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“Woohoo!” She jumps up and down, clapping her hands. “I thought I was going to have to drag you out, but this is amazing. I’m so excited.” Fran pulls me into another hug, the second one of the evening. Before tonight, though, I don’t know how long it has been since anyone hugged me. Hope and relief fill my chest.
And I have to admit, it’s a welcome feeling.
***
“A new job?” Dorian gives me a funny look as he shoves the end of a chicken tender into his mouth.
I took home food from Bert’s since it was my last day, and there’s no way I’ll be getting the overpriced food now that I don’t work there.
“Yeah, I think it’ll be a really good thing.”
The skepticism on his face is surprising. “So, now you’ll be workingthreejobs?”
“No.” I laugh, shaking my head. “Just the one. I’ll be gone for school hours. Well, mostly. I’ll drop you off at your school, and then I work until it’s time to pick you up.”
“What about your classes?”
“Well, I’ll take breaks from work to go to class. It’s a campus job as a teacher’s assistant.”
Dorian nods and then breaks out in a smile. “That’s cool. So, you’re basically like a teacher, then?”
“Not exactly.” I pluck up a fry and take a bite. “I’ll be helping the teacher with whatever needs doing, but I think I get to grade some of the simple assignments.”
And knowing Dr. Banks, he’s got alotof assignments.
“Will you still make enough money?”
My shoulders drop at the question. No twelve-year-old should have to think about money in the way that Dorian does. “I’ll make plenty of money.” I reach out and squeeze his hand. “In fact, I’ll be making more than working thosetwojobs.”
“All right!” He pumps a fist in the air. “Does that mean I can throw a cool birthday party this year?”
I roll my eyes. “We’ll see. Let’s not get too out of hand. We still have plenty of medical bills to catch up on, and I’m considering saving for that procedure.”
He frowns. “We can’t afford that.”
“We can if I put some aside every week.”
“It’s more money than you made in like three years.” His words hurt, but I don’t let it show, keeping the smile on my face.
“Well, yes. But I got a raise now, and there’s payment plans. Besides, you don’t need to worry about any of it, Dorian. I’ll take care of it all. You just focus on being a kid.” I push myself back from the table, seeing the annoyed look on his face.
“I’m not like the other kids.”
I sigh as I push the table in. “I know you’re not, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want you to enjoy this time in your life. I don’t want you to worry about money. That’s my responsibility. I’m going to figure it all out.”
He opens his mouth like he’s going to argue, but his phone buzzing beside his plate catches his attention. A smile creeps across his face as he reads whatever notification is on the screen.
“Who is that?” My protective instincts kick in.
“Connor.” He scoops up a few fries. “One of the YouTubers we follow is having a live stream tonight. We’re gonna watch it at the same time.”
“Oh. Well, that’ll be fun.”
“I wish we could actually hang out.” Dorian huffs, scraping up the last bit of ketchup from his plate with another fry. “His dad is strict, and his mom is just crazy.”
“Does he talk to you a lot about his parents?”
Dorian shrugs. “Not really. He’s just like me. He doesn’t have a lot of friends.”
