After I’d cleaned up my desktop and double-checked my class times for my first day of school tomorrow, I lay back on the bare bed and started to fall asleep. I was running on three hours of sleep and my shift at Mickey’s wasn’t until 4PM. I had time to kill.
I was awoken to a light knock on the door.
My eyes peeled open and I looked at the clock. It had only been about forty-five minutes.
“Coming.” I felt like I was walking through quicksand. I was a two-hours-or-nothing kind of napper. Forty-five minutes was torture. Pulling open the door, my eyes fell to a huge red Target bag. A white note lay on top.
No.
Ethan King had gotten me a gift.
I gingerly pulled the card open and read.
Welcome back to Phoenix. Laundry is behind the kitchen.
-Ethan
I looked left and right but didn’t see him lingering around, so I dragged the huge red plastic bag inside the room and shut and locked the door. Leaning against the wall, I stared at the bag for a whole five minutes before I decided to open it.
Ethan got me a present and I didn’t know how I felt about it. Peeling open the bag, I pulled out the first item. A brand new pillow.
I sighed and placed it on the bed. Next I pulled out a new pack of pastel blue sheets. Finally I reached in and took out the giant plush comforter. It was a soft pink and blue paisley pattern.
It was a thoughtful fucking gift. But did I just let a man buy me a bed set? Hailey 2.0 was an independent woman.
I should return it. Target was a whole level of fancy I couldn’t afford right now. This set with the pillow probably cost him eighty bucks … or more. I shouldn’t have asked if the bed came with sheets! This wasn’t a motel.
Guilt gnawed at my chest until I remembered one of the rare nuggets of wisdom my mother had left me with before one of her boyfriends had gotten her hooked on drugs and those wisdom nuggets dwindled to nothing.Never let your pride be bigger than your heart. Accept gifts and give them often.
I’d have to accept this gift, and when I could afford it I would pay Ethan back or gift him something that cost the same amount.
Yes. That felt better. This was a welcome home gift from my old friend and there was nothing wrong with that. Pulling out the sheets, I tiptoed out the hallway and found the laundry room right off the kitchen. It was stocked with soap and dryer sheets, so I started a load washing my sheets and a few of the dirty clothes I had.
I had exactly $567 left on my seven-thousand-dollar credit card until it was maxed out. The lawyers had cost just over six grand, and although they told me if we went to court I could make Bryce pay the fees and I could keep my Audi, I didn’t care. I just wanted out. I planned on saving that $567 for tomorrow morning when I bought my uniform and books for my first semester of nursing school. I decided I would start with the two-year associate’s degree and then get working. After I started work, I’d go to night school for the bachelor’s degree and possibly even a masters, to become a certified nurse of anesthesia. They made bank. A hundred and twenty grand a year as opposed to the sixty grand I would make with my A.A. Either way, it was more than I had now and I needed to start small—short term goals to get me across the finish line.
But I would need more clothes soon. Angela had said Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights you made the most, then the weekdays were slower. If I could make another hundred bucks tonight, I might be able to get some more clothes at Goodwill. Maybe some make-up.
Things were looking up.
By 1:30 I had made my new bed, which brightened the entire place. Then I walked to the convenience store and bought three dollars’ worth of top ramen, a banana, and a bottle of two-in-one shampoo and conditioner. I showered, dressed in clean clothes, and was ready for a shift at Mickey’s. When I walked down to the garage, Ethan was still under the same bike I’d found him under in the morning. But wearing a shirt, thank God.
He stood and stretched. “Going to Mickey’s?”
I nodded. “Yeah, thanks for the … gift.”
I’d make my late mama proud.
He rubbed the scruff on his chin. “Welcome. Need a ride? I was headed that way anyway.” He pointed to his bike, which sat on the far wall.
“No thanks. I like walking,” I told him, and beelined it for the door. It was about the biggest lie ever. I hated walking in the sticky heat, but I wasn’t going to be getting all cozy with Ethan, and he was being too kind for my liking.
“I’m gonna get you on my bike sooner or later!” he called out after me.
I won’t even admit the visual that gave me.
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Four
