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“Can I read a comic?”
“Sure.” I moved the paper bag to within his reach and let him fumble around in it.
I went in search of his mom and found her leaning against a wall in her bedroom quietly sobbing. She closed her eyes against the tears when she saw me, and my heart ached for her.
“Olivia,” I said softly.
“I can’t believe he knows how sad I’ve been.”
“Kids pick up on that stuff pretty easily.”
“But that’s how I’ve been his entire life. How could he know any different?”
I leaned against the wall beside her. “Maybe he’s seen other parents at school, or do you have friends?”
“I have two friends who he knows. My neighbour and a co-worker.”
“Are they happy?”
“Yeah, for the most part.” The anguish on her face was devastating. “Oh, gosh. I’m a terrible mother.”
“No, you’re not. You’ve been through a lot. After what you told me, I’m impressed by how strong you are, Olivia. A lot of people would have gone off the rails, but you haven’t.” I rubbed her shoulder. “You don’t have to be sad anymore. You’re not alone. I swear to you, I’m here as long as you’ll have me.”
“How are we even going to do this?” she asked as she swiped at her tears. “I have work, you have work and your own place. My boss won’t give me time off unless it’s to sack me. I’ve never had a vacation; I can’t even be here for my kid half the time when he’s mobile.”
“Surely you can have a word to your boss about what’s happened? He can’t be that unreasonable. He ought to have an FMLA if he’s a legitimate business owner.”
She rolled her eyes. “You haven’t met my boss. He purposely keeps forty-five employees so he can get away with being a shit employer.”
I thought about the situation. She was right. I did have work of my own. Charlie couldn’t be by himself at the moment, and if her boss was so bad, that meant she risked losing her only source of income, which meant getting behind on bills and possible eviction.
“I can’t see a way out of this.”
“Let me make a phone call to my boss. I know he’ll be more sympathetic to the situation.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
Olivia’s hand grabbed my wrist. “You can’t tell him about what I’ve had to do!”
“I told you I wouldn’t tell a soul.” I kissed her forehead. “Trust me.”
I walked out of the bedroom and through the living room, right past Charlie. “Which one did you decide on?”
“Captain America!” he replied, waving the comic book in the air.
“Good choice.”
“Are you leaving?”
“No, I’m going outside to make a call. When I get back, I want to hear all about Captain America’s latest adventure, okay?”
Charlie nodded. “Okay.”
I pulled the door closed and brought up the number for my boss. I stared at it for an inordinate amount of time. I’d never taken emergency leave before, yet here I was about to do it for a woman I’d only known for a little over a week.
I took a deep breath and dialled.
