“I don’t know what to say,” I say, along with the tear that slips over my bottom lid.

“You could say yes,” he says, smiling. I just nod my head, afraid if I say anything, a sob will rip through me. “Now to get to the nitty-gritty stuff. It pays sixteen dollars an hour.” My eyes open wider as I think about the extra three dollars I will make per hour. “The hours are very flexible. I know Dylan finishes school during the year, at three, so you can either have him in the after-school program, or you can take off at that time.”

“I don’t know what to say.” I shake my head. “I think the only thing that I have been saying is that I don’t know what to say.” Laughing now, I wipe away a tear with the back of my hand.

“Why don’t we start tomorrow after you drop Dylan off at camp?” he says. I’m so overwhelmed that all I can do is nod.

“I don’t know how I can ever repay you,” I say honestly, and he reaches forward and grabs a tissue that is on the desk and hands it to me. “Thank you.”

“You can repay me by doing the job I know that you’ll be amazing at.” He smiles. “And in the meantime,” he says, getting up and going over to the desk drawer to take out a checkbook, “this is going to be an advance. We can take out twenty dollars a week until it is paid back.” He continues writing and then hands it to me. I look down and see that he wrote a check for two hundred dollars.

“I don’t need this much,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s too much.”

“Well, then put some of it away for a rainy day,” he says, and I want to scoff at him. It seems like every day is a rainy day.

“Now if you will excuse me, I have to get things ready for later,” he says. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“Yes,” I say. “I will be here tomorrow.”

He turns to walk out of the room and closes the door after him. I put my hands on my face, and the tears that I kept at bay start to fall. This time, though, they’re not tears of sadness or despair but tears of happiness. I wipe my eyes, and when I’m finally calmer, I walk out quietly just as the meeting finishes. I smile at some of the people walking out.

I push open the church door, and the sun hits my face, and for the first time in a long time, I look up and smile.

Chapter Eleven

Justin