Sherri hated the thought of leaving the girl on her own, but Raylee wasn’t her kid. It wasn’t Sherri’s fault that her parents didn’t have time for her. “I’ll visit all the time, I promise, and you can come see me at the resort.”

“Are you crazy?” Jeanne said. “She’s just a kid. She can’t go there.”

“It’s a family resort,” Sherri said.

Jeanne snorted and rolled her eyes. “Right. You know those men, they aren’t going to pay attention to you because you’re interesting.”

“But I’m not interesting.”

“You can balance a spoon on your nose,” Raylee interrupted.

“Sher, don’t you want to be valued for more than what’s on the outside? This is not you. This isn’t who you are.”

“You don’t even know who I am. And you know what? Neither do I. How am I going to figure that out if I stick around here? I don’t want to be Sherri the sad orphan. I want to have a good time for a change.” Tears pricked her eyes, and she turned to the empty living room to hide them. She saw her mother’s empty wheelchair with the worn armrests sitting in the corner and thought of every spoonful of food she’d tried to get her mother to swallow, all the soiled sheets and clothes she’d washed, the bedpans she’d changed. It took every bit of reserved strength for Sherri to say clearly, firmly, “I’m taking this job. I start training on Monday. It’s my turn to have a life.”

“But it’s not the life you want.”

Sherri gestured at the lonely apartment. “This isn’t either. So for now, I’m just going to make some money and have some fun.” She was angry, so angry and upset she wanted to cry. She could never experience just one emotion at a time. “Why can’t you just be happy for me?”

“Because I’m afraid you’re going to forget who you are.”

“Geez, I didn’t say I was going to be a spy for the KGB. It’s a job, just like you have a job.”

“No, it’s not just like that at all.”

Deep down, Sherri knew that Jeanne was right. Sherri’s job would be different. She wasn’t just going to work somewhere; she was going to live her work, and become something she hadn’t been before. Even the possibility of change made her feel different about herself already.

Despite Jeanne’s reservations, she agreed to drive Sherri to the resort the following Monday. That morning, Sherri walked Raylee to school one last time. She was sullen, and pleaded with Sherri not to go, her lip quivering. “You were going to teach me how to play the organ.”

“We can set you up with lessons from Mrs. Vogel. That’s who taught me.”