poured myself a mug of coffee and sat down with Ash’s laptop.
It was time for me to get on with my life.
“Hi there, my name is Hannah. I was wondering what kind of job you guys were hiring for? It didn’t say anywhere on the online application.”
“Hello! My name is Hannah. I was calling because—oh. Well, thank you for taking my call anyway. Uh huh. Yeah, the job offer is still up on Indeed. You’re very welcome. Buh-bye.”
I sighed as I drained my first cup of coffee. I got up to get myself another one, and already I felt the aches and pains setting in. I couldn't take another pain pill until the end of the day, but I still had another anti-inflammatory I could suck down. So, I walked back into Ash’s bedroom and made good use of the other pill I was allowed to take.
Then, I sat back down and continued my search.
I must’ve cycled through thirty applications within a fifty-mile radius of this town. Not that I wanted to drive over an hour to get to work or anything. But a job was a job, and I wanted to be able to pull my weight around here.
I wanted to be able to make my own money and be proud of it.
Then, I stumbled upon a local dress shop that was looking for someone part-time. Not ideal, but it was something. The place was called “Dress Up Less Up,” whatever that meant. And when I picked up the phone to call, I took a long pull from my coffee.
Come on, you can nail this one.
“Dress Up Less Up, this is Brandy speaking.”
I put on my best smile. “Hi, Brandy! My name is Hannah. I was calling about the part-time position that is posted on Monster.com?”
“Oh my word, I just threw that up there a couple of hours ago. I didn’t realize it would work so quickly! How are you, Hannah?”
I paused. “So, the position hasn’t been filled?”
“Not at all. You’re my first phone call about it, actually.”
Perfect. “Well, hopefully I’ll be your last, too.”
She giggled. “One can only hope. It’s a pain in the butt to hire new employees and onboard them, only for them to leave after a couple of months.”
“Well, I can assure you that I won’t be leaving so soon after you give me the job. If you want to give it to me, that is.”
She snickered. “Tell me about yourself? Have you submitted your resume yet?”
I clicked a few buttons and started the uploading process.
“It’s being sent to you right now,” I said.
“Wonderful! Do you have any retail experience?”
“I do actually, yes. I know my resume is going to make me seem like I bounce around a lot, but that was more due to lack of income in higher-priced places than anything else.”
“I’ll take that into consideration. Where all have you worked?”
I drew in a deep breath. “Let’s see: I worked at a shoe place in California for about a year. I’ve got experience with working at Walmart for just shy of six months. I worked part-time in a jewelry store over on the East Coast for three or so months.”
She giggled. “So, you have quite a bit of retail experience.”
I nodded. “Yes ma’am, I do.”
“Bah, no need for ‘ma’ams’. May I ask why you bounced around so much?”
I paused. “To be honest? Nowhere ever felt like home. The glamour of a new city was nice for a few weeks, and then it would eventually wane. But this time it’s different.”
“How so?”
I smiled. “I have a reason to stay this time.”
“Ah, found yourself a man?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ve found myself a home. That just happens to have a man in it, yes.”
She barked with laughter. “Well, congratulations. Oh! Your resume just came through. Let me pull it up and skim it really quickly.”
I sat on pins and needles as I sucked down the rest of my second cup of coffee.
“Well, it certainly is impressive. I’ll have to call around to your references just to make sure of some things. But as far as I’m concerned, you’re more than qualified for the job.”
I smiled brightly. “That makes me very happy to hear.”
“I know it’s only a part-time job right now, but it has the potential to turn into a full-time job if you stick around for the holidays. I’d hire you on full-time during Christmas and the summers. Those are our busiest times.”
“That’s just fine with me.”
“The job entails not just running a