Financial Confession

   "I borrowed some money from some very bad people, Frankie," Richard admitted. He slumped on the wall. "...They came a few nights ago. Barged straight into my home— I didn't even know they knew where I lived. Rebecca put two and two together. She was so angry at me. But Ophelia..." He paused. "I never seen her so scared in my life."

   "What... Why would you go to this extreme? Is this for your gambling?" Francisco's eyes showed focus and concentration. He noticed Richard become uneasy, and he rubbed his arms slowly. "I told you! You need to stop gambling everything, man!"

   "Ophelia...she's been sick. For a while," he rubbed the back of his neck and nervously chuckled. "If you can believe it, it's the same thing Mom had."

   Francisco closed his eyes and clicked his tongue. The hands in the back of him gripped tightly. "Why are you now telling me this?"

   Richard sighed, "I-I know how much mom affected you. I just thought that you shouldn't have to—I didn't want you to go through the same thing."

   Francisco slowly fell to his knees. He leaned against the desk, staring up at the ceiling. He watched the ceiling fan spin around in circles. His eyes glanced over to his older brother. Richard was one of the most financially irresponsible people he knew. Though he was family, there were many times Francisco was met with disappointment. There were plenty of moments where Francisco had to bail Richard out of debt or pay his bills. Sometimes the money that was lent would be gambled. Francisco felt obligated to help his brother. But at the same time, the lies and poor decisions wedged a gap between them. It disappointed Francisco further knowing the fact that Richard had a family to look after. His irresponsible money habits weren't doing his wife and daughter any favors.

   Francisco recalled the last time he saw his brother. He sighed, "Hey, what happened to your car?"

   Richard picked his head up from the wall. "What? What do you mean?"

   Francisco sat up from the desk. "Your car. What happened to your car? You remember about a month ago when I last saw you? It was raining?"

   Richard shook his head. "I-I don't know what you are-"

   "You took off in a pink bike! Why?"

   "It's Ophelia's! I ride it to work and to bus stops. Why does that matter?" Richard stood up straight, his face contorting in confusion.

   "What happened to your car?" Francisco asked calmly for the last time.

   "I sold it," Richard stated.

  Francisco remembered the Celica GTS that he salvaged when he was young. There were a lot of man-hours put into that vehicle. He recalled his older brother working every day in the blistering summer to get it into working condition. Once the engine started, Francisco remembered the biggest smile on his brother's face. It's still a running joke that Francisco believes Richard looked happier when hearing the car turn on than getting married or seeing his wife give birth to Ophelia.

   Richard spent so much time improving the sports car. He put new tires and rims. His older brother gave the classic car a new paint job. It didn't stop at the exterior. He put in new seats and completely redid the console. So much time and money were put into the vehicle. So, of course, when his gambling debt started to hurt him and his family, there was one solution.

   "Why don't you sell the car?" Francisco asked.

   "Are you crazy!? Is this what financial advisors do? They come up with outlandishness? I thought you guys were supposed to make money appear!?" Richard yelled.

   "That's not at all how financial advisors work," Francisco muttered.

   Time and time again, his older brother would ignore most of Francisco's advice. There was so much pushback when it came to the idea of selling his dream car. It became a waste of breath at one point. Now, Francisco looked up at his older brother, who was the most financially irresponsible person he had ever met, might've done the hardest financial decision in his life.

   "You sold it? So you didn't get it towed... or lose it in a gamble?" Francisco raised his eyebrows, his face leaning forward. He wanted to be certain.

   "What is going on? Yes, I sold the car. I took your advice and it really helped out with Ophelia's treatment. I probably should've done it a long time ago," Richard admitted. "I've been following a lot of your advice for the last few months. I even tried that stupid instant ramen diet for a week for work."

   "Wow, you probably loved that car more than your wife and daughter," Francisco smiled.

   "That's not true. Stop saying that," Richard's shoulders loosened up when Francisco smiled up.

   "I've never seen you happier," Francisco added. He slowly struggled to get up from the floor. "Untie me real quick; I have a plan."

   Richard hesitated as his younger brother assured him that it was okay. He grabbed a pair of scissors from the desk and cut through the zip tie. Francisco quickly moved one of the blinds down to peek at the situation in the lobby. "My favorite is spicy chicken," Francisco muttered.

   "Huh?" Richard questioned. 

   "My favorite cup noodle flavor. So who are these guys that are with you? They seem like assholes. Are they the ones that you owe money to?" Francisco questioned, glancing at the several bank robbers patrolling the area and interrogating the other employees. 

   "No, they are in the same situation as I am in. Trust me, they are just as scared. None of us wanted to do this. The guys we owe money to, this was their idea. We all owe to the same crooked loan sharks," Richard sighed.

   "The guy with the comedy mask seems really into it," Francisco observed, rubbing his cheek as he recalled the slap against his face.

   "One of us has to play the boss role," Richard shrugged.

   "Okay, how much money do you owe them?"

   Richard stayed silent until Francisco looked over his shoulder. "I owe around $65,000. I'm probably the one with the biggest debt, to be honest."

   Francisco nodded his head and sighed deeply. "Alright, let's get out there." The financial advisor adjusted his tie and proceeded to walk out into the lobby.

   "Wait, don't go out there yet!" Richard tried to stop his younger brother. He quickly put his clown mask back on and ran up behind Francisco. "At least let me punch you to show them that I got the vault code out of you."

   "I'm not letting you punch me," Francisco muttered. As he was approaching the middle of the lobby, he knew, much like his older brother, Francisco would also be making the hardest financial decision in his life.