(The following little scene occurred to me yesterday, and it amused me in my simpleminded way.)<\/i><\/p>\n
Waldo Pfennig had just finished checking his e-mail, <\/strong>and was ready to start work when a man and a boy walked into his office. The man was tall and lean, his face dark and weathered. He looked like a cowboy in a movie, even to the coarse blue shirt, jeans, and flat-brimmed black hat, which he carried in red, cracked hands. Waldo couldn\u2019t help checking to see if the man was wearing western boots. Nope. High top work shoes.<\/p>\n The boy was the man\u2019s image, but shorter and less sharp at the edges. His fair hair stood up at one side, as if he\u2019d slept on it badly. His face was hard to see, since his gaze was fixed on the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cMy name is Adonijah Fell. This is my son Jonas,\u201d the man said. \u201cThis is\u2026 Credit Assistance Corporation?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, Mr. Fell,\u201d said Waldo, getting up to reach across his desk and shake the man\u2019s hand. \u201cI\u2019m Waldo Pfennig. Please have a seat, both of you. What can I do for you?\u201d Fell had a grip like slamming your hand in a car door. He sat cautiously, as if it were an unfamiliar exercise. The boy slumped in the chair beside him, head down, elbows on his knees.<\/p>\n \u201cYou help people with debt problems, right, Mr. Pfennig?\u201d asked Adonijah Fell.<\/p>\n \u201cYes sir. No matter who let the dogs out, we\u2019ll pen \u2019em up again.\u201d Waldo grinned. He was proud of that little joke. It always helped to relieve the tension.<\/p>\n Adonijah Fell just stared at him, puzzled. \u201cI don\u2019t get it,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t come about dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, no. It\u2019s just a little joke. You know the song? \u2018Who let the dogs out?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2019t say as I recall it.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWell, never mind.\u201d Waldo leaned back in his desk chair. \u201cThe point is, if you\u2019ve got problems with creditors, we\u2019ll help you straighten it out. Nobody needs to live with harassment from collectors. You need a friend, we\u2019ll be your friend.\u201d<\/p>\n The man nodded slowly. \u201cWell, my boy here, Jonas, he\u2019s got a debt problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Waldo nodded in an understanding manner. \u201cIt\u2019s more and more common nowadays for teenagers to get in over their heads with their credit cards.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, it\u2019s not a credit card problem. I don\u2019t hold with credit cards. Don\u2019t even have one myself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh. Well, you\u2019d better tell me exactly what the problem is, then.\u201d<\/p>\n The man turned to his son. \u201cYou tell \u2019im, Jonas. Sit up like a man and tell it straight.\u201d<\/p>\n The boy straightened and looked miserably in Waldo\u2019s face. Waldo thought there might be the beginnings of a tear in his eye.<\/p>\n \u201cI bought an iPod, sir,\u201d he said. \u201cI really wanted one, and the man at the store said all I had was to do was sign the paper, and they\u2019d put it on time payments.\u201d<\/p>\n Waldo nodded. \u201cAll right. What else?\u201d<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cThat\u2019s all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all? I don\u2019t understand. What did this iPod cost?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSeventy dollars, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you can\u2019t make the payments? You\u2019re behind on them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, no. I\u2019ve been making the payments. I\u2019ve only got about forty dollars to go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo what\u2019s the problem?\u201d Waldo asked. He glanced back and forth between father and son.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, he did all this without telling me about it,\u201d said Adonijah Fell. \u201cSecondly, he went into debt. We don\u2019t hold with debt in our family. \u2018The borrower is slave to the lender,\u2019 the Good Book says. I want us out from under this thing. I can\u2019t sleep at night, thinking about it. I heard your commercial, \u2018If debt is keeping you up at night, call C.A.C.\u2019 So that\u2019s why we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n Waldo shook his head. \u201cI\u2019m not sure what I can do for you gentlemen. We don\u2019t usually deal with such small sums. And our service generally involves working out payment schedules, but you\u2019re doing that already. As a matter of fact, our customers usually pay us on credit too. What sort of help were you looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI figured the boy could work the debt off. Sweep floors. Stock shelves. Mow grass. Something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Waldo leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck. \u201cWell, that\u2019s something you\u2019ll have to work out with the store. That\u2019s not the kind of service we provide here. We help people with large debts to work out some kind of arrangement; get all or part of it forgiven, set up a payment schedule, work with the dealer so they don\u2019t ruin their credit scores. That sort of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Fell stood up, and the boy followed his lead. \u201cYou mean to say you help people get out of paying the obligations they owe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s part of it, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n The man gave Waldo a long look; a look that made him feel suddenly as if he hadn\u2019t had a bath in a while.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess you\u2019re right sir,\u201d Adonijah Fell said after a moment. \u201cI reckon we did come to the wrong place.\u201d<\/p>\n The two of them walked out, closing the door behind them.<\/p>\n Waldo sat for a full two minutes, trying to make sense of what had just happened.<\/p>\n Finally he did a web search to find a phone number, and dialed it.<\/p>\n \u201cFamily Services?\u201d he said when he\u2019d gotten through. \u201cI need to report an unfit parent.\u201d (The following little scene occurred to me yesterday, and it amused me in my simpleminded way.) Waldo Pfennig had just finished checking his e-mail, and was ready to start work when a man and a boy walked into his office. The man was tall and lean, his face dark and weathered. He looked like a … Continue reading Short, short story: The Credit Counselor<\/span>
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