job.
But Professor Jellama had been a smart guy, one of her favorite teachers, and she was going to trust him now, when it mattered most.
She went to get chips and discovered she had only fifteen dollars on her, so she went back over to Deirdre’s window—now that they’d formed this tenuous bond of sorts—and asked, “Can I get another hundred, or did I reach my limit?”
Deirdre took the card from her. “Until the credit card company says you’ve reached your limit, you haven’t reached your limit.” She dragged the card through the magnetic reader and punched in some number. Then she handed Loreen a paper to sign again. “Went through.”
Loreen signed, and Deirdre handed over the cash.
“Thanks,” Loreen said, meaning it a lot more this time than she had last time.
She meant it just as much the next five times she went, too, each time taking a greater amount to make up for her losses, until eventually she hit the limit on the card and found, from her receipts, that she was down five thousand dollars.
That was counting Rod’s fee, of course, but still. Five thousand dollars.
She couldn’t afford
one
thousand dollars!
But she also couldn’t afford to throw more good money after bad, and, despite four thousand evidences to the contrary, Loreen
did
know when to call it quits. Professor Jellama was an idiot. She hoped he’d been fired for planting such crazy ideas in his students’ heads.
What was she going to
do
?
She’d get a night job, that’s what. Real estate wasn’t all that steady, and until school let out in a month, things were still sluggish, so she’d supplement her income with a steady salary, even if it was at a retail store in the mall. Or maybe waitressing. If she could get a job waitressing at one of the high-end restaurants in Bethesda or Northwest, she could pay this off in no time. It would mean leaving Jacob at home while she worked, though. But Tiffany lived three houses away. Maybe Loreen could get a baby monitor system and put them around the house, and leave the receiver with Tiffany, so she could “babysit” while Loreen went to work.
It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was better than nothing.
And the alternative was nothing.
Chapter
4
T he next morning Tiffany got up before Loreen and Abbey to return the clothes to Finola Pims. When she was about to leave the room with her bags, she noticed Jacob Murphy and Parker Walsh trying to get the window open, while Kate sat nearby watching TV.
“What are you guys doing?” Tiffany asked, knowing the answer wasn’t going to be something easy.
Both boys turned to her, faces pale with surprise. “Nothing,” one of them said. It didn’t matter which one, the truth of
something
was written all over their faces.
“Jacob bet Parker he could hit someone square on the head with a water balloon,” Kate said.
“Kate!”
Jacob objected.
“Are you kidding me?” Tiffany asked. “Where did you even get a balloon?”
“We don’t have a balloon,” Jacob said.
Parker looked like he’d just eaten something unpleasant.
This made Kate turn away from the TV. “Yes, you do. Don’t lie to my mom.” She turned back to Tiffany. “The lady that was here last night gave us balloons and chocolates.”
Wow. She really should have cleared that with the parents first, Tiffany thought. What if one of the kids was allergic to chocolate? Or latex? “Give me the balloon,” she said, holding her hand out.
Both Parker and Jacob produced flat little balloons and handed them over.
“Thank you.” Tiffany stuffed them in her bag. “Now, I have to go downstairs for a minute—” She stopped. There was no way she could trust these guys alone while Loreen and Abbey were asleep. God knew what they’d get into next. “And you guys are coming with me.”
“Are we going to the casino?” Jacob asked eagerly.
“No. A store.”
“Aw, man!”
“Come on.” She rustled them up, jotted a
But Professor Jellama had been a smart guy, one of her favorite teachers, and she was going to trust him now, when it mattered most.
She went to get chips and discovered she had only fifteen dollars on her, so she went back over to Deirdre’s window—now that they’d formed this tenuous bond of sorts—and asked, “Can I get another hundred, or did I reach my limit?”
Deirdre took the card from her. “Until the credit card company says you’ve reached your limit, you haven’t reached your limit.” She dragged the card through the magnetic reader and punched in some number. Then she handed Loreen a paper to sign again. “Went through.”
Loreen signed, and Deirdre handed over the cash.
“Thanks,” Loreen said, meaning it a lot more this time than she had last time.
She meant it just as much the next five times she went, too, each time taking a greater amount to make up for her losses, until eventually she hit the limit on the card and found, from her receipts, that she was down five thousand dollars.
That was counting Rod’s fee, of course, but still. Five thousand dollars.
She couldn’t afford
one
thousand dollars!
But she also couldn’t afford to throw more good money after bad, and, despite four thousand evidences to the contrary, Loreen
did
know when to call it quits. Professor Jellama was an idiot. She hoped he’d been fired for planting such crazy ideas in his students’ heads.
What was she going to
do
?
She’d get a night job, that’s what. Real estate wasn’t all that steady, and until school let out in a month, things were still sluggish, so she’d supplement her income with a steady salary, even if it was at a retail store in the mall. Or maybe waitressing. If she could get a job waitressing at one of the high-end restaurants in Bethesda or Northwest, she could pay this off in no time. It would mean leaving Jacob at home while she worked, though. But Tiffany lived three houses away. Maybe Loreen could get a baby monitor system and put them around the house, and leave the receiver with Tiffany, so she could “babysit” while Loreen went to work.
It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was better than nothing.
And the alternative was nothing.
Chapter
4
T he next morning Tiffany got up before Loreen and Abbey to return the clothes to Finola Pims. When she was about to leave the room with her bags, she noticed Jacob Murphy and Parker Walsh trying to get the window open, while Kate sat nearby watching TV.
“What are you guys doing?” Tiffany asked, knowing the answer wasn’t going to be something easy.
Both boys turned to her, faces pale with surprise. “Nothing,” one of them said. It didn’t matter which one, the truth of
something
was written all over their faces.
“Jacob bet Parker he could hit someone square on the head with a water balloon,” Kate said.
“Kate!”
Jacob objected.
“Are you kidding me?” Tiffany asked. “Where did you even get a balloon?”
“We don’t have a balloon,” Jacob said.
Parker looked like he’d just eaten something unpleasant.
This made Kate turn away from the TV. “Yes, you do. Don’t lie to my mom.” She turned back to Tiffany. “The lady that was here last night gave us balloons and chocolates.”
Wow. She really should have cleared that with the parents first, Tiffany thought. What if one of the kids was allergic to chocolate? Or latex? “Give me the balloon,” she said, holding her hand out.
Both Parker and Jacob produced flat little balloons and handed them over.
“Thank you.” Tiffany stuffed them in her bag. “Now, I have to go downstairs for a minute—” She stopped. There was no way she could trust these guys alone while Loreen and Abbey were asleep. God knew what they’d get into next. “And you guys are coming with me.”
“Are we going to the casino?” Jacob asked eagerly.
“No. A store.”
“Aw, man!”
“Come on.” She rustled them up, jotted a
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