Page 15 of Christmas with the Baby Daddy

“You need a job,” she repeated.

“Amanda’s been nagging the same thing. When she’s home.”

Grandma Jenny nodded sagely. “It’s not good for the soul to be here in this big house, all alone with no one to talk to or listen to, nothing to do but stare at the wall. Having a job would help.”

“Sooner or later…” I shrugged again, still not willing to commit to a yes or no on getting a job.

“Volunteer,” she suggested instead. “Go to the animal shelter. Or the library. Hell, you could even offer to pick up roadside trash along the parkway.”

I didn’t bother with another shrug.

“Being idle won’t help whatever you’re figuring out up here,” she said, tapping her temple. “Trust me. I know. It’s the very reason I’ve been so hesitant to retire. Staying busy and watching my little crew go about catering is what keeps me active and sane these days.”

Her crew, which included Blake. “I didn’t realize Blake Myer worked for you.”

She nodded. “I don’t know what I’d do without her,” she replied seriously.

“How long has she worked for you?” I asked. As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how direct they sounded. How desperate for information it seemed. “It’s just that, uh, I don’t remember you ever mentioning that you’d hired her.”

“Should I have?” She arched one thin, graying brow. “I doubt I would’ve mentioned that Blake works for me. Whenever you’d call or text, the exchanges were slim.”

“But she’s Kevin’s sister.”

“True. More like a family friend than my best employee,” she admitted. “I took her under my wing, and I like her.” She scooted her chair back to get up just as Amanda came in through the front door. “Get a job, Zach. Dosomethingto stop this brooding.”

“Yeah. A job,” Amanda chimed in as she set her backpack on a chair and bee-lined for the fridge.

“I’m not sure where,” I replied honestly. “Or what I’d do.”

“I know!” Amanda came to the table with a cream cheese tub and a bag of pretzels. “The school.”

“The school?” I asked as she shoved pretzels into her mouth.

“Mmm-hmmm.” She bobbed her head up and down as she chewed. “I overheard that they need help with Mr. Benson being sick or hurt or whatever is making him lose so many hours and days there.”

“Mr. Benson is still the janitor there?” Christ, he was working for Vernford’s school district back when I was a kid.

“Yeah, but he’s getting older and they could use the help. Go talk to the principal and see what he thinks. You gotta be careful with your shoulder, but I bet you could sweep and clean windows.”

“Lightweight maintenance sort of stuff,” Grandma Jenny said from the kitchen sink, where she set her tea cup and the kettle. “You wouldn’t have to be too social with something like that.”

“I guess I could go talk to someone about that.”

“Ask for the principal,” Amanda advised. “Mr. Cole.”

I stood and pushed in my chair. “Okay. I’ll think about it.”

Both of them sighed, exasperated. I didn’t want to be pushed, but I knew they had to be worried about me, not just nagging.

At any rate, I couldn’t sit around like a dark cloud for the whole month, a time of the year that was supposed to be so jolly and festive.

That night, I looked up the info for the principal’s number. When I copied the number into my contacts to call in the morning, I accidentally pressedCall. And Mr. Cole Ameena, Principal of Vernford Elementary, seemed to work late hours. He answered on the second ring.

“No, Robert. This close to the holidays, I’m not sure that placing a vacancy through the staffing site is a good idea—oh. Whoops. Sorry.”

I chuckled, surprised that he sounded so young, like my age. “Sorry. Did I catch you at a bad time, Mr. Ameena?”

“I was just speaking with the staffing agency for a custodian position and I thought it was them calling back. My bad. Hello. How can I help you?”

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