Page 27 of The One I Want
“Good. Work on that. And hire that girl. You need help. And so does Magnolia's hair.”
Chapter11
Betsy
I watchedthe kids yesterday for exactly two hours and twelve minutes.
It wore me out so much that I went to bed at eight-thirty.
Kids are exhausting. I mean, I had heard that from others. I had a glimpse of it for the two weeks I was a substitute teacher.
But that was nothing compared to this. And yet, it was the most fun I’ve had in a very long time.
Yes, my nights and time with Whitley are great. She’s been my best friend since our pageant days on the Southern beauty queen circuit, which continued through our college days in Tuscaloosa. But yesterday? It might have started with a shit show of a balloon arch, but it turned into a day that filled my heart. We played wizards and witches and princess dress-up. Hank worked on my throwing ability while Emerson told me about the latest mystery book she was reading. She even gave me a copy of one she had already read so I could check it out.
I might have been scared when Peggy left them with me, but the day turned out to be exactly what I needed.
I let out one more yawn before I check my phone. That’s when I realize I’ve been in bed for twelve hours. Yet, somehow, I’m still exhausted. The benefit of working for your best friend, who lets you work from your home or hers, is that there’s usually not a firm start time. Which is good. I’m going to need a bit to get going today.
I roll out of bed, slide into my slippers and put on my robe as I make my way to the bathroom. I’m finishing brushing my teeth when I hear a knock on the door. Weird. No one should be knocking on a door this early. Maybe it’s Whitley? But even if it was, she would have texted me, right? Or just let herself in.
Toothbrush still in my mouth, I head out to the living room and unlock the front door. When I open it I immediately regret the decision to still have the toothbrush in my mouth.
And more so for not getting dressed yet.
“Hey, Betsy,” Wes says as he does a shit job of keeping the smile off his face. “Am I interrupting?”
“No.” I don’t know if that came out clear since I have a mouth full of toothpaste, so I shake my head for emphasis. “One minute.”
Wes laughs as I swiftly walk back to the bathroom. I hurry and spit out the toothpaste and do a quick rinse of my mouth. I glance in the mirror and do my best to not let out a scream of horror. I didn’t look earlier. I didn’t think I needed to. I should have.
My hair is a mess and I have pillow marks on one side of my face. Oh, and my robe just covers my sleep shorts, making me look like I’m basically naked underneath.
What a way to start the morning.
I quickly throw on a bra, T-shirt, and sweats and make my way back to the living room, only to see Wes still standing in the doorway.
“You could have come in,” I say.
He does, closing the door behind him. “I didn’t want to assume.”
We share a knowing smile. “Have a seat. Want anything to drink?”
“No, thank you,” he says. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something, if you have a few minutes?”
“Okay,” I say, my curiosity spiking. “What’s up? Is this about yesterday? Are the kids okay? I swear when they left me they had all their fingers and toes and nothing was broken. Except my pride, because I still can’t throw a ball despite Hank’s best coaching effort.”
Wes laughs. “Yes, this has to do with yesterday, and yes, the kids are fine. Nothing to worry about there. I did want to ask you, though, how did it go?”
Oh, I wasn’t expecting that. “It went great.”
“No problems?”
I shake my head. “Surprisingly, no.”
“Why do you say ‘surprisingly’?”
“You don’t know this about me, but I’ve had many jobs over my lifetime. None have ended well. Maybe because that wasn’t a job, so the fates decided not to screw with me.”
