“What happened?” Kit asked as her pen flew across the page of her notebook.
“I was pointed to their website by their billing department. I followed a link and signed up for an interest-free loan offered through the hospital. I kept up with my payments just fine, thankful to be alive. And then came a letter saying I was behind on payments and my zero-percent interest rate was gone. I went to see them, statements in hand, to show them there’d been a mistake.”
Evan squeezed his eyes shut and cleared his throat. Wren captured every ounce of pain rolling off him.
“They wouldn’t talk to me beyond saying I owed them tens of thousands of dollars. They said my loan had nothing to do with them anymore. That’s when I discovered the truth. My loan went to a lender that might as well be a shark. While I thought all my medical bills had been consolidated, they’d not paid for my hospital stay. When I tried to explain what had happened,Millstonethreatened to destroy my credit score.”
“Which is a lie, and illegal in the state of Colorado,” Kit said.
Evan nodded. “Didn’t know that then. The interest on the loan skyrocketed to thirty-two percent.”
Wren gasped, then covered her mouth. “I’m sorry.”
Kit checked her notes. “The maximum allowable interest rate in Colorado is forty-five percent.”
“That’s criminal,” Wren practically growled.
“They said if they could put a lien against my house, the interest would be forgiven, so I consented. I still couldn’t keep up, so I lost my house to them. And almost everything I own is gone now too.”
A wave of nausea rolled over Wren. She swallowed down bile as her forehead broke out in tiny beads of sweat.
Evan covered his face with both hands as his shoulders shook. Kit immediately leaned over and patted his shoulder. “Take as much time as you need.”
He uncovered his face and pulled another tissue. “It’s not just my house and my things I’ve lost, mind you. I haven’t been back to the clinic since. I can’t face those nurses who saved my life and tell them I wish they’d let me die.”
The rest of the interview became unintelligible for Wren as she blocked out their voices. She hyper-focused on photographing Evan instead, determined that anyone who saw the anguish on this sweet man’s face would be devastated by it, that her photos would move people to take action against this injustice.
“I think that about covers it,” Kit said as she put her notebook and recorder in her purse. She looked up at Wren. “Do you need any more shots?”
Wren looked at Evan. “I got some good candids but are you up for me taking a few more that are a little more posed?”
“Anything you need.” Evan looked around. “I’d meant to bring my stack of statements down thinking I could hold them up in a picture, but I must have left them in my room upstairs. My memory’s not what it was before the heart attack.” He looked suddenly drained.
“I can run up and get them for you,” Kit offered. “If you trust me.”
“Lass, there isn’t anything in my room worth stealing. Here.” He pulled out his key. “Number twelve, left side of the hall toward the end. They’ll be on my bed most likely.”
Kit wrapped her hands around his hand and held it before she took the key. “Thank you. I’ll be right back.” She stood up and left the room.
Wren did something she almost never did. She came out from behind the camera and sat in Kit’s empty chair beside Evan.
“I just want to say that I… I really feel what you’re going through. And it’s okay to ask friends for help. I bet those nurses would be thrilled to hear from you.”
Evan shook his head. “I don’t want them to see me like this.”
Wren sighed. “What if they read the article and see you in it?”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take if it’ll help out anyone else. Maybe I’ll have moved on from here before it’s published.”
Wren reached out and took Evan’s hand. “Is there anythingIcan do to help you?”
Evan gave her another of his sweet smiles. “Try the fudge and tell me if I’ve still got the knack.”
Wren smiled and looked away quickly in case a tear decided to leak from the corner of her eye. She stood up and walked back to the table holding the laptop where the bag of fudge lay next to it. She took out a piece and popped it into her mouth. Rich, chocolate sweetness spread over her tongue.
“It’s delicious, Evan. Absolutely perfect.”
“Thanks, lass.”
