“My pleasure. Say hello to Jordy for me. Or wait, is that weird? Will she remember who I am?”
I laugh again. “I’m pretty sure she’ll remember the guy she had dessert with literally just last week and then saw at the center a few days ago. I’ll tell her you said hi. She’ll likely ask me when you’re coming to the center and then be disappointed when I tell her you were there today.”
“I’ll have to make it a point to stop by the center when she’s there, then.”
“That’ll make her happy.”
Another pause and then, “And you? Would that makeyouhappy, Hollie?”
My breath catches in my throat. Am I wrong to think I’m not the only one muddying the waters tonight? “That would make me very happy. I’ll see you soon?”
I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “You will. Good night, Hollie.”
“Night, Spencer.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It takes less convincing than anticipated to get Jordy to agree to stay with me. We decide on a two-week trial, which will take us to the middle of December. At that point, we’ll reassess to see how it’s going, how her dad is faring on his own, and whether she wants to return home or stay with me, either until she turns eighteen in March or graduates from high school in June.
Since Jordy had already missed three days of school, I told her she might as well take the rest of the week off to recover from the chaotic few days she’s just experienced. I notified the school and told them I would be Jordy’s main point of contact for the foreseeable future.
We visited her dad together on Thursday morning and, as Jordy anticipated, Mr. Jenkins claimed to be glad to have one less mouth to feed. When she went to pack a bag, Mr. Jenkins and I sat glaring at each other in the cluttered, dusty living room. I was surprised he didn’t spew more vitriol; I wanted to spew some of my own, but I kept my mouth shut for Jordy’s sake.
Despite insisting she was fine, Jordy was stoic when we left. I knew the whole situation was hitting her hard when she didn’t fight my offer to take her out for lunch and get her phone reconnected so we’d always be able to reach each other.
“I’ll pay you back for the phone and anything else you buy me while I’m here,” she’d promised when we returned to my place that afternoon. We had gone grocery shopping, and I swear Jordy had nearly cried when I kept asking her what she wanted to eat and adding things to the cart. I doubt her family has ever been able to get that many groceries at one time. I certainly remember the days of living on ramen, nearly-expired produce, and whatever canned goods were cheapest.
Over the next week, we fall into an easy routine. Jordy returns to school on Monday, insisting she’s okay to take the bus since a program at school has been paying for her monthly bus passes this year. She comes into the center after school and works her usual shift, and then we go home and spend most of the evening together.
I’ve been living on my own for a long time, so I’m surprised by how much I enjoy having Jordy around. I expected her to hide out in her room, not wanting to impose on me in any way or take up too much space. I’m pleased to discover she must have taken it to heart when I told her she had free rein of the house and should consider it her home for as long as she was here. We cook together every evening and then hang out in the living room, reading, talking, and watching TV. I introduced her to shows that were my favorites at her age, likeBuffy the Vampire SlayerandOne Tree Hill. She also set up a tidy little corner for herself on the mostly-unused dining room table, with her laptop, school things, and drawing pad.
I fall into a routine of sorts with Spencer too. We haven’t seen each other since that day at the center, but we’ve been texting back and forth every day and we’ve talked on the phone a few times. When we text, it feels like it did when we were chatting on LoveLinks. Sometimes it’s a simple question like ‘how was your day?’, while other times we talk about interests and hobbies, or work. At least once a day, he sends me a picture; among them are shots of London he took before he moved to Canada, a funny sign he saw in a store, a Santa having a cigarette break with his beard pulled down, and a Spice Girls poster at a local record store. The messages and photos are some of my favorite moments of each day.
The next Friday afternoon, I’m buzzing as I return to my office after a productive meeting with Mina. I’m so lost in my own little world, I don’t even notice my office door is open as I stride inside or that Stella is sitting in one of the chairs across from my desk. She stands when she sees me, and I let out a little screech.
“Sorry,” she says around a laugh. “Your assistant recognized me and offered to let me wait in here.” She waves at the two cardboard takeout cups and large bakery bag on my desk. “I took a chance and stopped by. Figured I could leave this stuff if you were busy, and that seeing you for a few minutes would be better than nothing.”
“This is the best surprise.” I cross the room and hug her tightly. “Have you been here long? Can you stay?”
“I arrived about five minutes ago, and I have the rest of the day off.AndI come bearing coffee and pastries from Cravings.”
“The magic words. Sit.”
When we’re settled across from each other at my desk, each with a coffee and pastry in front of us, Stella says, “You looked all happy and daydreamy when you came in. Did you get some good news?”
“I did, actually. My boss showed up and asked for a meeting, which she’s never done before, so I was really nervous—”
“Wait, why?” Stella interrupts. “You’re, like, employee of the century, and Mina knows it.”
This makes me laugh. “I love you for that. It wasn’t that I was nervous about my job performance so much as the center itself. We’re perpetually underfunded and understaffed. This time of year is extra crucial, with winter coming, plus the holidays putting a huge financial strain on a lot of people.”
Stella makes a sympathetic humming noise around a mouthful of cupcake.
“But…” Excitement floods through me until I’m practically vibrating in my seat. “Mina wanted to tell me that the funding she’d been lobbying for from the city came through. That alone would have been amazing enough, but the center also received anextremelygenerous donation from the MacKinnon Group.”
“Huh.” Stella looks as if she’s trying to hide a smirk. “Imagine that. Think it was Fergus’s doing? Or Spencer’s?”
“Either? Both?” I laugh breathlessly. “I’ve been working with Fergus for a while, so he’s seen firsthand how much the center is struggling. He’s so helpful, and he’s been instrumental in securing funding for various projects. But the timing of this…” I think back to the day Spencer helped me pack food boxes, and his expression when Mina was talking about working on getting extra funding. “It has Spencer written all over it.”
