AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He’d already done way more than her own mother ever had. “Thank you, Ben.” She paused. “I hope you find a way to leave her.”
She checked her PayPal account a while later and saw Ben had transferred over $1,800. Much more than she’d expected, but she knew it wouldn’t cover the cost of the birth. Before she could worry about it too much, a short, heavyset woman entered the room. She held a folder in her hands and didn’t look like a nurse.
“Hi, are you Rae Phalin?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Cora, and I’m a patient advocate. I just need to go over some things about your stay with us before you’re discharged tomorrow morning.”
This was news to Rae. She had thought she and Lily would get to stay for at least another day.
“I see here you don’t currently have insurance,” Cora said. “Are you employed at present?”
“Um ... no.” She wasn’t about to let this woman know about her live stream income, which wasn’t taxed because she didn’t report it.
“And have you applied for Medicaid?”
“I tried, but the Medicaid people said my household income was too much.” Rae looked over at Lily sleeping in the crib. “That was when I was living with some people, but they kicked me out.”
Cora glanced at the suitcases and the pieces of the crib that’d been broken down. “I see. So, you have no place to go?”
“I’m waiting to hear back on a place I called on. I have a little money, but not much.” She’d keep the money in the PayPal account secret for now.
“Well, you might qualify for what’s called retroactive Medicaid. I can help you with the process, and if you meet the requirements,your birth will be covered, and you can get on WIC, which will cover supplemental food costs and formula if you need it. You can even get a breast pump under Medicaid and might qualify for childcare assistance. And we can get you connected with the Catholic charity group about housing if you don’t hear back on the place you’re looking at.”
Finally, something good. “That would be great. Thank you so much.”
Cora took down some information and said she’d get the process started.
Later on, as Rae watched the sunset bathe the trees in gold outside her window, she got a call on her cell phone.
“Hi, is this Rae Phalin?” a perky voice asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Angel Paisley. You called about the garage apartment on Craigslist?”
Rae sat up in the hospital bed. “Oh, my God, yes. I’d love to rent it. I have cash and can move in tomorrow.”
“Whoa, there! We haven’t even met, and I’m not about to rent to some crazy lady.”
“I promise I’m not,” Rae said, sounding every bit the crazy person. “I ... I really need a place to stay by tomorrow. I have nowhere to go for me and ... and my baby.”
“Oh, hell no. You have a kid? I posted for a young, single woman only. No kids. No pets.”
“Please, I just gave birth, and I’m being discharged tomorrow. I’m nineteen, and ... and I don’t have anyone to help me.” She hated crying on the phone with a stranger, but she couldn’t hold back her emotions. “I’ll be a good renter. And I don’t do drugs, and I’m good at cleaning. I could even clean your place if you want. Please, just give me a chance.”
“Shit.” Angel let out a heavy sigh. “You know this is a garage apartment. A sublet. It’s barely five hundred square feet.”
“I don’t care; I’ll take it.”
Angel went quiet, and Rae thought she’d hung up for a second. “I really hope I’m not making a big-ass mistake by renting to you.”
“For real? You’re going to rent it to me?”
“You’re lucky I’m desperate. My college buddy decided to skip out with my girlfriend—sorry,ex-girlfriend—and I need to make rent. I can’t afford to live on campus.”
“Oh, thank you so much! You have no idea what this means.”
