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Chapter 2
Jennifer
(Four Days Later)
As I addedpins to secure my French twist Monday morning, I wondered if the bomb would drop today. It had been four long days since I’d put the file back in place. A girl could hope.
I turned my head left and right, and a quick mirror check showed my twist to be perfect. A professional woman always presents a professional image—a habit Mom had taught me.
I ventured out to make breakfast for myself and my sister, Ramona. This meant pouring the Raisin Bran.
My nephew, Billy, had already poured himself a bowl of Cocoa Puffs.
“Are you taking me to school today?” he asked.
“No, not today. Your mommy’s taking you.”
“Why?”
Ramona opened her door. “Because it’s Monday, and it’s my turn.”
Billy spooned another mouthful of cereal, seeming content with the answer for a change.
Ramona joined us and dug into her cereal. “Anything planned for tonight?” she asked me.
I swallowed. “Nope.”
She was clearly fishing for some sign of a third date with Simon, but he hadn’t called again, at least not yet.
She gave up the quest, and ten minutes later, the two of them were out the door.
After the dishes, I gave in and sat down at my laptop.
It powered up, and I logged in to the bank’s website.
I unfolded the bill I’d pulled from the drawer, and a double-check showed what I feared. My mouth dried. We’d skipped eating out, but with three mouths to feed, I didn’t have enough to cover this today.
My pay wouldn’t be direct-deposited until Friday. That meant this would be another late payment to deal with. The envelope went back in my purse, at the bottom this time.
Mom would have figured a way to make this all work, but I wasn’t her.
Before I could close the computer, the new-email chime sounded, so I clicked on the icon. It was good news at last.
To: Nemesis666
From: HYDRA157
The balloon is launched.
Hope you can see it.
I grinned. I needed to hustle if I was going to see his reaction.
I deleted the message, closed the computer, and hefted my purse.
Mom would’ve been proud of the actions I was taking for our family. Ramona and Billy had a roof over their heads, and most importantly, I was avenging my stepfather, the only real dad I’d had.
My little car started with the typical fuss, another thing I needed to spend money on. Money I didn’t have. It could use a good cleaning as well. I closed the window when I ended up behind a bus belching the black death of diesel fumes. The state told us we had to get our cars smog-checked every two years, but the city busses did whatever they wanted.
