Chapter 2
My Aunt Risked Her Home When My Parents Wouldn’t Help
Rain hammered my apartment windows the following Tuesday when Aunt Audrey and my cousin Derek arrived without warning. Audrey, Dad’s younger sister, worked as a seamstress; Derek repaired agricultural machinery and still lived with her in the modest house they owned in Bibb County. She crossed the room, placed a cashier’s check for $40,000 on my coffee table, and took both my hands. “You are having the surgery. We’ll argue about the rest later.”
Derek had driven her to their credit union that morning and helped secure a home-equity line against the only house they owned. I started crying so hard I could barely speak. My own parents had refused to risk savings I had protected for them, while relatives they quietly considered less successful had put their roof on the line so I could walk. Derek only shrugged. “Nobody in this family is ending up in a wheelchair because paperwork moved slower than an injury.”
