We talk for a few more minutes, but I can tell he's exhausted, running on empty after the stress of the day. He has a shift at Betty's in an houranyway, so I let him go with a promise to call him tonight at the usual time.
"Get some rest if you can," I tell him. "Even just a few minutes. You sound wiped out."
"I will. I'll try. And thank you again for believing in me when I couldn't believe in myself."
"Always. That's never going to change."
***
The next morning, Frank corners me by the coffee maker before the rest of the crew arrives. "Collins, got a minute?" he asks.
"Sure, what's up?"
We step away from the break area, over by the supply trailer where no one can overhear us. Frank crosses his arms and gives me that look he gets when he's about to ask for something big.
"The Riverside project is behind schedule," he says bluntly. "Way behind. We're looking at weeks of delays if we don't make some serious moves. The client's breathing down my neck about penalties."
"Yeah, I've heard the guys talking about it," I admit.
"I need guys willing to work weekends to catch us up. Real weekends. Both Saturday and Sunday, full eight-hour shifts minimum, time and a half pay." He pauses and looks at me directly. "I'm asking you first because you're one of my best workers. And because you mentioned a while back that you wanted extra overtime hours if they were available."
I did say that, weeks ago, before I understood how precious our weekends together really are.
"How many weekends are we talking about?" I ask, already dreading the answer.
"At least two, maybe three. Maybe four if things really go sideways."
"Frank, I don't know if I can commit to that many weekends," I say slowly. "I've got standing commitments on weekends. Important commitments."
"I know you've been driving somewhere every Friday night like clockwork. Girlfriend waiting for you somewhere?"
"Something like that, yeah. Someone important."
He nods slowly. "Look, I get it. I respect it. But I really need you on this project, Collins. The money's good, time and a half, and it'll look good when promotion time comes around in the spring. We're talking supervisor positions opening up."
"Let me make a phone call first. I need to talk to someone. I'll give you an answer by end of day. I appreciate the opportunity."
"Fair enough. Let me know before five."
I wait until my lunch break to call Jay, finding a quiet spot behind the trailer. He answers on the third ring, sounding tired but better than he did yesterday.
"Hey, is everything okay?" he asks immediately, concern in his tone. "You don't usually call during the day. Did something happen?"
"Nothing's wrong. I just needed to talk to you about something that came up at work. Something important and might turn into a major deal."
"What's going on?"
I take a deep breath. "Frank asked me to work weekends for the next few weeks. The Riverside project is way behind schedule and they need extra hands to catch up. It's time and a half pay, good money."
There's silence on the other end.
"How many weekends?" Jay finally asks.
"At least two, possibly three. Maybe four if things get really behind. He also told me it would look good for me when supervisor positions open up next year. He's offering me an opportunity to move up in the company."
More silence.
"That's damn good money," Jay says eventually. "The kind of money you shouldn't turn down. You should absolutely take it."
