Page 89 of Silver Fox's Baby

I choke back the urge to cry and return the embrace, kissing the top of his head.

“Have a good day, Dor. I love you.”

“Love you, too, sis.” He gives me one more squeeze and then pulls away, heading out of the office and toward his classroom.

“I admire you, you know?” Tilda says to me as I finish signing my name. “I don’t think there’re many that could do what you’ve done and do it as well.”

I look up at her and smile, though I don’t feel it. “Some days are a struggle. Today is one of them,” I admit as I set the pen down. “But I’ll just keep going. That’s all I can do. I’m going job hunting.” I don’t know why I throw out the last bit of information, but I do.

Her eyes brighten. “What kind of job hunting?”

I shrug. “Something full-time. I’m switching my classes to online. It’ll work better for my schedule with Dorian. We’re still working toward affording that procedure.”

“We’ve talked about doing a fundraiser for it,” Tilda tells me, her voice glowing. “We thought we could probably help raise some funds, maybe not enough to cover the entire thing, but we can help.”

“That would be amazing.” I find myself tearing up. “Dorian would be so touched. It would mean the world to him. You guys have been so amazing to us through all of this.”

“Well, we loved your parents and felt the loss right alongside you two. We’ve gotten to watch you grow and change. I remember when you were Dorian’s age.” Tilda laughs, nostalgia written in her expression. “Your mom always put your hair into pigtail braids. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

I laugh, my heart aching for my mom. She would know how to handle all of this so much better than me. “She was a lot better with my hair than I am.”

Tilda laughs. “That’s only because she had the same hair. She had learned how to control those fiery red locks. You inherited her hair, andugh,I’m jealous of it. It’s beautiful.”

A blush creeps into my cheeks. “Thank you. I’ll be back to pick up Dorian at regular time today.” I turn to go, knowing that every moment I spend here is a moment that I might be missing out on securing employment.

“Wait, Melody.” Tilda stands from her seat. “About the job... We actually have a few openings, and most have you working just the duration of the school day, give or take about a half hour. I think that might work really well with your schedule. The pay isn’t phenomenal, but it’s not bad.”

I spin around, feeling lighter than before. “Do you happen to have a list? I’m not really all that qualified for much.”

“Says the woman who’s worked multiple jobs.” Tilda shakes her head at me. “At once. I’m fairly certain that work ethic of yours is unmatched. I bet you can learn just about anything. Let me go grab the list of openings.”

I nod, lingering in the office as she darts off to the back.

It would be convenient to work at the school, but honestly, what skills do I have? I worked as a bartender and hostess before this. Well, and a TA, but I don’t think I’ll be writing down Aiden as a reference. In fact, he might not give me a glowing review.

“Here.” Tilda appears from the back, a piece of paper in her hand. “Like I said, there’re quite a few. Obviously, you don’t have a completed degree and teaching certificate, so the teaching positions wouldn’t work out. However, there’s a few assistant positions, and then of course, janitorial and cafeteria.”

I nod as I take the paper from her hand, scanning the jobs. Most of them are teaching positions, but I stop at the assistant positions. It’s for the younger grades, but Icouldbe a good assistant. I do well with kids.

“I think you should consider them,” she says quickly. “I know they might not be right up your alley, but the hours, other than the janitor, would put you here mostly during school hours. If you have to be here for meetings or anything like that, Dorian could hang around here. That’s what most of the kids do.”

“It would be perfect when it comes to that...” My voice trails off as I read through the qualifications. “I’m not sure that I’m a standout candidate, though.”

“Sometimes, knowing someone personally is more important than all those qualifications. We know you really well, and all of us can vouch for you. I think you’d do great working with Miss Carmen in the kindergarten class. She’s in desperate need of an assistant, and we’re hiring immediately for the position.”

“Okay.” I look up at her, feeling a slight tug at my lips. “I’d like to apply for it, for any of these, really.”

Tilda breaks into a grin. “Oh perfect. I will go grab an application right now for you to fill out.” She disappears again, and I take a deep breath. It’s not opening a bakery by any means,but a job is a job. And honestly, working at the school would work out perfectly.

And it’s a long way away from the college.

Which is exactly what I need.

30

Aiden

She resigned.

---