“I’m the one who made a mess of things,” Mom said, more quietly. “I wrote those checks, and then I sat out here in my coat instead of telling anybody. Your father would have been so angry with me.”
“Mom,” Pam whispered. “No.”
“Yes. He told you four not to let me get cold. But I’m the one who turned down the thermostat.” Mom’s voice wobbled. “I’ve been so worried about everybody’s feelings that I didn’t tell the truth either. None of us told the truth. And look what happened.”
Rob picked up the cashier’s check made out to Mom, $5,600, and turned it over in his hands.
“Pam,” he said slowly, “you’re still behind on your hospital bill?”
Pam hesitated. “Eighteen thousand. We set up a payment plan. Two hundred a month.”
“At what interest?”
“Zero. It’s through the hospital.”
I spoke up. “Pam, did you apply for Trinity’s financial assistance program?”
She blinked. “Their what?”
“Most hospitals have a financial assistance program, sometimes called charity care. If your income drops enough, like when Mark’s off work, they can reduce your bill or forgive part of it. You fill out an application with your income and expenses. I see it all the time at work with members who get hit with big medical bills. Nobody tells you about it unless you ask.”
Pam stared at me. “Nobody told us that.”
“They never do,” I said. “I’ll help you fill out the application. Mark’s income was way down for those months. You might qualify for a big reduction.”
Pam’s mouth trembled. “You’d do that?”
“You’re my sister, Pam.”
Dean cleared his throat. He’d been quiet the whole time.
“I want to say something,” he said. “Rob, Julie, and I each send two-fifty a year for Mom’s propane, and we pat ourselves on the back like we’ve done our part.” He shook his head. “Pam’s the one who’s here every week. She drives Mom to her appointments. She sits with her. She picked up Mom’s prescriptions every month for four years. None of us ever offered to pay her gas money for all that driving. Not once.”
Pam looked at him, startled.
“I think we owe you more than you owe us,” Dean said.
He picked up the cashier’s check with his name on it, $250, and slid it back across the table to Pam.
