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“You will,” Anne maintained, with a quick look over my shoulders. “Look, I know you’re uncomfortable asking him for help, but have you thought about asking Albin?”
I released a deep, shaky breath. “He already offered me a job.”
Anne searched my face and sighed. “You turned it down, didn’t you?”
“Working with him is going to be hard enough. I can’t be around him all the time and keep this big secret from him.”
“So, you need to tell him.”
“You know it’s not that simple.” I withdrew my hands and stood up. “He is not going to like that I kept Jimmy’s identity a secret, and I don’t blame him. But I will not apologize for doing what I needed to do to keep us alive.”
Anne rose to her feet. “Mar, he’s going to understand. I’m sure of it. You just need to give him a chance to prove himself. And it’s not like you kept Jimmy’s identity a secret on purpose. If you knew the two of you were going to meet again, would you have told him the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Exactly. Please don’t be so hard on yourself, and don’t be so hard on him. These things have a way of working themselves out. You just need to give it a chance.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I need to think. Just do me a favor, okay? Don’t tell him that I’m here if he stops by.”
Anne paused, then nodded. “Alright, but just remember that, regardless of what you decide for yourself, Jimmy deserves to get to know his father.”
Chapter 19
Martha
“Hey.”
I glanced at Anne in the mirror and set my lipstick down. “Hey, is Jimmy okay?”
“Yeah, he was tired, so he’s taking a nap.”
“Thanks for agreeing to watch him again. I know you’ve had to do that a lot, and I promise I’ll make it up to you—”
Anne held a hand up and stepped into the room. “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to help.”
I traced my lips before setting the lipstick down and spinning around to face her. “Are you sure? I know I’ve been asking for a lot the past week.”
Anne sat down on the edge of my bed and crossed one ankle over the other. “It’s not like you’re going out partying, Mar. I know you’re going to job interviews.”
I sighed. “Yeah, it is a tough market.”
And even with my degree, finding a job wasn’t easy.
Since my brief stint atGent’swas barely more than a blip, it didn’t carry the weight I wanted it to. Many employers I met with lingered on that piece of information, even with the rest of the skills and experience I had. While I knew it wasn’t fair, I also knew that they were probably wondering whether or not I was a risk. Having years of experience was working in my favor, but the few days I worked atGent’swas undermining that.
And I had no idea what to do.
Nor was I any closer to figuring out what I wanted to do about Albin.
Over the past week, he had called and messaged on several occasions. Each time, I had to stop myself from reaching for the phone, afraid of breaking down and caving if I heard his voice. Instead, I tried to keep myself busy by spending my mornings rushing from one interview to the next and my evenings at home with Jimmy, helping him with his homework and watching TV.
But Albin was never far from my mind.
Or my heart.
And I knew Anne was right. I couldn’t avoid him forever.
Anne stood up and brushed imaginary lint off of her shirt. “Still haven’t re-thought Albin’s job offer?”
