Midnight offered us the contract to redesign the area around the Waiora, but we had too much work as it was and had to pass, so they hired another firm. My gardener’s eye passes critically over the new landscaping, but I’m relieved to see they’ve done a good job. They’ve kept most of the native bush, and the pool is surrounded by palms and ferns, but they’ve also installed a concrete slope down into the water that makes it much easier to get in. A beautiful pagoda overlooks the pool, as well as several benches amongst the trees. The biggest change, though, is a brand-new set of changing rooms and toilets, set back and well hidden amongst the greenery.
Thea and I sit on one of the benches and look out at the pool. The bush smells damp and earthy, the mineral-rich forest smell after rain, along with the metallic smell of wet rock. Thehoney-sweetness of the kowhai mingles with the sharp herbal tang of manuka, as well as the delicate perfume of the pink camellias they’ve planted to provide some color.
“Is it bad?” Thea asks, reminding me that I promised to tell her about her parents. “Are they sick, like Granddad?”
“No, no, nothing like that.” I put my arm around her. “Do you know what the word debt means?”
She frowns. “It’s when you don’t have enough money to pay the bills.”
“That’s right, you’re so clever. Well, your dad has run up some debt, and we’re trying to help him pay it off. We can do it, but it’s just going to take some time, and it’s important that he doesn’t keep making more debt. It’s like someone is digging a hole in the ground, and we’re trying to put the earth back in. We have to try to fill it quicker than they can dig it, and so it’s much better if they stop digging completely—it means we can fill it faster. Does that make sense?”
She nods. “Is he still digging?”
I stroke her hair. “Yes, honey. And he can’t seem to stop.”
“Why?”
“It’s called an addiction.”
She thinks about that for a moment. “Like drugs?”
“Yes. With some people, drugs, or alcohol, or tobacco, or a particular behavior, like gambling, create a chemical called dopamine in the brain. It makes you feel good. Like, you know when you’re playing a computer game and you level up?”
“Yes.”
“You get a little buzz of excitement—that’s dopamine, and it feels good. And some people like it so much that they crave that next buzz. They can’t stop. It’s not their fault. It’s called a chronic condition—it’s always going to be there, and it can’t be cured. Only managed.”
“So… he’s got into debt because he’s gambling?”
I nod, my stomach flipping. I hope I’m not making things worse by telling her.
But she’s calm as she says, “I’ve heard them talking about loans.”
Oh shit, so she does know more than she’s let on. “Okay.”
“A loan is where you borrow money from someone else, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“And you have to pay it back?”
“Yes, over time.”
“Why do people do that?”
“Why do they lend money?”
“Yes. Why do they give it away? I don’t understand.”
“They charge something called interest. So, if you borrow, say, a thousand dollars, you don’t just have to pay a thousand back—you have to pay interest, too. A bank doesn’t charge much interest, but there are people called loan sharks who charge a huge amount. Each week you’d pay, say, fifty dollars off the loan, but you’d also have to pay something like two hundred dollars interest. So in the end you’re actually paying back something like five or six thousand.”
Her jaw drops. “That’s awful.”
“I know. And if you don’t pay each week, you can get into trouble.”
“Will he go to prison?”
“No, no, honey, nothing like that.” I cross my fingers behind my back. I won’t describe the true horrors of what might happen if he doesn’t meet his repayments: having debt collectors turn up in the middle of the night to collect their TV and other possessions, being thrown out of their home, or maybe even being subjected to violence. “But he does need help, so he doesn’t keep spending more money than he has.”