scribbled a number down.
“It’s not that I can’t pay you anything. It’s just that I can’t pay you well. I’ve been meaning to hire someone, maybe a high school student. But I haven’t had the time to run an ad yet. I have weddings booked for every single weekend this summer, and there are a few weekends that I have more than one wedding booked. I have a few anniversaries, a baby shower that’s going to be a little over the top. Then there are the unexpected events…like funerals. I know I need to find help with the day to day stuff.”
She stopped for a breath. “I could pay you this. ” She slid the paper my way. She made an apologetic face at me. Then she looked a little less hesitant. “Also, I could offer you free room and board.”
“Free room and board?” I asked with a laugh. “That sounds so old-fashioned. But I like it.” The number she had scribbled down wasn’t very impressive, she was right about that. But if I was living rent free, it would be more than sufficient. If nothing else, working here would be a nice touch to add to my paltry resume.
It would be a win-win for both of us.
“Do you like it enough to accept the offer?” Her tone was incredulous.
I nodded. “Absolutely!”
She let out a little squeal of excitement and I decided that despite the paltry paycheck, helping Claire out would be so worth it.
*******
“Hi, Dad.”
“ Zoey?” His voice was heavy with confusion.
“Well, yeah. Unless you have another daughter I should know about?”
He let out a short laugh, though I was sure he wasn’t all that amused. “No. No, I don’t. It’s just been a while since I’ve heard from you. And I didn’t recognize this number.”
I was grateful that while he sounded sad, he didn’t sound the least bit accusatory. I’d been living with Claire for nearly a month now. I knew I should’ve called him weeks ago.
“That’s part of why I’m calling you. I wanted to let you know I got a new number .” I paused. “Also, I wanted to let you know I moved to Grafton.”
“Grafton?” I could almost see his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “What are you doing there? Oh. Wait a minute. Isn’t that where Claire is living these days?”
“Yeah. She is. In fact…I’m living with her.”
I was met with silence.
“Just since graduation. I should’ve called sooner. But…” I struggled for an explanation that didn’t sound as harsh as the truth. The truth being that I was a horrible daughter. “I’ve been busy. You know, with moving. And I had to get a new phone.” It was a terrible excuse. I could’ve used Claire’s phone.
His tone was noticeably cautious when he said, “And Jason?”
I winced. Over the past few weeks, I’d been so busy, I’d hardly thought of him at all. I shouldn’t have been surprised that my dad asked about him.
“I’m not with Jason anymore.” The words shot out of my mouth. There was no reason to dance around the issue. And they felt awfully good to say. I was met by a few moments of silence as Dad digested that bit of news.
“That makes some sense,” he finally said.
I got the impression he was talking more to himself than he was to me.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“ Jason. It makes sense now. I called you the other day…or maybe it was longer ago than that. It’s so hard to keep track of time these days. Seems the older you get, the faster time goes. Anyhow, I miss you, you know. I wanted to see if you’d made any plans for the summer. And well, to be honest, I was hoping to talk you into coming home for a visit.”
A small smile played on my lips. I hadn’t lived in Cleary for years. Yet he was right. It was still ‘home’. That thought only lasted an instant, then my mind snapped back to the other words he’d spoken.
“What makes sense?”
“Jason answered your phone when I called. He sounded…off. When I asked for you, he said you weren’t there. He was real vague. He wouldn’t tell me where you’d
“It’s not that I can’t pay you anything. It’s just that I can’t pay you well. I’ve been meaning to hire someone, maybe a high school student. But I haven’t had the time to run an ad yet. I have weddings booked for every single weekend this summer, and there are a few weekends that I have more than one wedding booked. I have a few anniversaries, a baby shower that’s going to be a little over the top. Then there are the unexpected events…like funerals. I know I need to find help with the day to day stuff.”
She stopped for a breath. “I could pay you this. ” She slid the paper my way. She made an apologetic face at me. Then she looked a little less hesitant. “Also, I could offer you free room and board.”
“Free room and board?” I asked with a laugh. “That sounds so old-fashioned. But I like it.” The number she had scribbled down wasn’t very impressive, she was right about that. But if I was living rent free, it would be more than sufficient. If nothing else, working here would be a nice touch to add to my paltry resume.
It would be a win-win for both of us.
“Do you like it enough to accept the offer?” Her tone was incredulous.
I nodded. “Absolutely!”
She let out a little squeal of excitement and I decided that despite the paltry paycheck, helping Claire out would be so worth it.
*******
“Hi, Dad.”
“ Zoey?” His voice was heavy with confusion.
“Well, yeah. Unless you have another daughter I should know about?”
He let out a short laugh, though I was sure he wasn’t all that amused. “No. No, I don’t. It’s just been a while since I’ve heard from you. And I didn’t recognize this number.”
I was grateful that while he sounded sad, he didn’t sound the least bit accusatory. I’d been living with Claire for nearly a month now. I knew I should’ve called him weeks ago.
“That’s part of why I’m calling you. I wanted to let you know I got a new number .” I paused. “Also, I wanted to let you know I moved to Grafton.”
“Grafton?” I could almost see his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “What are you doing there? Oh. Wait a minute. Isn’t that where Claire is living these days?”
“Yeah. She is. In fact…I’m living with her.”
I was met with silence.
“Just since graduation. I should’ve called sooner. But…” I struggled for an explanation that didn’t sound as harsh as the truth. The truth being that I was a horrible daughter. “I’ve been busy. You know, with moving. And I had to get a new phone.” It was a terrible excuse. I could’ve used Claire’s phone.
His tone was noticeably cautious when he said, “And Jason?”
I winced. Over the past few weeks, I’d been so busy, I’d hardly thought of him at all. I shouldn’t have been surprised that my dad asked about him.
“I’m not with Jason anymore.” The words shot out of my mouth. There was no reason to dance around the issue. And they felt awfully good to say. I was met by a few moments of silence as Dad digested that bit of news.
“That makes some sense,” he finally said.
I got the impression he was talking more to himself than he was to me.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“ Jason. It makes sense now. I called you the other day…or maybe it was longer ago than that. It’s so hard to keep track of time these days. Seems the older you get, the faster time goes. Anyhow, I miss you, you know. I wanted to see if you’d made any plans for the summer. And well, to be honest, I was hoping to talk you into coming home for a visit.”
A small smile played on my lips. I hadn’t lived in Cleary for years. Yet he was right. It was still ‘home’. That thought only lasted an instant, then my mind snapped back to the other words he’d spoken.
“What makes sense?”
“Jason answered your phone when I called. He sounded…off. When I asked for you, he said you weren’t there. He was real vague. He wouldn’t tell me where you’d
Similar Books
