count the money that’s in front of us.

“Okay, we started out with twenty thousand dollars. According to my calculations, it looks like you put seven thousand dollars down on your new sports car! That leaves us with about thirteen thousand dollars left. Minus five thousand dollars for bills and living expenses, we have eight thousand dollars to put in a savings for next month. My prayers have definitely been answered.”

“See, now that’s the spirit, babe!” As a matter of fact, why don’t you take three thousand dollars for yourself, and I take the rest of the money to take care of the bills, and put the remaining amount in a savings account.” Giving Tracey a confident and sincere smile, I take three stacks of the money and place them in front of her. Afterwards, I pull out my wallet from my back pocket and place the rest of the money inside. “See, I told you that everything’s going to be okay.” Not wasting another moment, I hop up from my seat and walk around the table and wrap my arms around my fiancé.

“Please make sure you use the rest of that money to take care of the bills and put what’s left of it in the savings. Whenever you get a chance, go and get the little black book from the car dealership. We need to read that book!” Tracey holds me tightly in her arms for another second, before she places a gentle kiss on my cheek. “I have faith in you, baby! Please make sure you take care of business.” Giving me another one of her half-hearted smiles, she places a kiss on my lips, grabs the money off of the table, and then wobbles off into the living room.

“I’ll take care of business for sure!” I say to myself as I watch her leave the room.

“Is this seat available?” Today’s definitely my lucky day, and I can feel it. Even though Tracey had insisted that I take the money and use it wisely, my itching palm was suggesting an alternative. After test driving my car around the city, I knew I had to see just how good my luck truly is. When I wasn’t at work, or at home taking care of my fiancé, the casino had been my second home. Although, most days I would lose my money or break even. However, I had a feeling that today my luck’s going to be a little different.

“Yes sir, please have a seat.” Once again I can feel my hand itching in my pocket, as I pull out my wallet and place one thousand dollars on the table. I anxiously watch as the dealer takes my money and then places some playing chips in front of me. I sat down at the table feeling like a winner, so there’s no way I’m going to lose. Lady luck’s on my side and I can’t wait to go home and hand another twenty thousand dollars to, my lady. My eyes get wide once I see the dealer place the king of spades in front of me. I watch again in anticipation as he lays the ace of diamonds beside it.

“Twenty-one,”

“Yes, I say with excitement as I clap and watch the dealer place my winning chips besides me. It’s only the first deal, but I have a feeling that my life’s about to get even better.

It’s as if time suddenly becomes a blur to me with each deal. And as the hours pass, the large amount of chips that I had once stacked in a pile beside me slowly became thinner. Before I had even realized, my chips were gone and so is majority of the money in my wallet. After stumbling away from the blackjack table, I manage to pull my phone out my pocket and check the time. “It’s one in the morning, I can’t believe I been here this whole time. When I got here the sun was still outside. I know Tracey’s probably at home cussing me out right about now. Or she’s sleep. Either way, I don’t know how I’m going to tell her that I blew all of our money at the casino.” After thinking about what’s possibly going through Tracey’s mind right now, I pull out my phone again to see if she’s called? But once I glance at my device, the only thing I see is a missed call and a voicemail left by my job. “Holy crap, I forgot to call into work.” A bad feeling begins to rise up in my stomach, as I ponder over what can be on that voicemail. As I continue to do the walk of shame to my car, I regretfully open up the voicemail.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Chestnut. Our records show that you were a no call no show this morning. Unfortunately, that was your seventh mark this month. Per our company policy, that results in an automatic termination. Your work badge will no longer work at the security gate. Take care.”

“This is wonderful! Now I have to go home and explain to Tracey that I lost the money and my job.” Feeling like I just been shot in my gut, I unlock the car door and hop inside. Before leaving the parking lot of the casino, I sit inside and try to figure out how the best day of my life, ended up being the foulest. I woke up worried and depressed that I couldn’t pay my bills, then a mysterious stranger hopped into my car and gave me a bag of money that changes my life, and then in a blink of an eye I lost it all. Ready for this day to finally be over, I press the button to start my new car up. But, to my surprise it won’t even start.

“REALLY! My pride is gone, my dignity is gone, and now this! Could my day get any crappier?” Trying to be the alpha man that I always have been, I fight back the angry tears that are now boiling up inside of my body. The only thing I can do is just leave the car in the casino parking lot. At this point, I have no more of my energy left. The only thing I want to do is cuddle up in the bed with my future wife. Even though I had lost all of our money and our new car is broke down, I know she’ll be the light that she’s always been for me. “I’m glad I gave Tracey some money to put away for the bills,” I utter to myself as I sluggishly head to my castle.

When I finally make it to my house it doesn’t feel the same. It seems a lot darker, much colder than normal. Once I unlock the door, I immediately run up the stairs, with the only intentions of crawling into the bed next to, Tracey. But, when I open the door to the bedroom, Tracey’s not there. Mmmm…I wonder where she could be, I think to myself as I exit out of the room and run downstairs to see if she might’ve fallen asleep on the living room sofa. However, when I enter into the living room, still dark, the only thing I can see is a white blanket lying on the sofa, and sadly, Tracey’s still nowhere in sight. I walk past the living room and can see a light still on in the kitchen. Trying to push aside my guilt, I hold my head up and slowly march to my destination to meet my fiancé. If she’s still wake at this time, it can only mean that her intuition’s telling her that I probably had already lost all the money. I pause for a moment and gather my thoughts before for I take another step. She always had faith in me. The last thing I ever want to do is disappoint her.

“Tracey… are you in here?” I nervously mutter as I walk into an empty kitchen. Another heavy feeling rises up from my pinky toe and enters into my heart, when I walk in the room and see the little black book sitting on the dining table, and a note that’s most likely from Tracey sitting beside it. Suddenly, the feeling of death comes over me. I can’t push back the silent tears that are now falling from my eyes. Numb, yet feeling mostly empty on the inside, I stare at the letter and the mysterious little black book lingering on the table.

“Dear Frank,

If you’re reading this then it means that I’m gone. I had faith in you. And instead of taking care of business like I continuously ask you to do, you most likely irresponsibly handled the money. That was a blessing for our family! And instead of you thinking about your family, you thought about yourself first! But, I should’ve known it was Too Good To Be True when you came home and pulled an unsafe sports car into my driveway. Don’t you think you should have purchased a safe car for our daughter instead? I’m going to stay with my mom until I find a nice home for me and my child. I can no longer stay with you while you continue to put your family second and destroy yourself with your bad habits. I will always love you, take care.

Goodbye, Frank.”

P.S. Next time read the book, love.

After reading the letter, I place it to the side and finally decide to open the little black book in from of me. I open the front page and the first thing I see written in bold is the riddle that the man said to me at the gas station, then I read.

BEING BROKE IS A BEHAVIOR PROBLEM, NOT A MONEY PROBLEM. I repeat the statement to myself and think about all the bad choices I’ve made over the years with money. “If only I had invested my money wisely, I would still have my Tracey, my job, my car, and my unborn child,” I cry as I continue to read.

“Money is a gift but it could also be a curse. If you love her right she will treat you lovely. If you mistreat her she’ll make your life worse.”

This book is a guide to help you break away from the poor mindset. Before you spend any of this money in the bag, please READ THIS BOOK first. If you follow all of the steps properly your money will multiply, you will never have to want for money again, and most importantly you’re mindset about money will be different.

If you don’t read this book, then YOU WILL REGRET IT!

Chapter One