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There was silence between us for a moment as I thought about what she’d said. I knew she had a very real point, but I also was thinking of the business and what we were doing there. I had a vision to expand and grow. I wanted to make Gigi proud.
That took a lot of hard work.
And it was frustrating to me that my sister didn’t share the same vision.
“I told her I wasn’t going to be that flexible, and I hoped she’d understand. I did offer to start coming in at eight on Friday mornings, just so we had something to plan on, you know? I figured if she’s going to be paying the same amount regardless, then I might as well plan on it, but she didn’t like that idea, and she ended the contract.”
“What!” I gasped. “You mean she pulled entirely.”
“I’m sorry,” Angela said quietly. “I know I could have been more professional with her, and I’m sure she was angry with me for how I was doing things, but she said that she was disappointed with how things turned out, and she figured the best thing to do would be to end the contract entirely.”
“She didn’t want to talk to me?” I asked.
“I don’t know what you could have said that would have changed her mind,” Angela replied. “She wasn’t too happy with the way you gave me Sue in the first place.”
“She told me she didn’t mind when I asked her about it on the phone,” I argued. “What do you mean she wasn’t that happy?”
“She might have said that to you, but she told me that she felt she had been dismissed when she was given to me, and you took over working for Alex, so she was going to find someone else to watch Sue,” Angela said. “I did stick up for you. I told her how you were working multiple jobs and trying to go to school, too, but honestly, I think she was just pissed at that point and didn’t care to hear anything else I had to say.”
I was disappointed. It wasn’t my intention to make her feel less important or replaced when I had taken over watching Lucy. But since she was just part-time and my sister could have done it with her schedule, I felt it had been the most reasonable solution.
“Don’t take it to heart, sis,” Angela said. “I wouldn’t. But I also wanted to let you know that now that my Fridays are open, I want to keep them open, okay? Don’t give me anyone else.”
I nodded. There were a variety of things that came to mind, but I chose to hold my tongue. It wouldn’t do any good to make any snide comments to Angela. It was too late now to fix things with Mrs. Busby, and Angela was clear about her viewpoint.
“Well, I guess you win some and lose some, huh?” I said at last.
“Right,” she smiled. “Anyway, I’ve got some errands to run, but I wanted to talk to you about this in person. You okay?”
“I’m good,” I said. “She was part-time, so it’s not going to break the business that we lost the account.”
“Right,” Angela said as she rose. “Oh, by the way, your hair looks good like that.”
She put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile before leaving, and I did my best to smile in return.
But, as soon as she was gone, I grabbed my phone and called Gigi. I knew it was rude to be on the phone in the middle of a coffee shop, but the place was busy, and the hum of conversation was in the air. I didn’t think I would be bothering anyone if I kept my voice down as I made the call.
“Good morning, dear,” Gigi said when she picked up the phone. “How are you?”
“Been better,” I admitted. “You know I told you that we got that big client, right?”
“Little Lucy, I remember,” she said.
“Well… Mrs. Busby, the woman whose little girl I had been watching, basically fired us now that Angela has taken over Sue.”
“Oh dear, did she say why?” Gigi asked.
“Angela doesn’t have as flexible of a schedule as I do, and I didn’t realize it was going to be that big of a deal,” I said. “But she threw in there when she was telling Angela she was done that she felt I had replaced her with the bigger client. I can’t even beginto tell you how bad that makes me feel. I mean, this entire thing makes me feel awful.”
“It’s just one client, Cassie,” Gigi said. “You know they come and go.”
“I know,” I said with a sigh. “But things have been going so well with our new client, and to be honest, it’s the account that’s really getting us through right now. To then suddenly lose another client we’ve been with for some time now feels like we took a step back. I know I’m making a mountain out of a molehill in the grand scheme of things, but Gigi, I feel like I could cry right now.”
“Take a breath,” Gigi told me. “I know it’s tough, and you’ve got a lot going on right now, but take a step back and look at the big picture, okay?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“This could be a blessing in disguise,” Gigi said. “Angela has dreams that don’t include being a nanny, and I know it’s been rough on her to have the extra work to do. You and Teresa didn’t have the time for the account, either, so it really worked out for everyone that we don’t have that account anymore, doesn’t it?”
