Page 41 of His Flash Mate
It took a second for me to find the words.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
I didn’t know what else to say.
Her breathing hitched.
“No matter how many times you land on your ass, baby, get back up.The world doesn’t owe you a hand.Always get back up and keep fighting for what you want, okay?”
“Okay.”I went to her and hugged her from behind because I knew she didn’t want to face me, just like I knew what she was saying was more for herself than me.She was struggling so hard, and it hurt so much to witness the defeated set of her shoulders.
“This won’t last long,” I said.“You’ll have another job before you know it.Until then, I have mine.We’ll be fine.”
She patted my hand and nodded.“Go get ready.”
“Only if you promise to eat at least half this pizza.”
“I promise.”
After giving her one last squeeze, I went to change for my shift at Lunar Pulse while thinking about how well-timed Konni’s intervention had been.If not for that five thousand dollars…I didn’t even want to think about the level of depression Mom would have sunk into.
Mom was eating when I walked into the kitchen again, and she looked calmer.
“What do you think of working as a rideshare driver?As far as I know, they’re not laid off ever and work their own hours.”
“Flexibility sounds good,” I said diplomatically.“Do they have standards your car has to meet?Does it need a different kind of insurance?”
“Good questions.I’ll look into it.”
“If you want to fill in at Lunar, I know Jay is still hiring.And between you and me, his?—”
“No, Sophia.”
“Okay.You have my full support in whatever you choose.You always will.”
I kissed her cheek and left the house, hating that I’d brought it up when she’d been down.
My thoughts were on our finances when I got to work and started taking pictures for the drink specials.Uncle Jay noticed my distraction.
“You’re doing that too often.Do I need to call your Mom to ask what’s going on?”
Afraid, I looked at him.“Please don’t call her.”
“Why?What’s going on?”
“She lost her job,” I admitted.“You know her.She won’t like anyone knowing.”
He nodded.“Does she need anything?I can always use her help here.”
“She knows.And you know she’d rather stand on her own two feet.”
He sighed.“For her sake, I wish she had never met my brother.For your sake, I’m glad she did.I couldn’t imagine life without you, Sophie-Girl.”He kissed my temple.“Tell me before things get bad, even if she doesn’t want you to, okay?”
“I will.”
He left to prep and let me handle the drink orders behind the bar once we opened, choosing to chat with the people he knew instead.I felt zero guilt picking up every tip until Konni sat down.
I signaled to Uncle Jay that he was up and went to talk to Konni.
