“Well, what about The Closette?”
“That was never meant to be permanent on your end. And you get better at failing with experience. You learn.”
“Oh, great,” I muttered. “I do love learning.”
Dad leaned in to the window. “When I was younger, I had a hard time getting an interview anywhere. Ended up at the car wash with some friends. One day, I goofed off in front of the wrong person, and that was the end of it. Thought I’d never get hired again. No references. No great resume.But I learned a few things, made a few new friends, and got the wild idea I could still be the person I wanted to be—make my own company, and in the meantime, find another who’d wanna hire me. I just had some work to do to get there.”
“Right. Work. I just don’t think another entry-level job is gonna allow for the effort I need to put into my schooling again.” Even Angel was cutting back on shifts after he cashed out on Valentine’s Day tips. Although I could ask Kat if I could work at Hot Contra and do homework in her office, I didn’t want to rely on her generosity any more than I already had. “Jen’s lucky her company lets her work remote sometimes. If I could do something hands-off like that…”
“Then you wouldn’t need this car,” Dad said.
“I’d still have errands.” And maybe classes to attend.
“Well, I can talk to your mother about finances. I’m sure we can add you to our insurance plan if you’ll also pay for that. Are you sure that’s what you wanna do?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t going to move to a city with better public transit, and I couldn’t rely on everyone else until I got on my feet again. This was a huge step in the right direction.
Dad walked off to call Mom away from people testing the stereo systems while I double-checked the windshield wipers and windows all worked the way they were supposed to. After all, if I wasn’t careful, this vehicle would soon be the only thing I had going for me.
Living out of my car sounded better than dealing with Jen. That must be how Angel felt about his mom’s boyfriends.
Dad held the phone aloft from his ear. “Tori, in exchange for our financial contribution, would you consent to a weekly dinner?”
I stifled a laugh. “Are we taking after the Glimores?”
“The who?”
“Never mind.” It wasn’t like he’d paid attention to my after-school comfort show. “Schedule permitting, yes. I’d be happy to have a family dinner on a regular basis.”
“She said yes,” he told mom on the phone.
“Ah, wonderful,” she cheered loud enough for me to hear.
Dad put her on speaker phone. “Anything else you want to tell her?” he asked.
“I love you,” she said. “Oh, and see if you can convince Kat to come once in a while. We can always bring food to you too. But how about you come here tonight?”
“Oh, tonight?” I’d planned on getting groceries with Angel. I supposed that could wait—especially for a free meal now that I was on a tighter budget. “Is Jen okay with that?” I asked.
“She’ll be fine. Or she’ll be in her room. Either way, it’ll be good to see you again,” she said.
I blinked away the tearful sting of appreciation. My mom wasn’t perfect, but I never doubted that she loved me.
“Okay. See you later,” I said.
“Oh, and I’ll send you a list of the top ten safest cars. Can’t ignore those consumer ratings,” she lectured.
“Thanks, Mom. Love you.”
“Love you too,” she said, then hung up.
Dad appraised the sedan. “So, is this the one?”
I nodded. “I think so. Just need to make sure it’s on Mom’s top ten brand list.” My phone pinged with a screenshotted list, which I showed my dad. “There it is.”
“Time to negotiate pricing and perks then.” He tightened his belt and flexed his shoulders back. “Do you want to try it yourself?”
“I’ll learn from the master.” Reading the room, these people respected my dad and his credit rating more than an unemployed twenty-something.
