Chapter 2 - Before I Became the Family Bank, Christopher Was the One With the Big Plans
When I met Christopher, he was doing better financially than I was.
That fact matters because resentment later rewrote our history.
We were introduced at a brewery by mutual friends when I was twenty-four.
I worked in healthcare procurement for a regional hospital system.
Christopher owned a small residential remodeling company called Cole Homeworks.
Four employees.
Two trucks.
Good reputation.
He knew how to walk into an old house and immediately see what could be:
opened,
repaired,
moved,
saved.
I liked that about him.
He liked that I could look at a spreadsheet and tell him why a project that “felt profitable” had barely made money.
We balanced each other.
At least initially.
His father, Michael, had died three years earlier from a stroke.
Florence lived alone in the three-bedroom house where Christopher grew up.
Christopher stopped by constantly.
Fixed things.
Paid small bills when necessary.
Had dinner with her Sunday evenings.
I thought:
good son.
Florence liked me.
At first.
“You’re organized,” she said after our third dinner.
“Christopher needs organized.”
He laughed.
“Translation: Mom thinks I’m financially irresponsible.”
Florence smiled.
“I didn’t say that.”
Nobody noticed the discomfort beneath the joke.
Cole Homeworks grew during our first two years together.
Then Christopher took a project too large for the company.
A twelve-unit townhouse renovation.
He underestimated:
labor,
permits,
material escalation,
structural work.
The developer delayed progress payments.
Christopher borrowed to finish.
Then borrowed again.
When the developer eventually paid, the margin had vanished.
Worse, Christopher had personally guaranteed a business line.
He owed nearly:
$83,000.
I did not know the full number until years later.
Florence did.
She took out a home-equity line on her house.
Maximum:
$95,000.
She advanced Christopher:
$85,000.
That saved:
his company,
his credit,
probably his ability to avoid a much uglier insolvency.
Christopher repaid:
$1,100 a month
for almost two years.
Then Cole Homeworks lost another project.
Income fell.
Payments stopped.
Florence did not pressure him.
Why would she?
Her son was:
struggling.
Then Christopher and I married.
I knew:
Mom helped with the business.
I did not know:
how much.
May you like
That distinction would become expensive.
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