The End of the Grapevine

            I know that my dad and Eliza have a super close relationship that I can’t get anywhere near, and so I won’t know everything or know it first, but when Ruth comes to me and lets me know that due to the dips in profit in my father’s company and his increased spending since my mom died, we’re on the brink of some very serious financial problems, I do feel upset and left out of something major with the family. And when Marie and Charlie and even Charlie’s parents know more about this than I do, I have to wonder how much everyone else values me, if at all. Do they care at all about how this would affect me, the one person who actually works for my dad? Or do they care I had a finance minor for my undergrad, and am therefore more qualified than the rest of them in this matter? What is it about me that makes them gloss over all of that?

            Ruth came to me thinking I already knew about the problem, so at least she thinks that I should have been told earlier. After she caught me up to speed, she showed me the finances my dad let her see, and the ideas he’s already thrown out. Dad would be fine if he cut out his face work, but he refuses to look anything but twenty years younger than he is. And he can’t possibly be seen in a 2013 car when the 2014 models have already come out. Nor do we dare skip his trip to the Bahamas for Christmas, since he needs a natural tan come mid-winter.

            All my free time this weekend has been spent with Ruth in my father’s study, trying to figure out a solution to this. But Dad and Eliza won’t consider any of the cuts we’ve suggested if it even slightly dents the solid reputation our family has.

            We have a few more ideas to throw out to my dad. Hopefully we can make him see sense soon and realize just how desperate the situation is, and that losing his company would be worse than driving a 2013 car.