“I am sorry.”
“That doesn’t help.”
“No.”Language Resources
She reached into her pocket.
“Take this.”
She handed me an envelope.
I didn’t open it.
“What is it?”
“Your first week’s salary.”
“I worked two hours.”Doors & Windows
“Mr. Bennett pays caregivers weekly in advance.”
My hands trembled.
“How much?”
“Five thousand dollars.”
I stared at her.
I thought I had misheard.
Five thousand?”
“Yes.”Bath & Body Products
I nearly dropped the envelope.
That was more money than I had earned in three months at my old cleaning job.
“Why?”
“Because no one stays.”
I thought of Brandon.
Medicine.
Food.
Heat.
Then I bought groceries.Business News
Real groceries.
Chicken.
Milk.
Fruit.
Bread.
Eggs.
Cereal Emma liked.Language Resources
Cookies.
Fresh vegetables.
Medicine.
Two new blankets.
A space heater.
Emma stared at the shopping bags as if I had brought home Christmas.
“Mommy, are we rich?”Food
I laughed and cried at the same time.
“No, baby.”
I kissed her forehead.
“We just got lucky.”
That night, after they slept, I sat at our tiny kitchen table and pulled an old cardboard box from the closet.
Ryan’s box.
I had carried it through six apartments and two marriages.Food & Grocery Retailers
Inside were photographs.
Letters.
School papers.
A baseball glove.
And one picture that made my heart stop.
Ryan at twenty-one.
Standing beside Kitchen & Dining
me outside our grandmother’s house.
Around his neck was the same silver locket.Book a Spa Day
