Page 61 of Home With You

"Would it be a handout if you were a friend and I asked you to housesit?"

"No, but that's different."

"How is it different? We're friends. And I'm asking you to housesit."

"We're not friends. We barely know each other."

"We know each other better than most people do. I consider you a friend. And Gladys and I are definitely friends. I feel like I know her whole life story."

I smile. "She likes talking to you. She never talks that much to me."

Miles sets his soda down. "She loves you like a daughter."

I nod. "I know. Which is why it's gonna be hard when I leave."

"Leave?"

My eyes go to his. "I'm not going to be here forever. I told myself six months and I'm out of here."

"How long's it been?"

My shoulders fall. "Six months. I haven't been able to find a job. People don't hire the homeless."

"You're not homeless. You're a camper, remember?" He smiles.

"Employers don't see it that way."

"Where'd you used to work?"

"In high school, I worked fast food. Then after I graduated I waitressed for a few years."

"You didn't work after that?"

"I did, but I didn't really get paid."

"What'd you do?"

"I um, took care of the house I was staying at."

"So you were a maid?"

"Not really." I look down.

"I don't get it. You took care of a house and didn't get paid?"

"I don't want to talk about it," I say, setting my empty soda bottle down. "You should get going. Don't you have work to do?"

"I do, but I'd rather stay here with you."

"Well, I don't have anything else to say, so unless you just want to sit here in silence, you should probably go."

He tips his head back and looks up at the sky. "I hate my job."

"You do?"

"Yeah. And I don't know what to do about it. I moved here for the job and if I quit, I may not find another one here in town."

"Then find one somewhere else," I say, sadness coming over me at the thought of him leaving. I know I keep telling him to leave but part of me wants him to stay. Actually, all of me does, but I can't have what I want so it'd be best if he left.

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