“How much notice are you giving me?”
His guilty little eyes drop to the desktop.
“It’s effective immediately.”
“What?!”
“I’m sorry.”
He keeps apologizing as if the words are going to soothe the sting of what is happening in this room right now.
“This feels like I’m being fired, not laid off.”
“I was able to negotiate paying you for the rest of the week. It was the best I can do. At least now you’ll get paid while you look for something else.”
My heart sinks.
A week’s pay won’t even cover the back rent.
“And my health insurance?”
I have a consultation with a new surgeon coming up and I still get regular therapies for my knee but neither of those come cheap. My insurance covers most of the bills now, but without it I won’t be able to get any services. Private pay costs a fortune.
“Talk to Human Resources to verify, but I’m sure you’ll get some sort of temporary coverage to tide you over until you find a more permanent solution.”
This is a nightmare.
It’s not going to be easy to find someone willing to hire a physical therapist with a physical limitation of her own. It’s just not done.
My college volleyball coach, Dr. Lynn, was able to pull some strings and get me a full ride into the Master’s residency program with Phoenixville after putting in a good word for me after graduation. The deal was I would enroll in their newly accredited master’s PT program and simultaneously work as a resident my first year of school and then become a full-time employee while I studied to pass my certification exam. It was a great opportunity for me, and I’ve been here ever since.
Luckily, it was a hop, skip and a jump away from Rush. He was drafted to the Nighthawks straight out of Miami and owns a mansion in a wealthy Jersey township about thirty minutes from me. I don’t think he bought something in New Jersey because I live and work here, though. Most New York ballers live in Northern New Jersey because of the better cost of living and cushy suburban lifestyle. We were both just fortunate to have fates that merged in the same location.
“I just bought my car,” I say, thinking out loud.
“If I hear of another position, you’ll be the first person I call,” he says solemnly. “And I’ll be sure to write you a great recommendation letter.”
“Sure, Jacob.”
The tips of his ears turn a blush red.
“I know it isn’t much, but it’s the best I can do, Mia.”
My guess is that Jacob is genuinely upset that he’s been the one tasked to letting me go, but it doesn’t make me feel much better about things. I’ve built a life on the security I thought this job afforded me.
To some people I probably make a lot of money, but it’s all relative because I spend more than I make. Case in point: I moved into a higher rent apartment to be closer to the university (which I’m behind on), I purchased the green goblin a few months ago because everyone in Jersey needs a car and it was energy efficient, and beyond my regular bills I send money home to my mother every month.
My mom is a textbook case of a woman who had a child too young and resents the baby she had with the absentee father. After he bailed, she never wanted me. At most, she tolerated me. The only genuine love I ever felt was from my grandmother, and now that she’s gone, I’m basically a paycheck to my mom.
My mom’s name is Amanda, but people (including me) call her Mandy for short. She’s an underemployed server who lives in my grandmother’s house, which she has to pay the real estate taxes on or she’ll lose it. She’s late on the taxes every year, like clockwork. In her world, I make a fortune and should pay the taxes for her, but in truth I’m robbing Peter to pay Paul. I’m barely eking out a living at all, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let my Grandmom’s house go into foreclosure. Her home meant the world to her. So I send home money to help. Now I don’t know how the hell I’m going to manage to do all of it.
I limp out of Jacob’s office and into the empty main therapy room. I have two calls to make as I clean out my locker and clear the hard drive of my work computer. First, I’ve got to get Billy to come back up here and take me back to my car. And second, I need my best friend to tell me everything’s going to be okay.
I need to talk to Rush.
Four
RUSH
