. well, really just a mattress and box spring, Ildaria had hit the dollar store as well as JYSK and Walmart to pick up a set of dishes, silverware, glasses, and cooking utensils. Everything she’d bought was on sale or pretty cheap to begin with and it would all do her just fine. Ildaria had also purchased towels, sheets, pillows, and a comforter, as well as toilet paper, and various kitchen items. Cheap as each item had been, in the end she’d spent a lot of money. It was amazing how quickly you went through money when having to furnish an apartment. She’d had nothing of her own to take except for her clothes and the small thirty-two-inch television she’d bought while in Montana. She’d purchased it for her bedroom there so that Jess and Raffaele could have the living room to themselves some nights. She’d brought it with her when she’d moved to Canada.
Ildaria still needed a couch, chairs, a dining room set, etc. But she’d get all that as she could. Sleep was the most important thing. She needed to be well rested for working with numbers. And really, she could sit and relax in bed until she had everything else, Ildaria thought and then noticed the concentration on Marguerite’s face, and realized the older woman was reading her mind. Marguerite obviously didn’t believe she’d bought a bed. Probably because she’d asked to borrow the sleeping bag, foolishly mentioning she planned to sleep on it.
“I did buy a bed,” she assured her, deciding to save her the trouble of reading her. “But it won’t be delivered until next week. The sleeping bag is just a temporary solution until it arrives.”
“Or you could stay here until it arrives,” Marguerite suggested at once. “We are more than happy to have you stay, Ildaria. In fact, I have enjoyed your company and will be sorry to see you go.”
Ildaria had spent her life on the run, keeping barriers between herself and others by necessity. Both to keep herself safe, and to keep others safe as well. But her situation had changed, and at those sweet words from Marguerite, a woman she liked and respected, Ildaria felt some of those shields collapse and her heart go a little mushy. It made her smile, and she instinctively hugged the woman as she said, “And I’ve enjoyed being here. You and Julius and furry Julius are wonderful.” Releasing Marguerite, she stepped back and added, “But I’ll feel better in my own place. I—I’m not used to leaning on others.”
“I understand.” Marguerite patted her shoulder gently. “But that is what family is for, Ildaria, and I now consider you family. Please remember that in the future, especially if you need anything. Anything at all,” she added firmly.
Ildaria swallowed a sudden lump in her throat, and nodded before managing to get out a husky “I will.”
“Good.” Marguerite nodded. “Then I shall go search for the sleeping bag and—”
“You don’t have to do that,” Ildaria interrupted, not wanting to put her out. “Just tell me where to look and I’ll—”
“You,” Marguerite interrupted firmly, “will go ahead and drive over to the Night Club. You have a lot of stuff to unpack and put away before work. I’ll find the sleeping bag and follow. I should like to see this apartment anyway. We can have tea.”
“Oh. Si, of course.” Ildaria smiled crookedly and nodded, but she was thinking she would have to stop at the grocery store on the way. Food was something she’d neglected during her shopping spree. Fortunately, she still had a little money left, certainly enough to buy tea, sugar, and milk. Maybe some cookies too. Maybe, she’d even have enough left over for bread and peanut butter to eat until her first paycheck, Ildaria thought as she gave Marguerite a distracted parting wave and headed out to her car.
Thinking of her first paycheck from the Night Club had her recalling that it was almost Friday, which was payday at the part-time waitressing job she’d managed to get and the only reason she had the money she’d just spent. Which, in turn, made her realize that she hadn’t yet given her notice there and she was scheduled for an afternoon shift the next day.
That wasn’t so bad, Ildaria decided. She could manage the shift and still make it to her job at the Night Club on time. But she’d have to give them notice . . . and spend her break switching any evening shifts