And the next day, I made my way over. Rummaging from the used clothes bin, I’d found a respectable suit that wasn’t too frayed. It was a drab grey color, but it was better than the bedraggled clothes I’d come in.
And turning right onto Park, I took a deep breath before knocking on the door of the construction trailer.
“Come in!” bellowed a loud voice. I half-expected to find some grizzly old dude, but instead, the man at the desk was only about thirty. Six four with flaming red hair, he had a ruddy face and twinkling blue eyes. So different from Robert’s which could be harsh as diamonds or deep with desire. This man was like Santa Claus in comparison.
“Hi, I’m Anna Jones,” I muttered, head down. This would never do, so I lifted my chin and smiled directly at him. “Hi, I’m Anna,” I said in a firmer voice. “Here for the office manager position?”
“That’s right,” the big man boomed, a smile breaking out, splitting his red beard. “I’m Jerome, but you can call me Rusty,” he said. “Everyone does,” he added with a friendly wink.
“Okay Rusty then,” I said tentatively. “I’m here because the women’s shelter said you needed some help? Office work, filing papers, taking notes, that kind of thing?” Oh god, why did I have to end every sentence with a question mark? This was hardly the way to come off assertive and confident.
But Rusty didn’t notice because he stood up then, head almost brushing the ceiling of the small enclosure.
“Yep, all that and more,” he boomed jovially again. “Sit right here, little lady, because this computer is the machine of magic,” he said. “Once you’ve got all the passwords to this little guy, the world is at your fingertips.”
And I had to laugh at that, my nervousness dissipating somewhat. Because the redhead was like Paul Bunyan, huge, likeable, with a folksy attitude that immediately put me at ease. Sliding into the chair, we got right into it.
The job wasn’t bad. Tomkins Construction is a small outfit that does a lot of good work. They just needed someone behind the scenes to keep things organized and efficient, and fortunately, my experience as a secretary had taught me well. Within a week or two, I had things neatly filed and sorted so that with a touch of your finger, the required document would pop up on the screen.
“Well, what say!” exclaimed Rusty, scratching at his head. “We’ve been looking for this permit for two years, and here it is!”
I laughed softly.
“It’s filed under “C” for Cypress, and not “P,” for Point. That way you know to look up Cypress for Cypress Point.”
“Good point,” rumbled Rusty, laughing at his own joke. “You’re a genius Anna, I don’t know what we’d do without you. This place would probably burn down from all the extra paperwork,” he said. “But how about a drink tonight? Whaddya think? On me.”
I paused, unsure what to do. On the one hand, it was a good idea to get to know co-workers. Some socializing was okay, and Rusty was a really nice guy.
But that very morning, something had happened that made me swallow and shake my head. I’d taken a pregnancy test, and it’d come up positive, shaking me to the core. So swallowing once more, I plastered a fake smile on my face and looked up at Rusty.
“I’m so sorry,” I said vaguely. “I’ve gotta run some errands.”
“Tomorrow night then,” the big man boomed insistently. “You can’t have that many errands!”
I swallowed again.
“I’m sorry,” I said again, looking down at my clasped hands. “I just can’t.”
Rusty nodded, eyes thoughtful.
“Well whatever it is, little lady, I’m always here if you change your mind,” he said with a wink. And turning on a heel, the big man exited the trailer, whistling a carefree tune.
I took a deep breath. Oh god, that was my first invitation in a long time and it’d be nice to go out and relax a little, maybe flirt with some men while having a couple drinks. But now with Robert’s baby on the way, everything was different. I had to plan, I had to get things ready, I had to think about what this meant.
Because I was going to keep the baby. When the pregnancy test had come back positive, my eyes had grown round, emotions rushing through my heart. Oh my god, I was going to have my lover’s child, a little girl or boy who looked just like him with black hair and blue eyes. Maybe the baby would even have his dimple, the funny way he smiled sometime.
And bending my head, tears began to fall from my eyes. Because I wanted this child absolutely. He or she had been conceived in love, and no matter what happened, no matter my poor choices or what circumstances I found myself in, I’d make it happen. My child would have the best life possible even if I had to scrape and save, even if I was a single parent juggling everything on my own.