sure Autumn noticed. " How long are you staying this time? "
She took a seat on Emma ' s bed. " Not sure yet. I ' m waiting to hear back on-- "
" So you ' re jobless. "
" Rude, " Autumn said. " And no, Mom said I could work at the salon while Mikelann was on maternity leave. Guess she ' s leaving next week. "
Migraine eminent .
I rubbed my brow. " Well, you at least know how to be a receptionist. "
She shrugged. " It ' s only temporary. I ' ve got an application in with an airline to be a flight attendant. "
" You ' ll like that, you ' ll get to travel around. " I tried to be happy for my sister. And it wasn ' t like I didn ' t want her to find the right place for herself in the world, but I just found her listless existence, well, annoying.
" I know, I ' m giddy. I can ' t wait to hear back about it. "
Emma came in, grunting as she pushed a tub into the room. " Mommy where can I put this? "
I took the tub and stacked it with the one I ' d brought in already. They were making Emma ' s little room look even smaller, but there wasn ' t much that could be done about that right now.
We ' ll figure something out. And it may involve us finding our own place.
" You ' re going to be on airplanes? " Emma asked, her eyes wide.
" Yes, I will. I ' ll help passengers get seated, bring them drinks, and take care of them while they ' re flying. "
" That sounds amazing, " Emma said, holding her arms out and zooming around her tiny space.
I left them both to their conversation, because, well, as the mommy here, I had things to take care of.
Surely Autumn wouldn ' t stay long, would she?
Chapter Eight
Wednesday
" You ' re kidding, " Ortiz--the rookie--said as they took in the chaos before them. Hennessey took a couple of breaths. He expected a certain amount of noise and people, but this was a little more than he anticipated.
Deep breath.
" It ' s a good cause, right Sarge? " Miller said.
Kids roamed the gymnasium, moving from one section to another. Each table had something going on--the sign outside said charity drive, but really, this was more elaborate than Summer claimed.
There was one set of tables where kids were doing crafts, another set where a line of adults handed out piles of papers to parents and kids, and a third where people were turning in their donated supplies.
He clenched the bag of school supplies in his hand a little tighter.
" Well, where are the haircuts, " Ortiz asked.
" Over there, " Miller replied. On the far wall sat a row of seven hydraulic chairs, each manned with a different barber.
Hair stylist.
Whatever.
Right in the middle was Summer, working on a little boy ' s haircut. When she finished, the boy handed her a coin and she spun around, dropping it in a jar behind her.
" So how does this work, Sarge? " Miller asked.
" Over here, " he said, walking to the table where people were handing over their supplies.
Behind the table was a young woman with super-bright red hair. She grinned at them as they approached.
" Hiya boys! How are you doing today? "
" Fine, " Ortiz said, flashing his pearly whites at her.
" Bet you handsome fellas need some haircuts, huh? " she grinned back.
" Are you cutting hair today? " Ortiz asked, and rubbed his head.
She laughed. " No, but the ones who are do amazing work. " She gestured to the row of people cutting hair. " So do I need to explain what you boys need to do? "
" All ears, ma ' am, " Ortiz said.
Hennessey glared at the rookie, but said nothing.
" I see you brought a fine looking bag of supplies. " She accepted the bag from Hennessey, and jerked. " And heavy! My goodness. Thank you! " She put the bag under the table. " Here you boys go. Three tokens. Give your token to the person who cut your hair. "
" And we just, what, wait for the next person? " Ortiz asked.
" Yeah, that ' s about it. You can sit over there and wait. " She gestured to a bench just to the side of the people cutting hair.
There were a few ahead of them, but not too
She took a seat on Emma ' s bed. " Not sure yet. I ' m waiting to hear back on-- "
" So you ' re jobless. "
" Rude, " Autumn said. " And no, Mom said I could work at the salon while Mikelann was on maternity leave. Guess she ' s leaving next week. "
Migraine eminent .
I rubbed my brow. " Well, you at least know how to be a receptionist. "
She shrugged. " It ' s only temporary. I ' ve got an application in with an airline to be a flight attendant. "
" You ' ll like that, you ' ll get to travel around. " I tried to be happy for my sister. And it wasn ' t like I didn ' t want her to find the right place for herself in the world, but I just found her listless existence, well, annoying.
" I know, I ' m giddy. I can ' t wait to hear back about it. "
Emma came in, grunting as she pushed a tub into the room. " Mommy where can I put this? "
I took the tub and stacked it with the one I ' d brought in already. They were making Emma ' s little room look even smaller, but there wasn ' t much that could be done about that right now.
We ' ll figure something out. And it may involve us finding our own place.
" You ' re going to be on airplanes? " Emma asked, her eyes wide.
" Yes, I will. I ' ll help passengers get seated, bring them drinks, and take care of them while they ' re flying. "
" That sounds amazing, " Emma said, holding her arms out and zooming around her tiny space.
I left them both to their conversation, because, well, as the mommy here, I had things to take care of.
Surely Autumn wouldn ' t stay long, would she?
Chapter Eight
Wednesday
" You ' re kidding, " Ortiz--the rookie--said as they took in the chaos before them. Hennessey took a couple of breaths. He expected a certain amount of noise and people, but this was a little more than he anticipated.
Deep breath.
" It ' s a good cause, right Sarge? " Miller said.
Kids roamed the gymnasium, moving from one section to another. Each table had something going on--the sign outside said charity drive, but really, this was more elaborate than Summer claimed.
There was one set of tables where kids were doing crafts, another set where a line of adults handed out piles of papers to parents and kids, and a third where people were turning in their donated supplies.
He clenched the bag of school supplies in his hand a little tighter.
" Well, where are the haircuts, " Ortiz asked.
" Over there, " Miller replied. On the far wall sat a row of seven hydraulic chairs, each manned with a different barber.
Hair stylist.
Whatever.
Right in the middle was Summer, working on a little boy ' s haircut. When she finished, the boy handed her a coin and she spun around, dropping it in a jar behind her.
" So how does this work, Sarge? " Miller asked.
" Over here, " he said, walking to the table where people were handing over their supplies.
Behind the table was a young woman with super-bright red hair. She grinned at them as they approached.
" Hiya boys! How are you doing today? "
" Fine, " Ortiz said, flashing his pearly whites at her.
" Bet you handsome fellas need some haircuts, huh? " she grinned back.
" Are you cutting hair today? " Ortiz asked, and rubbed his head.
She laughed. " No, but the ones who are do amazing work. " She gestured to the row of people cutting hair. " So do I need to explain what you boys need to do? "
" All ears, ma ' am, " Ortiz said.
Hennessey glared at the rookie, but said nothing.
" I see you brought a fine looking bag of supplies. " She accepted the bag from Hennessey, and jerked. " And heavy! My goodness. Thank you! " She put the bag under the table. " Here you boys go. Three tokens. Give your token to the person who cut your hair. "
" And we just, what, wait for the next person? " Ortiz asked.
" Yeah, that ' s about it. You can sit over there and wait. " She gestured to a bench just to the side of the people cutting hair.
There were a few ahead of them, but not too
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