“I can’t deal with this.” Jared ran a hand through his hair before pushing away from the table and standing. “I’m leaving.”
Janie jumped to her feet and rushed to stop him. “Don’t go. It’s Easter.”
“I can’t stay here.” He wiggled his arm away from Janie. “I’m sorry.”
“Please stay. We’ll table this conversation and enjoy a nice meal with friends.” Janie’s voice shook with her pleas.
Shaking his head, Jared turned toward the door after shooting them a look of disappointment, and then left the apartment with his shoulders slumped.
More ticked off at how Jared had treated Janie than his actual disapproval of the relationship, Evan’s hands remained in tight fists, and he inhaled a deep breath to free his lungs from anger. “Let him go, Janie. Misery loves company, but he won’t find it here.”
Tears welled in Janie’s eyes and overflowed. “Why can’t he just be happy for us?”
Her pained expression broke his heart, and he drew her into his arms, cradled her to him. “I don’t know, sweetheart. I don’t know.”
Chapter Fifteen
Restlessness attacked Janie with a vengeance. April showers hadn’t brought any May flowers yet. Every day of the month so far, there had been rain. Mostly scattered spurts of precipitation—a few heavy enough to elicit heavy flash flood warnings—but with a constant cover of gray in the sky, Janie hesitated to leave the house. No matter if she checked the radar map, without fail, she’d get caught in a downpour, so after day two of ten, she’d decided to stay home until the sun came out.
She’d reached out to two friends and invited them to lunch, but one had a sick child, and the other had gone out of town for a week. Evan had classes, and Jared still kept a distance almost four weeks after he’d walked out of Evan’s apartment on Easter.
When they did talk, neither of them mentioned that day or her relationship with Evan. He’d respond to messages with a short reply and even answer phone calls, but he always ended the call within a few minutes with the excuse he had to get back to work. Apparently, he thought she wouldn’t realize that he wasn’t at work half those times. Or he didn’t care if she knew. She wasn’t sure which hurt worse.
She piddled around the house, looking for something to get into. Her house was spotless, laundry up to date, and she’d even cleaned the baseboards yesterday. This morning she’d gone through her file cabinets and purged all statements and receipts more than two years old. Nothing in the house needed attention, leaving her with an out-of-sorts feeling.
I need a job. The idea popped into her head often lately, convincing her to give it serious thought. Maybe something part time at first, to get her feet wet before diving in. She realized how fortunate she was to have that option, but she’d paid a high price for her financial security. If she could bring Mike back by trading her survivor’s benefits, she wouldn’t think twice before signing the dotted line, but that was impossible.
Sitting at the desk, she powered on her computer and went to a local employment search engine. With only a high school diploma, she had limited options. She saw several receptionist positions, and one for a call center, but she didn’t enjoy constantly talking on the phone. Her eyes landed on a listing at the bottom of the screen. Her favorite craft store needed associates. She clicked on the link and sent in an application. If she resumed her volunteer work and got a job, that would help fill her days and fend off the restlessness plaguing her.
Right now, a sneak peek of the sun shining could accomplish that as well.
She stared out the window at the silver clouds sliding across the sky. At least the rain had stopped momentarily. While she was online, she checked the weather. Disappointment consumed her when the five-day forecast showed no signs of a sunny break.If I wanted this weather, I’d have moved to Seattle or England.
Her doorbell rang.I’m not expecting anyone, but no salesperson in their right mind would come out in this weather. She left the office and put an eye to the peephole. She recognized Brianna, her newest neighbor who’d moved next door two months ago, with her seven-month-old daughter on her hip. A single-mom, Brianna stayed busy holding down three jobs while raising her baby. Janie had reached out to her on multiple occasions, and last week, Brianna finally accepted a coffee invitation.
Janie opened the door. “Good afternoon.”
A tired smile barely lifted Brianna’s lips. “Wish I could say it was.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My usual sitter called out sick, and my backup has class tonight.” A resigned sigh blew into the air. “I hate asking, especially since I barely know you, but I get the sense you’re a trustworthy person, and all the neighbors speak highly of you—”
“Do you need me to watch Ava for you?” Janie asked, cutting off Brianna’s run-on plea.
“Would you mind? If I miss my shift tonight, I risk getting fired.” Brianna’s features tightened. “I already missed two last month because of her ear infection, and my boss doesn’t have sympathy for those with children. Not that I don’t understand he has a business to run, but my baby has to come first.”
Her soul filled with compassion for Brianna, whose long, rambling sentences testified to her frazzled state. “I don’t mind at all. What time do you need me to watch her?”
“Now until nine tonight? I’m so sorry for the short notice, but I’ve been calling all my friends trying to find someone.”
“That’s fine.” She saw the diaper bag hanging from Janie’s shoulder. “Is everything she needs in there?”
“Yes, and I have all the instructions and my contact information written out for you.” Brianna’s mouth curved into a sheepish smile. “I took a leap of faith you’d be able to watch Ava.”
“I’m happy to. She’ll keep me company tonight.” She reached out her arms, and Ava leaned forward, extending her chubby arms.
“She likes you.” Some of the anxiousness left Brianna’s voice. “Here’s her bag. I’m going to run back to the house and grab her portable playpen. She’ll probably fall asleep during her seven o’clock bottle, and you can lay her down in the pen—she likes it better than her crib and should stay sleeping until I get home.”
