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“Do you want wine? I think there’s a nice merlot in the rack.”
“Just water.”
Before Erica could add And I’ll get it, Allison was scurrying away. She returned with a large glass of ice water. When the microwave dinged, she took out the covered dish and scooped the contents onto another plate before setting that in front of Erica, as well. She poured some milk into a glass and brought it with her.
“I’m behind on dairy,” she explained as she resumed her seat, taking a sip and trying not to shudder.
Erica stared at her dinner. The salad was fresh, with several kinds of lettuce, along with kale, spinach and vegetables. There were sliced heirloom tomatoes on the side of the plate and a light dusting of parmesan to complement the balsamic vinaigrette.
She took a bite and realized she was starving. She ate nearly half the salad without stopping before turning to the creamy chicken pasta dish.
“How much of the cooking did Summer do?” she asked.
Allison grinned. “She refused to deal with the chicken carcass. Your mom stopped by with a couple of rotisserie chickens. She was keeping one for herself and offered us the other.” She lowered her voice. “I got the impression she would be having company tonight.”
“I’m not surprised. Lately she’s been out of the game. I’m sure her gentlemen friends miss her.” She nodded at the table. “What are you working on?”
Allison looked away, then back at her. She seemed to square her shoulders before speaking. “Taking your advice.”
“I don’t remember giving you advice.”
The smile returned. “It wasn’t directed at me, exactly. The other night you said you didn’t understand how the softball moms were so comfortable not having jobs. That they were completely dependent on their husbands and a divorce would leave them in financial trouble.”
Erica groaned. “I was ranting. Don’t listen to me.”
“Why not? You’re the smartest person I know. Look at the mess I’m in because of Peter. Not just him being in jail and the frozen bank accounts, but all of it. I have no skills. Not ones that can get me a good job. I worked part-time in a day care and a grocery store. I’ll have two kids to support. How am I supposed to find a job that allows me to cover day care and my monthly expenses?”
That job doesn’t exist. But Erica knew not to blurt out the depressing words. Allison already lived the dilemma of not being able to afford to work because day care cost as much as her paycheck.
The other woman nodded at her tablet. “I’ve been researching ways to earn money from home.”
“Don’t fall for one of those envelope-stuffing scams. No one uses direct mail anymore. We all advertise online.”
“I was thinking more customer service, either by chat or phone. I was doing research and a lot of them have their employees take calls from home. I could work nights while the kids sleep.”
“When would you sleep?” Erica asked dryly.
“I’d work it out.”
“It’s a short-term solution. Eventually you’d crash.” She paused, wondering if Allison was figuring at some point Peter would get out of jail and join her.
Now there was an uncomfortable thought. Peter was married to Allison so if he got out of jail, he would expect to live with her. Here. In Erica’s house.
She had the brief thought that she should have accepted that glass of merlot, then sighed. There was no point in worrying about that before it happened. Right now Peter’s bail was set at a million dollars. No way Erica was putting up her house as collateral and she didn’t think Peter knew anyone else with those kinds of assets.
“You need a plan,” she said, returning to the topic at hand. “Goals. I think the idea of a call center is—” Well, duh.
“What?” Allison asked. “Are you all right?”
“I’m a moron.”
“Hardly.”
Erica rubbed the bridge of her nose. “No, I mean it. I’m so stupid. I have a call center and the employees work from home.” She paused. “Okay, there’s a couple of weeks of training, then four weeks of supervised working from the Bellevue store, but then you work from home. The job starts at twenty-seven dollars an hour and the shifts are six hours.” She looked at Allison. “I have no idea what a babysitter costs these days but I’m sure my mom could take a few hours and I could tell Summer it’s part of her summer job.”
Allison turned away. “Stop. You’re not offering me a job.”
“Why not? It’s exactly what you were talking about doing. Why not do it for me?”
