Page 70 of Feel Free to Scream

Lisa’s a beautiful twenty-something in a suit and a severe bun. She grins. “That she is. Lovely meeting you, Claire.” She glances over my shoulder. “Don’t tell me you walked here?”

I blush. “Oh, no, I took the bus. I don’t have a car.”

Lisa grimaces, and my heart sink. Is she going to say I can’t have the job because I don’t have a vehicle? I didn’t even think of that. Would she require me to pick up Octavia?

“Don’t tell Keller I made you walk up the hill, he’ll kill me. Come in, love. You must need a nice, refreshing drink after that trek.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” I say.

I was too lost in my mind to think about the walk uphill, focusing on this potential job, and the possibility of career paths I didn’t consider.

Accounting made sense. I discussed it at the end of school with my grandmother, and she gave me all the reasons why it was a sound choice. A secure career, useful, and if Noah started in the construction business, I’d have a guaranteed income, too…

Today, those arguments feel lacking. I like to draw. I’m not awful at it. There are career paths that allow a degree of creativity while still being fairly certain, like marketing.

I walk into a sunny, warm entryway that illustrates why they think that the Vesper House is appropriate for college students. Simply put, this is a manor, not a house. There’s a curving grand staircase for Christ’s sake.

We make our way to the kitchen, and my eyes bulge in my face.

“Dada!” Octavia calls, at the life-size supermodel I’ve only ever seen in pictures before.

So this is Arlo, Keller’s dad. Of course he is. He basically looks like a clone of Keller, only age has made him somehow more relaxed, refined. Or maybe it’s because his eyes aren’t quite as calculating as his son’s, when he bends to pick up the kid.

I have to think about the family dynamic for a while. So, Octavia calls Arlo Dada, but she’s Lisa’s daughter—Keller’s half-sister. Are Arlo and Lisa together? Their interaction give me no indication.

“I’m about to give this poor girl a drink. Shewalkeduphill. Want some iced tea?”

“Sure, thank you, Liz.” His blue eyes move to me. “You must be Claire.” His voice is smooth as chocolate and whiskey.

Welp. Words. How do they work again?

“I must be,” I say, apparently aiming for the stupidest thing I can say.

It makes everyone chuckle. “Call me Arlo.”

I shake his hand.

“Claire, I have unsweetened iced tea for this monster—with lemon slices—and sweetened for the rest of us, orange juice, and water, still or sparkling. Also wine, if you’re not going to judge me for it.”

It feels like a trap. This is a job interview. “I’m a bit of a lightweight. But zero judgement if you want the wine. I’d love some of that lemon iced tea?”

Arlo smiles. “See? I’m not that weird.”

“You absolutely are. She’s humoring you because she wants to impress Keller’s dad,” Lisa sums up.

I blush and start to say, “No, sweet tea’s just way too sweet for me.”

“I like you, Claire,” Arlo attests.

Coming back to the breakfast bar with all our drinks on a platter, Lisa rolls her eyes. “Weirdos, the lot of you. So, Claire. You’ve babysat before?”

I nod. “I can send you references; I did it often in high school.”

“Keller vouched for you, that’s good enough for me. When can you start, and how many hours can you do?”

“Oh—right away? But I’m thinking about adding a class to my schedule if I can. I’m not quite certain about the timing. Sorry.” That’s so unprofessional. “I have the rest of my schedule. I’ll try to make sure the new class is at a time that works for everyone…”

“School comes first,” Lisa firmly states. “At the moment, I’m only working in the mornings. If there are two or three days when you can manage the afternoon, that would be great for me to slowly get back to a full-time position. A transition period is a good idea in any case.”

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