“It’s not anything bad. I wanted to get your opinion on something.”
“Well, I’ll be here.” I felt like an idiot, but he made me feel that way often. I heard him chuckle and hung up before I could embarrass myself any further. As soon as I hung up the phone, it rang again. When I answered, my heart sank when I heard crying on the other end.
“Peace. This is Reese from the daycare center. There has been an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease amongst the children. There are at least five children who have contracted it, and two teachers who had to go home sick. We are going to have to close the daycare down and spend a couple of days disinfecting the rooms. Unfortunately, Promise’s teacher had to leave early, so I need all of the mothers to come pick up their babies.”
I nodded my head as if she could see me, then told her that I was on my way. Maliah was still doing apartment tours, so I decided to reach out to Dreaux to let him know I would need to leave for the rest of the day.
“I’m about to be there in ten minutes.”
“Hey, that’s kind of why I’m calling. My daughter’s daycare called, and they are sending all of the kids home because a bunch of them are sick. I have to go get Promise, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come back today since I won’t have a babysitter.” I rushed out. Even though it was out of my control, I couldn’t help the guilty feelings I had because I was still new to the job. The last thing I wanted was for him to think I wasn’t dedicated or reliable.
“What’s the address of the daycare?”
His question caught me off guard, and I paused before answering his question with one of my own.
“Why do?—”
“Please don’t start that shit. I thought we were starting to trust each other.” He chuckled into the phone, sending electricity through my soul.
“I don’t know about all of that. We’re still in the beginning stages of trust.”
“Whatever. I asked because I’m already out and about. I can go grab her and then bring her to you since I have your food with me anyway.”
I gulped loudly at the mention of him picking Promise up from daycare. Not only because he was somewhat of a stranger, but also because he would then know where we lived. When I filled out my application, I used a random address. It was bad enough that he knew I was desperate for money. I wasn’t ready for him to know how bad off I truly was.
“No, you don’t need to do that. I have no problem getting her. Plus, they aren’t gonna release her to just anyone.” My hands were shaking as I paced the floor of my office.
“Why are you being so difficult? I’m trying to help, but you keep shutting me out. What’s up with that?”
“I never asked for your help. I don’t want you to feel like you’re obligated to do anything for me. This job is more than enough.” Tears welled in my eyes because I hated being in this predicament. Life had been giving me its ass to kiss, and it seemed as if it wasn’t letting up any time soon.
“Well, you’re on probation right now. I’m not saying that I don’t understand your situation, but this is a business. I’m offering you help so that you can keep your job and be able to provide for your baby girl.”
“Are you threatening me?” I blurted out, feeling a bunch of emotions hitting me all at once.
“Naw, I don’t operate that way. Well, at least not in this particular business. What I’m saying is that this is a place of business, and you haven’t earned any PTO or benefits to call out so soon. I told you we offer childcare services for those who need them, and they’re free. Now, are you gonna give me the addressor not?” My eyes closed as I tried to come up with a valid excuse. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one outside of the truth.
“She has to be in a car seat. It’s illegal to ride around with a child that small without them being secured in a seat.”
“Oh, that’s not a problem, I have a couple in my trunk.” My eyebrow raised, but before I could linger on it too long, he answered my unspoken question.
“I don’t have any kids, but my homies pop out babies like rabbits. Some of them use the daycare service I mentioned, so I do drop-offs from time to time. I keep them on hand because I don’t have time to be tracking folks down to exchange seats and shit.”
I giggled even though I was still full of nerves. Today had been such a good day, and I feared that it would soon come to an end.
“Alright. I’ll send you the address. I’ll let them know you’re coming.” I bit down on my bottom lip to keep the tears at bay because I knew he would judge me for my circumstances.
“Alright, bet. I might take baby girl for some ice cream before we come up there. Does she have any allergies? I don’t want to get anything that’s gonna fuck up her stomach. She isn’t one of the kids who’s sick, right? Do I need to stop somewhere to get her anything?” Dreaux asked with urgency. I smiled because he sounded like a concerned parent.
“No, she’s not sick, and the only allergy she has is to peanuts.”
“Alright, cool. I’ll hit you back if I need to know anything else.” Dreaux disconnected the call before I could even say anything else. My heart was in my toes, and I could barely focus. I sat back down at my desk, but my thoughts were all over the place.What would he think once he found out the truth? Would he fire me, or would he think I was a bad mother?While I knew I wasn’t his type from our previous conversation, therewas a part of me that thought there might have been something between us. All of that would be nothing more than a fantasy after he found out where I lived. I hated people giving me sympathy. It did nothing to improve things.
I busied myself with the files I needed to scan into the computer. Dreaux’s apartment complex was highly sought after, so there were dozens of applications coming in daily. The phone rang constantly with people asking the same questions over and over, but I had no complaints. The job was easy to do, and the benefits were better than any other job I had ever had. When I found out how much we got paid an hour, I thought it was a joke. Most jobs that paid thirty an hour were usually in the medical field. My last job was only $11/hr, and we worked for a major supply company.
It also came with medical, vision, and dental coverage for Promise and me. I still couldn’t believe it had fallen into my lap the way it did, but I was grateful.
I must have gotten caught up in my work because I completely lost track of time, and when I looked up, Dreaux came barreling through the door with my little princess on his hip. Promise paid me no mind as she licked ice cream from the side of her hand where she held her cone.
