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“Why would you do that?” My tone is biting. I don’t need handouts.
“I don’t know, lady. I get it. You’re struggling. I just want to help. You wait on this and it’s only gonna get worse.”
My knowledge of black mold is limited, but from what I’ve heard, it’s not the best kind to have. That said, I have no clue how I’ll ever get through the month five hundred bucks short. The truth is, I won’t. I’d have to call my parents for help, and I’ve been raising these kids on my own for over a year now. I pride myself in not taking donations. Even if I took a loan from them,it would take over a year for me to pay that kind of money back. I’m not doing it.
To get an extra five hundred bucks would mean so many more shifts at the diner. I wouldn’t make the cash up in time to buy groceries for the month or pay the light bill. I don’t think they’d cut me off in the dead of winter, but even if they didn’t, I still have to feed the kids. I wouldn’t even be fixing the roof if it weren’t for the leak, and I wouldn’t have had the money for that either had I not tapped into the reserve I was saving for culinary school.
“What are we doing with this?” Atlas leans into the window with a groan. “I’m already doing the work as cheap as I can.”
He’s not bullshitting about that. I got half a dozen quotes on the roof before I met Atlas, and he was the cheapest of everyone. I know his profit from this job is small already. He might be a grump, but at least he’s a fair grump… I guess. “This is really the cheapest you can get it?”
He nods. “Bare bones.”
I stare up at the discolored ceiling and squeeze my eyes closed as though I know the words are going to sting. “Okay. Do it.”
The pain hasn’t subsided, but I flash my eyes open anyhow and glance toward Atlas who’s already pushing the window closed. So much for kinky roof man fantasies… unless the point of the dream is to have him take all my money before he ties me up. Something tells me that’s not happening.
I wish I had someone to talk to. A partner. Someone I could brainstorm with about solutions. Someone who help me figure out where we’re coming up with the extra money to pay for all this work.
“Mommy?”
I turn toward my son’s distraught voice. It’s not a hurt tone. It’s an‘I did something wrong’tone, which turns my stomach. The boy is only four, but you’d be surprised at the trouble he can get into.
“Yeah, what’s up kiddo?”
He pulls my cell phone from behind his back and hands it toward me, water dripping from the seams of the case. “I’m sorry. I was playing the gem game, and I accidentally dropped it.”
My eyes widen as I stare at my son. “Where?”
“In the toilet.” He pouts. “I’m sorry, Mommy!”
A better mother would know what to say here. I’m sure she’d punish her son appropriately for being on her phone when he wasn’t supposed to be in the first place. Instead, I wrap Jackson in my arms and hold him close to my chest.
“It’s okay, bud. We’ll get a new one. Thank you for being honest.” In my head I convince myself that honesty should be rewarded, despite the crime. But deep down, I know what I really want is for these kids to like me. They’re all I have.
Jackson kisses my cheek and runs back upstairs, leaving the drenched phone behind on the edge of the sofa.
“Wash your hands!” I holler out behind him.
I wonder if he flushed before or after he dropped it. I pick it up by the dripping edge and twist toward the kitchen in search of rice, but I’m startled by the giant in front of me.
“Wow. If my mother had let me off that easy, I’d have been a hoodlum by the time I was twelve.”
I roll my eyes. “Your mother clearly didn’t teach you to knock.”
“You told me a minute ago to use the front door if I needed to talk, so I am.”
“To knock on the front door. I said to knock.” I cross my arms over my chest. “What can I help you with, Mr. Laskin?”
“Nothing. Just letting you know I’m heading out to the store to get supplies. I’ll be back after lunch to finish up.”
My heart tightens. The roof. Damn it! Where am I going to find the money to do all of this work and replace my phone now?
I stare down at the phone dripping toilet water onto the floor then rush into the kitchen and pour a bowl of rice, burying the toilet phone as deep as I can before washing my own hands. Could this morning get any worse? I need at least a thousand dollars now. I can’t roll around town with no phone. I have two kids and it’s the middle of winter. Just last month I had to call for a tow on the side of the road. What would’ve happened had I not had a phone? We’d have been walking through a blizzard to get help.
I close my eyes and lean against the kitchen counter before blowing out a heavy breath. There’s only one place I know where I can make fast cash and I’m not sure if they’re even looking for anyone right now, or how I feel about the subject of the work.
That said, I don’t really have a choice.
