by Davis, Alexa
My feet moved briskly, getting home quickly. As I did, I spotted Delaney on the carpet, building Lego with Terran. I paused for a moment and just watched them having fun. The tension fell off my shoulders a little. Delaney always made me happy when nothing else did…but the tight knot remained in my stomach.
“Are you okay?” Terran asked, sensing my stress. “You look...angry.”
“Urgh, terrible day.” I rolled my eyes. “Frank was... Well, you know Frank. Apparently, they need to make cutbacks, and I am one of them.” Terran’s eyes widened in shock, which was only going to get worse when I told her the rest of the story. “Unless I was willing to...you know...”
“Urgh.” Her nose screwed up in disgust. “That’s horrible.”
“Yep, so time to find myself a new job.”
I sighed and flopped down on the couch, closing my eyes for just a second. Delaney crawled up onto the chair next to me and wrapped her arms around me. My heart warmed up; I held her closer to me, at least I had her... It wasn’t all bad.
“Right, sweetheart,” I said while placing a kiss on the top of the black curly hair on her head. We shared the same dark hair, the same piercing blue eyes, but Delaney had her father’s nose. The one reminder of a life left behind. “It’s time for you to get to bed. Go and get washed up and in your pajamas okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.” Good as ever, my daughter leaped up, and she raced into the bathroom. “I won’t be long.”
“So, what are you going to do now?” Terran asked as she picked up the toys lying around on the floor. “Where are you going to look?”
Work was a little bit of an awkward conversation because Terran worked as a chef for my ex-husband, Delaney’s father. I felt certain she would have already asked for me if that wasn’t the case.
“I’ll find something,” I replied wearily. “I’ll make some calls tomorrow, see what I can find. I know it’s an awkward time to get a new job, but there has to be something.”
“So, what did Frank say?” she asked, fascinated. “I mean, did he actually ask you to have sex with him?”
The memory flooded back and made me shudder violently. It was disgusting; the whole incident still made me feel sick. The fact that he even thought I would be the most insulting of all. It was almost as if he picked me because he knew there was some vulnerability to me as a single mom...which made him the biggest asshole on the planet.
“He said there was something I could do to not be one of the layoffs; then he nodded down towards his cock, which was erect.” I shook my head and mimed being sick. “It was horrific. I mean, as if!”
“You always have the worst luck! Surely, you can sue him or something? Unfair dismissal, sexual harassment, there has to be something you can do.”
“I’m sure I could, but I don’t have the time or the money. I think I’d rather focus my attentions on getting a new job.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” she patted on my leg and gave me a sad smile. “I’ll get us some wine while you get Delaney to bed, alright?”
“Thanks, Terran,” I replied gratefully. “That’s awesome.”
I moved into Delaney’s bedroom Once she climbed under the sheets, I sat on the edge of the sheets and wrapped my arms around her. Love filled me up completely; it overflowed inside of me. Sometimes, I felt like I had to overcompensate for being a working single mom. I wanted Delaney to know just how much I loved her.
This was why I needed to get home from work on time – I couldn’t miss beautiful moments like that.
I kissed her gently on her soft cheek. “Goodnight, sweet dreams and I’ll see you in the morning, sweetheart. Love you. So much.”
“I love you, too, Mommy,” she whispered, already drifting off into dreamland. “Goodnight.”
Chapter Three
Alexander
Tuesday
“Are you okay, Mom?” I could feel myself fussing in a way that was obviously going to annoy her as I helped her out of the car. “How’s your leg? Is it tender? The doctor said to go back if it hurts...”
“Will you give it a rest, Alex?” She was the only person in the world who I’d let shorten my name. If anyone in my work tried it, I’d kill them. Everyone knew I was Mr. Trainor…Alexander at a push and that was how I liked it. “The doctor said what the doctor said, but who the hell cares? I’m fine.”
“You broke your leg!” I exclaimed loudly, waving my arms in the air in frustration. Why couldn’t she see how serious this was? Even in the hospital, she grew annoyed with the doctors as they told her how careful she needed to be in the future. “How is that fine?”
“Oh, for goodness sake.” Mom rolled her eyes at me as if I was dramatic. Honestly, she acted like it was normal to fall down a few stairs and break your leg. She was talking as if it was something people did every single day. “Alex, just get me inside. I still have lots to do.”
My stomach bubbled with frustration. I wanted to grab my mother and shake her. “Mom, you can’t do anything; you have to rest. I’m not going to have you pushing yourself and injuring your leg further. You’re in a cast; you’re using crutches – if that isn’t a sign for you to slow down, then I don’t know what is.”
“And what am I supposed to do then?” She shrugged her shoulders at me. “Who’s gonna do all the stuff around the house? You? We both know you’re too busy.”
That cut me deep. I knew she didn’t mean it offensively, just as a statement of fact. I didn’t mean to be too busy. I always tried my best to make time for her; I just had lots on my plate. I guess we both kept ourselves constantly running to take care of ourselves...maybe it was how we coped without my father in our lives.
Anyway, it hardly mattered now, things needed to change. At least temporarily.
“Well then, I won’t be,” I shot back defensively. “I’ll take time off to care for you.” I tucked an arm under Mom’s armpit as I guided her towards her townhouse. “The newest resort is opening, so I can take a step back for a while now to look after you.” I’d been considering it anyway, so what difference would it make for me actually to take that step? “That way you’ll have to relax.”
Mom chuckled at me. “Are you kidding? You’re suggesting that you’ll be able to give up control. That is never going to happen in a million years. You just can’t do it.”
I bristled angrily, not liking the accusation that I was a control freak. “I can delegate. I have managers in every area in all my resorts. I only work so hard because I’m always starting on the next project. I just won’t think about another resort for a while.”
“I’m certain you already have plans.” She could see right through me – there was always something in the works, but luckily nothing was set in stone yet.
“Mom, just leave it. I’m not going to do anymore, okay? If that’s what it’ll take for you to slow down, then I’ll do it.”
I didn’t want this to get into an argument, but Mom needed to accept help. She had to understand that her stubbornness, her determination to be independent, her pig-headed attitude was going to create worse problems if she wasn’t careful. If she didn’t listen to me, she’d end up in a cast forever.
Once we were inside, I sat Mom down on the couch and moved into the kitchen to make her a drink. Out the corner of my eye, I watched her tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear with a weary sigh. I didn’t look much like Mom; the only thing we shared was our deep green eyes, but there was no denying that I was her son. Maybe I got my extreme height, my cheekbones and dimples, and my sandy-colored hair from my father, but my personality was all her. I understood her determination to do everything herself, but now it was my turn to put my foot down. It was for her own good.
“Tea or coffee, Mom?”
“Coffee, please,” she replied. “Thanks, Alex.”
As the coffee brewed, I mentally planned just how I was going to fit everything in. I didn’t want to admit it, but Mom was right. I wanted to do everything that I could for her, but I did need to be
available for the business, too. I could only delegate so much.
What Mom mostly needed help with were things around the house. Anything DIY-related I could do, or at least I would have access to someone to do via the company, but cleaning wasn’t really my forte. It wasn’t something I could put a lot of time to and feel like I’d done something productive. That might be something I’d have to outsource.
“Mom, I think I’m going to hire a cleaner for you temporarily. Just until your leg has healed-”
“No way,” she jumped in rapidly, just as I knew she would. “I don’t need help, thank you very much. I can do it all by myself.”
“Mom, just for a few weeks, will you please be reasonable?” I wasn’t going to pay attention however many times she said no to that request. I would hire someone, whether she liked it or not. She needed help around the house, and that’s all there was to it. “You won’t even notice, just until you’re off your crutches…”
As someone knocked on her door and interrupted my speech, she gave me a terrible glare. “I swear to God, Alex, if that’s a cleaner now, I’ll kill you.”
“Mom, when the hell would I have had time? I only just came up with the idea!” I moved towards the door. “I don’t know who it is.” I swung open the door to see my best friend staring back at me. “Oh, Ryan, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to come in to check on Katherine.” He pushed past me and stepped inside, pulling a large bunch of flowers out from behind his back. I chuckled to myself at Ryan’s show of affection. He adored my mom; he’d spent so much time around my house as we grew up, it made sense that he was here to check on her now.
Ryan’s home life was turbulent when we were younger since his mom and dad fought like crazy. It was toxic, bitter, and sometimes violent. Not towards him, only to each other, but it was enough to mess him up a bit.
In a way, what he went through made me glad that my parents split up. I didn’t much like it, but it was better than being stuck in the middle of constant arguments. He’d often spent the night with Mom and me to avoid it. My mom was like a second mother to him; he cared for her greatly.
“How are you?” he asked while kissing her on both cheeks. “How was the fall?”
“Urgh, it sucked, you know how it is.” Mom let out a throaty chuckle. “My damn body not working the way it used to. You’ll get there soon enough.”
“Oh, I’m getting there,” he laughed. “Sitting hunched over a desk most of my life has made my body old already. Honestly, I thought being a lawyer would be a glamorous life, how wrong I was! Ooh, I’ll have a coffee if you’re making some.”
I didn’t bother to comment that the drinks were already made, I simply made my way back into the kitchen to pour another coffee as they discussed Ryan’s high flying job. While in the kitchen, I pulled out my cell phone and I opened the internet. I had a website that I always used for recruitment with the resorts, and ninety-nine percent of the people I got through it were amazing. Now, I had another job posting to create, and I wanted to do it quickly.
The sooner we got a maid for Mom the better.
“Cleaner Wanted”
I paused for a moment once I’d posted the job title. I didn’t know quite how to word this post. I wasn’t totally sure that it would be for a permanent position, that all depended on how the person worked out with Mom once they started. I wanted to be upfront about that, but I also wanted them to know it could be. I wasn’t used to being so vague. Usually, I knew exactly what I wanted.
“Temporary month-long position cleaning a home while the owner recovers from an injury. Experience required, interview necessary.” I wanted the person who applied to know what they were in for. It was better that I explained Mom’s temperament face to face. I also wanted to explain what needed to be done in the house. Mom was a control freak; she liked things just right. “Possibility for the job to become long-term.”
Once I entered in all the salary details, which was higher than I would usually put for a cleaning job because of the uncertainty there, I hit send before I could change my mind.
“What’s this?” Ryan yelled as I brought in his coffee. “Your mom tells me that you’re trying to force her to have a maid.”
“I am,” I defended myself. “While she recovers from this broken bone, I think it’ll be better for someone to take control of the odd jobs. You can’t honestly tell me that you disagree with me?”
Even for someone with half crazy, outlandish opinions, Ryan had to see what I was trying to do. “No, actually,” he shot me down. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, at all. What about all the robberies?”
“Erm…what?” Of all the arguments I would have thought Ryan would come out with, that was not the one. “What robberies?”
“Oh, come on, man, you hear about them all the time! Maids stealing from rich women, taking advantage of the wealthy, that sort of thing. It happens all the time.”
Oh, for goodness sake! It made me mad as he laughed with my mom. I didn’t care that they were teaming up against me, and it annoyed me that Ryan’s opinion was only swaying Mom away from my plan further…and it was already too late.
“What are you talking about, Ryan? That doesn’t happen. Not really,” I scoffed at him.
“It’s on the news all the time.”
“If that’s on the news, then maybe journalists should find something better to talk about-”
“Boys!” Mom interrupted loudly. “Will you just stop it? I’m not having a maid anyway, so it hardly matters whether they steal or not. I will be back to myself by tomorrow, and I’ll be doing everything that I was earlier on today.”
That ridiculous statement had the tension dissipating from the air completely. Ryan gave me a knowing look – neither of us wanted that. We both wanted what was best for Mom. Once I hired the best maid possible, Mom would come around anyway, and it would be fine.
I glanced down at the screen of my phone, noticing three emails in my inbox already. That brought a smile to my face; the job offer was clearly attractive enough to reel people in. I would be able to find someone perfect soon enough.
It would be fine. Maybe it’d be a road bump at first, but in the end, it’d be just fine. I felt sure of it.
Chapter Four
Elle
Tuesday
“Mommy, are you okay?” I glanced down at Delaney, wondering what had brought on the sudden burst of concern. “You look sad.”
“Sorry, darling, I was just lost in thought.” I stirred the scrambled eggs more vigorously in the pan. “I’m all distracted. Are you looking forward to going to school today?”
“I am. Is Terran picking me up after?”
Usually, that would be the case, but since I didn’t have anywhere to be, I would have the joy of picking her up from school. “No, it’ll be me,” I smiled brightly. At least that was one good thing to come out of this mess. “That’ll be a nice change, won’t it?”
“Why? Won’t you be at work?”
I sighed loudly, mentally preparing for this conversation. Maybe I shouldn’t have told Delaney the truth, but I didn’t see any point in holding anything back from her. She was old for her six years, and she’d been through a lot. She could handle this. If the horrible divorce between Mark and me hadn’t destroyed her, then this wouldn’t either.
“Mommy hasn’t got her job at the motel anymore. I need to get work somewhere else. The place was losing money, so they had to cut down their staff.”
Delaney pulled a bit of a confused face for a second before she leaped up from her seat. My heart sank, and I suddenly realized this might have been a mistake. Maybe I should have acted like everything was okay… Then she wrapped her arms around me, and she gave me a comforting hug.
“You know, you’re the best mommy in the world. I know you’ll find a job soon.”
Tears filled my eyes; I felt so touched by my baby girl. This was why I had to escape from Mark. Our relationship had been argumentative and toxic. I did
n’t notice it so much when it was just us two, but when Delaney came into the mix, I’d realized that I didn’t want her to grow up surrounded by such awfulness.
She was only a baby as I sat there and stared at her little angelic face as she slept in her crib. Mark and I had just screamed at one another for hours. It was one of those arguments that started over something small and escalated and snowballed. Every fight that we’d had in the past three years came up and just felt never-ending.
Well, until Mark stormed out and insisted that he was never coming back again.
That was when I knew I needed to leave. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that quickly. I wanted to, I knew it was right, but I was scared. I’d been with Mark for such a long time, starting over with no money and nowhere to go terrified me. I wanted Delaney to have the best life possible, and I wasn’t sure how to do it. If I stayed, it was a toxic situation, but if I left, I had nothing.
Then finally, I worked up the courage, and I left when Delaney was almost two years old. I packed up a bag and ran, feeling liberated, terrified, and excited. Unfortunately, I didn’t plan it well enough, and soon we ran out of money. When Mark came back for me, I went a little too willingly…and that was the cycle we continued until things finally fell apart properly almost two years ago.
I wasn’t proud of how long it took me to finally take that proper step away, but now things were much better. At least, they were until I lost my job.
“Thank you so much, sweetie. I’m going to get a job today. As soon as I’ve dropped you off at school, I’m heading to the library to use the internet there. By the end of the day, I will at the very least have an interview.”
“I better get ready then,” Delaney grinned at me. “So you can be busy while I’m at school.”
“You’re an angel.” I rubbed the top of her head happily. “I’ll get breakfast finished. By the time you’re dressed, the eggs will be done.”
