Catfood Ep. 03 - Disappointments
#3 of Catfood
A Vixen's Tail
Catfood - Episode 3 - Disappointments
© 2004 Nameless
I went back to work. What I really wanted to do was curl up and cry, but I needed the money worse than ever. I don't know how I made it through the next few hours, I could not think about anything but what Sandy, my doctor, had told me. Somehow I managed not to make any really bad mistakes. Neither of my roomies was home but my mother called not long after I came home.
*Sniff* I blow my nose and pick up the receiver "Hello?"
"Lydia? Hello!"
"Hello Mom!" *Sniff* "What's up?"
"I just wanted to find out how my baby is doing. You don't sound too good..."
"Bad. Horrible, really."
"Anything to do with that lymphatic swelling?"
"Yes."
"How bad is it?"
"Bad. The swelling itself is not that bad, but..." I pause and use the sleeve of my shirt to wipe some of the tears from my eyes "I have cancer."
" Uh, oh!" (Shocked silence.) "That's horrible. I... How bad is it?"
"Not good. If I don't treat it, I have only a few years to live. The treatment is supposed to be very effective, at least if I start soon, but..." *Sniff*
"It is expensive?"
"Yes. I don't know how I can afford it."
"You know I don't have a lot of money, but I'll help as much as I can, Lydia."
"I know, Mom. But it won't be enough. We aren't talking about a few thousand bucks..."
"But?"
"At best, it'll cost 150. Thousand. Could be as much as 250."
"Ouch. I... don't know what to say... This is really horrible."
"Yeah. I'll talk to my bank tomorrow, but I don't have a lot of hope that they'll approve a loan..."
"I'm sorry, Lydia. Is there any way you could get help?"
"Well, my doctor gave me a list of charities that might help, but we are talking about a lot of money... She thought they might help but that they would probably not pay everything."
"I see..."
"She had one other suggestion, but... I don't want to talk about it just now..."
"Ok."
We chatted some more about less unpleasant things, but more to say something than for any other reason. Neither of us felt really comfortable and I excused myself after a relatively short time.
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It took a lot of pleading, but I managed to arrange my shift to give me time to talk to my bank and plead my case at several of the charities.
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The woman folded her arms and lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Miss Catbait, but we cannot help you. After reviewing your case, the board has decided that our limited funds are better spent in other ways."
My eyes filled with tears. I stared at her without seeing her, at a loss for words. Suddenly I couldn't stand it any more, I jumped up and ran out of the office, barely avoiding people and other obstacles as I stumbled down the stairs.
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"I'm sorry, Miss Catbait, but you can see that there is just no way I can give you that loan. You simply won't be able to pay it off, even if you don't have any setbacks, such as loosing your job."
I stared at the bank clerk and despair filled me, I could barely hold back the tears.
"I'm sorry, Miss but it is simply not possible."
I tried the last thing I could think off "Well, if you won't give me the money, maybe someone else will..."
"Probably, but I really have to advise against it."
"Why?"
"I'm sure you can find some loan shark who will give you the money. But they charge quite a bit more interest than we do. There simply is no way you could pay off the loan. Unless you found a way to earn twice as much as you do now, or even more than that. You do know about the laws regarding debtors who can't pay?"
"Not very well."
"Well, if auctioning off most of your possessions is not enough to pay your debt, they would practically own you. They can force you to take any job of their choosing, as long as it pays more than your current one. And, believe me, there are some really unpleasant jobs that they can make you take. It's almost as bad as if you were their slave."
"Really?"
"Yes. It can be that bad. You have to remember that you'd be dealing with decidedly... shady characters. Some of them are borderline criminals. I can see that getting the money is a matter of life or death for you, but you should really consider other alternatives. You could very well end up spending several decades slaving for them, quite possibly for the rest of your life."
"I see." I stared at him for a minute, then I got up "Bye."
"Goodbye, Miss Catbait. I'm sorry that we can't help you, but..."
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The intercom crackled "Miss Catbait." I got up and enterd the office.
"Miss Catbait?"
"Mr. Freeman." I shook paws with the male human and sat down in the chair facing his desk. I could not help searching his face for clues, wondering if they would help me or not.
"Miss Catbait, we have reviewed your case and I have good and bad news."
"Yes?"
"We will pay for the initial examination. A specialist who helps us sometimes has agreed to examine you. We will pick up the lab costs."
"Thank you."
"But I am afraid, that is about all we can do. I'm sorry, we really would like to help you further, but the simple truth is that we don't have enough money to spend so much on one person. Once you start the treatment, we will be able to help you a little more by helping you get reasonable rates for the hospital services. That will make a big difference in your bill, but we can't do much more than that, I'm afraid."
"Oh." It is something, maybe quite a lot, but not nearly enough. My eyes fill with tears. "I..."
"I'm sorry, but we simply can't do more than that. I know this is terrible for you, but..."
"You can't know how bad this is..."
"Probably not, but... Believe me, I wish we could do more, but there are hundreds others who need our help every bit as much as you do."
"I know." I stood up, suddenly I had to get outside "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Miss Catbait. We'll contact you."
I hardly heard his response as I fled the room.
The other charities turned me down. I was on my own. I called the doctor the charity had suggested and set a date for the examination. A week until I would know for sure. I racked my brain, but I found no other way to come up with the money.
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I had not told my roommates about my cancer, but I should have known that I would not be able to hide something like that for long. The day after I set the date for the examination, Jen, short for Jennifer, the human female cornered me. At least Kaye, the husky femme was out that evening, at the time it felt bad enough telling one of them, I really didn't want to face the two of them together.
"Lye [my nickname], what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
She grabbed my arm and forced me to look at her "Stop that! I know that something is bothering you. Ever since you came back from the doctor, you've been a wreck. What did she tell you."
"Please..." I wanted to tell her to stop bothering me, but it was too much. I started crying like a baby. She hugged me, led me to the couch and sat me down. Jen held me as I cried. It seemed to me as if I could not stop, several times I almost started talking, only to be overwhelmed by another crying fit. Finally I managed to mumble, "I have cancer." only to start crying once more. I went through at least half a box of tissues, but finally my tears ran out. Jen held me the whole time.
"All right, Lydia, how bad is it?"
"I... I'll die in the next few years."
"Ouch! That's... horrible."
"It is possible to treat it, but..." I swallowed hard "I don't know if I can raise the money. And I have to start the treatment soon."
"I'll help you, Lye."
"Thank you. But... the problem is that it costs something like 200k."
"That's bad. I'll do what I can, but I'm not sure if it will be enough to make a difference."
"Thank you anyway. Just knowing that you care helps a lot."
"Is there any possibility to get the money? Take a credit?"
"I tried that, but the bank turned me down. I talked to several charities, only one of them will help me. But even they will only cover a small part of the cost."
"Nothing else? There must be something..."
"No. Well, there is. I'm not sure if I want to try that, but I fear that it is my only hope..."
"What is it?"
"Indentured service. Slavery."
"Ugh! That is bad. Nothing else?"
"I can't think of anything. Short of winning the lottery..."
"All right. Are you sure you want to try that? They made it sound really bad in that documentation..."
"Yeah, it's not my first choice. It's right at the bottom of my list actually, only... at the moment it's the only thing that is left on the list."
"I see." She considered me for a moment. I could see that she was really interested "Have you looked into it yet?"
"You interested?"
"Well... morbid curiosity, I guess. I don't think I'll try it myself, but to hear a first-person account..."
"Not really. Well, actually, Sandy, my doctor, told me that she does work for one of the companies."
"Really?"
"Yes. From what she tells me, they seem to care about their indent's health, at least somewhat. From what she told me, I have a reasonably good chance of coming out of this with my health intact." I fell silent for a moment "I guess it would not hurt to look at what they have to offer."
"Do you have an address?"
"Yes." I stood up and headed for my room. Jen followed me.
"Lye? Do you... want to be alone?"
"Yes..." I considered her for a moment "No. I don't think I want to be alone just now."
I turned on the computer and entered the address for their website. Jen sat next to me, put her arm around my waist and held me as I read what little information I could find there. As I filled in the form to set up a meeting with a recruitment officer, my paws trembled so badly I could barely hit the right keys.
End of Episode 3