Page 17 of Christmas Coffee

Nova

Ishouldn’t have quit like that. I should have used vacation days, sick days, anything, and then quit. The way the paperwork stands, the company is Ben’s. A minor trying to get a loan is a bitch, so we made him the money and I was the brains. Too bad I wasn’t using them the night we broke up. But I couldn’t think after Ben side-blinded me. Now, I have no unemployment check and no money. Add in the fact that it’s Christmastime and there isn’t going to be anything but shitty seasonal jobs. I’ve already spent the morning on craigslist and, unless I want to be a stripper, no one is hiring. I groan inwardly and press my palm to my face. Luck could strike and I could get a decent job. I have a call out to my friend at an employment agency. She’s going to contact me if something pops up. Although she reassured me that something would, I still feel sick.

I lean back against my threadbare seat in the car and tip my head back against the headrest. The first night after the breakup, I crashed in the hotel room. Hot Guy didn’t come back and I had no where to go. Tonight is another story. I’ll blow through the small amount of savings I have stashed away if I try to live at a hotel, even a cheap one. I need to make do with what I have and I’m sitting in it.

I sigh deeplyand close my eyes. Ben is gone. I moved my stuff into my trunk early this morning when I knew he’d be at work. I left behind so much, but it would be too painful to look at.

I wish I could go back and redo the past few weeks. I wish I’d seen he was unhappy. I thought it was just me. I guess I knew, but I thought that was the daily grind. Life isn’t fun. Being an adult isn’t a happy occasion with ribbons and parties. It’s hard work. I thought we were going to work together. I thought I’d have a ring on my finger and have to slow the wedding date to a timeline I was comfortable with. But not now. He was seeing someone else. Another woman made his life so much better that he left me behind without a backward glance. The center of my chest aches and my heart feels heavy. As much as I try to ignore the pain, it’s impossible. I loved him.

Just as tears well up in my eyes, my phone rings. I pick it up and steel my voice as I answer, “Hey Judy. Did you find something?” I glance out the window of my car, hoping she doesn’t hear the sea gulls screeching outside. The windows do nothing to quash the noise.

Judy is a hyperactive twenty-seven-year-old with a thyroid condition that makes her super bubbly and very skinny. She’s always revved up, no matter what time it is or what’s going on. Today is no different. “Nova! I found a management job for you.”

I sit up quickly and feel the pang of hope flood my chest. “Really?”

“Yes, it just popped up. It’s from Delex Holdings. That’s a Bardenbey company, so it should be a good job.” I hear keys clicking as she speaks.

“Bardenbey? Like that huge-ass company in the city?” I remember seeing a tall black glass building with their red letters on the side of the skyscraper.

“Yup, that’s them. They’re all over with lots of little businesses. No one realizes how big they are. This position is being filled through the main office in the city, which should be a really good sign. The interview location is on Long Island. They must be opening a new branch out here. That would be amazing, Nova. No commuting. Can you get there by two o’clock?”

“Yeah.” I feel a smile tug at my lips. Bardenbey. A real job with benefits and a 401K. I could almost cry with relief. My anemic bank account wasn’t planning on getting through Christmas alone. I’m never trusting a guy ever again.

“Okay, I grabbed that timeslot for you and put in your name. The address is over by the mall.” She gives me the location and I scrawl it onto a piece of paper along with the time.

“So, this is a management job for what exactly?”

A few keys click as she mutters unintelligibly, then says, “Uh-huh. Right. Okay, the position is for a coffee shop manager. Oh my God, Nova. Have you seen some of their shops? They’re beautiful with marble floors and exposed beams.”

“The places that look like upscale warehouses?” Not to mention overpriced and bitter coffee.

“Yeah, that place! Wow, Nova, that would be a great job. I could see you in a nice suit, all sleek, telling baristas how to use the machines and doing all the office work that other people totally hate and you love. Make sure you tell them that you’re a nerd and that you’d marry math and have its integer babies if you could.”

I snort a laugh, “Geeze, Judy! I’m not that much of a dork.”

“Yes, you are, and that’s why I love you. You’re all pretty on the outside and all nerdy on the inside. Just make sure they see the nerd. In the past they got stuck on your face and ignored your skills.”

“It wasn’t my face he was looking at, and it’s more of my age than anything else. Everyone wants to know why I’m not in college.”

Judy talks quickly, keys clicking as she speaks. “Avoid that topic at all cost. Give them your work ethic speech. No one will even remember college after you say that spiel.”

“Got it. I need this job so badly. Thanks so much for helping me out.”

“Yeah, yeah. Thank me with celebratory drinks tonight when you get the job. And, Nova—maybe now isn’t the time to say it—but you could do so much better than Ben. I never liked him anyway.”

My heart thaws a little when she says that. I had no idea she didn’t like him. Maybe she’s just being nice. Either way, it was something that I needed to hear. “You’re the best, Judy. Drinks on me if I get this.”

“When you get this,” she corrects.

I grin into the phone. “When I get this. You’re damn right.” I’m going into that office and I’m not leaving without a job.