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“And I don’t like paying for food you don’t eat. They’re good for you. They have a special oil that’s healthy.”
After retaking his seat, it took Billy a full ten minutes to push them around on his plate and eventually force them down. He made a face for his mother’s benefit with every one.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Ramona asked.
I knew the answer before Billy mouthed it.
“Yuck. I don’t want pizza again if we have to have olives.”
“Then you can have green soup next time,” Ramona replied.
He didn’t say anything, which promised a repeat on next week’s pizza night.
As I watched these confrontations grow, I wondered how I would handle them with my children.
Ramona had a difficult situation raising Billy by herself, but it was certainly better than when her ex, Stanley, had been around.
An unintended pregnancy followed by marrying the jerk hadn’t left Ramona with a lot of options. Loser couldn’t be spelled in big enough letters to describe Stanley.
She’d thought she could marry him and fix him, but from day one, I’d known the odds of that were less than zero.
My sister’s positive attitude often had its redeeming qualities, but it had led her to stick with a bad situation for too long—way too long.
Chapter 12
Jennifer
I stoodunder the hot water longer than usual the next morning, because I was still groggy from lack of sleep.
I’d stayed up late after Ramona and I had finished the movie, perusing the online job listings for accounting types like me. There had been several openings that might work, but each one had a large salary range listed, which extended quite a bit below what I was making now, and only a little above.
That didn’t bode well for finding a better-paying position.
One listing had been in Pomona, and that was even farther than the Hydrocom location I hadn’t liked.
Once I went to bed, I’d tossed and turned, wondering how I was going to get out of this mess. It seemed I hadn’t gotten to sleep until just before my infernal alarm clock had demanded I get up.
I made it to Starbucks a few minutes before seven-thirty. Even if I only worked at Vipersoft another few minutes, I would be on time for this meeting. I was a professional, and a professional was always on time.
A quick scan of the tables didn’t reveal Cindy anywhere. The M&M girls were already in our usual spot, but they hadn’t gotten their coffees yet.
“There you are,” Mona exclaimed.
“Hi.” I pulled out the chair facing the door, so I could see Cindy when she showed up.
“This is a treat,” Martha told me.
I almost fell over when Dennis Benson appeared, tray in hand with four cups.
“Cinnamon latte for you,” he said, putting the first cup in front of Mona. He proceeded to pass out the other drinks. He gave me a mocha—same as his, except for the extra shot, thankfully.
“He was just about to tell us what you did yesterday,” Martha said.
I looked at Dennis, expecting wrath to show in his eyes, but all I got back from him was a smile.
He finished his sip. “Why don’t you tell them?” He raised his cup to me.
I’d been ambushed. “I don’t think I should.”
