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“Jane!” Luke chased after her and pulled her to a stop. “Where are you going?”
“The bus stop,” Jane said.
“I’ll drive you home,” he said.
“No thank you,” she said. “I want to be alone.”
“I’m driving you home, no arguments,” Luke snapped.
She glared at him before shrugging. “Fine, let’s go.”
* * *
“Jane, will you just talk to me, for God’s sake?” Luke followed her into the kitchen. She dropped her bag on the floor and glared at him.
“Keep your voice down. Amy is sleeping.”
“We need to talk about what happened,” Luke said as she yanked open the freezer door. She pulled out a bag of frozen peas and threw them at him.
“Put this on your hand.”
He sat down and rested the bag of peas on his hand as Jane paced back and forth in the kitchen.
“Are you going to apologize for getting me fired?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “You shouldn’t be working there. You’re better than them, Jane. You -”
“No, I’m not,” she said. “I’m not better than them, Luke. The people who work there – Tony, Candy, Selena – are good people. Yeah, there’s some real garbage people there, but that’s true at every job. Don’t look down on them because of what they do to keep their families fed.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
He sighed. “Okay, you’re right. I am, and I’m sorry. I’m being an asshole. But, Jane, why are you working there?”
“Why do you think?” She yanked at the tiny pink skirt, pulled the kitten headband off her head, and tossed it into the garbage. “I need the money.”
“Not anymore,” he said. “You make more money working at Dawson Clothing now, and your rent isn’t as high living with Amy.”
She sighed and rubbed at her forehead. “You can’t possibly understand.”
“Try me,” he said.
She sank into the chair across from him. “Mama J’s care is costly, all right? Yes, I make enough now not to need the second job, but what happens if – if things don’t work out between us? Do you think Amy would let me keep living here? I’ll have to find a new place to live and be right back where I was. I’ve been putting the money I make at the club in a nest egg.”
“You act like we’re not going to work,” Luke said. “You don’t know that.”
“We’re very different,” she said gently.
“So?” He gave her an angry look. “If you don’t want to even try in this relationship, then - ”
“I’m not saying that,” she said. “I want to be with you, and I hope it works, but I have to be realistic. I don’t have the luxury of just pretending you’re my Prince Charming, and I’ll never want for anything again. I need to take care of Mama J. She’s the most important thing in my life, Luke, and I won’t do anything to jeopardize her care. Do you understand that?”
He did understand. He hated it, but he knew how important taking care of Mama J was to Jane. “Yes, I understand.”
She gave him a searching look. “Do you?”
“I do,” he said. “I’m sorry I got you fired.”
