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She would. Having money meant she could pay for things like day care for Jackson. He was there today, but the payment would come out of the money Erica had given her.
Allison leaned back in the seat. “You know so much. I don’t know anything. I’m a small-town girl who never went to college.”
“You didn’t grow up in Seattle?”
Allison laughed. “Not even close. A small town in eastern Washington you’ve never heard of.”
“Do you ever go back?”
She thought about burying her father, the only family she had. “No. This is home now.”
“Want to get some lunch?”
The question surprised her. “Now?”
“It’s nearly noon. I doubt you ate much breakfast. Let’s stop somewhere.” Erica smiled. “I’m in the mood for a really great burger.”
Allison’s mouth watered. “With steak fries.”
“Perfect.”
Twenty minutes later they were being shown to a table by the window. The restaurant wasn’t one Allison recognized and seemed to be more bar than eating place, but she was willing to trust Erica’s taste.
“I know it doesn’t look like much,” the other woman said, “but believe me. They have the best burgers.” She looked at the menu. “Okay, so you’re limited in what you can order, right? No soft cheese, no processed meat. You could go plant based, but that seems sad.”
Allison laughed. “I’ll have a cheeseburger with cheddar.”
“I’ll get the same and we can split the fries.” Erica eyed her. “How about a milkshake? They make them here themselves. That way you’ll get real dairy.”
Allison glanced at the flavors. The cookies-and-cream one sounded decadent. “I don’t know. They look great, but I’ll be full.”
“So take it with you. When we get home you can stick it in the freezer and have it later.”
Allison laughed. “Fine. You’ve convinced me.” She put down her menu and thought about their morning. “Was Peter’s lawyer coming on to you?”
Erica rolled her eyes. “In a very bumbling not-smooth way. It was off-putting, but in situations like this, it’s better to separate the man from the skill set.”
“You shut him down. You were gracious, but you didn’t give him anything.”
“That was on purpose. Even if I’d been interested, which I’m not, that kind of meeting isn’t the place to flirt. He needs to focus on his work.” She picked up her water. “The entire gender, with one or two exceptions, is flawed if you ask me.”
Their server stopped by and took their order. When she’d left, Erica looked at Allison. “If you didn’t grow up here, why did you want to come to Seattle?”
Allison moved the knife and fork around. She didn’t know how to answer the question. No, that wasn’t true—she wasn’t sure about sharing that part of her life with Erica. Silly, because the other woman had been nothing but kind.
“I was married before,” she said quietly. “Levi and I married right out of high school. He was always good with his hands and could fix anything. He wanted to work for a big HVAC repair company. The ones that work on industrial buildings and high rises. So we saved for two years, then he applied to technical school here.”
“What did your family think of the decision?”
“It was just my dad and me and he died the fall after Levi and I got married. Levi’s family was pretty dysfunctional. His folks were more interested in fighting than caring for their kids. His two older brothers joined the military. He always said he wanted to live somewhere else, and Seattle offered a great opportunity.”
Erica studied her as she spoke, seeming interested in the story.
“What happened when you got here?”
Allison smiled. “We were blown away by how big the area is. Levi got accepted into the program and I worked two jobs, supporting us.” She smiled wistfully. “We were happy. Young, but there was so much we were looking forward to. We wanted to buy a house. Nothing fancy, just a small place for the two of us and the babies we would have. Every Sunday we went to open houses together to see what we liked and didn’t like.”
Erica’s expression turned kind. “When did he die?”
