Page 84 of Protected By West
Tracy opened her door and darted out into the lobby area of the credit union. As the front door swung open she slowed her feet and the corners of her mouth lifted in her workday smile. "Good morning, Missus Hinton and this is... Jeffrey or Jordan."
The little boy beside the older woman beamed with a smile that showed he was missing two teeth. "I'm Jeffrey!"
The FFs came out with more breath than they should have but missing his front teeth made it harder to pronounce. It was absolutely cute.
"I lost my teeth, Miss Fagan!"
"So you did, Jeffrey! You're growing up."
The little boy nodded, super proud. "Yep! My grams said I'm going to be taller than her any time now."
Tracy's smile broadened at that. "I bet you will. It seems every generation gets taller and taller."
Jeffrey looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you taller than your grams?"
"I didn't know my grandparents but I'm taller than my mom." She chuckled. "When I was a teenager my mom had to make me sit down so she could scold me. She told me it felt weird to scold me if she had to tip her head back."
Missus Hinton chuckled in her soft and gentle way. "I'll have to remember that for the future just in case I have to scold Jeffrey or his brother."
Jeffrey's mouth gaped open. "No way! Grams is never going to have to scold me. I'm a good boy!"
Tracy nodded. "I know you are."
Jeffrey put his hand in his shorts pocket and pulled out a Spiderman wallet. With a big toothless grin he opened the Velcro tab holding it closed. "I've got tooth fairy money, Miss Fagan! I'd like to posit it in my savings count."
Tracy nodded, translating his words into 'deposit it in my savings account.'
"We can certainly do that." She looked over to the counter and saw that Becca was at her computer. "Let's go over to Becca and-"
Jeffry was already making his way across the floor in a beeline for the open window.
Becca leaned over the counter and called out to the child. "Hey, Jeffrey! You want me to bring out the step for you?"
"Nope!" He called right back. "I've got this." And he did. The little boy was indeed growing. He got up on the tip-toes of his Spiderman sneakers and got most of his face over the top of the counter. A quick look in the security screen against the back wall showed that his nose was what was likely keeping him braced against the top of the counter as he reached his arm across the counter. "I've got money, Miss Becca. Please put it in my Parachute Savings Account. Do you need the number?"
Becca shook her head. "I've got your account up, Jeffrey. No worries."
Jeffrey turned around and called out to his grandmother. "Grams! Miss Becca knows my account number!"
Tracy was walking across the carpeted floor and chuckled along with Jeffrey's grandmother.
"That's great!" His grandmother was the one who'd started savings accounts when each of her grandchildren were born. She'd even enrolled them in some of their Super Saver education classes that they held on every second Saturday of the month.
Missus Hinton did a few transactions of her own and then she left with her grandson, both smiling. And soon the lobby was quiet again.
Jaime walked over to Tracy, meeting her at the swinging gate that blocked public access to the area behind the counter. "Here. I saved you the apple one."
Tracy took the napkin in her hand and admired the golden brown outside of the pastry knowing the apple and cinnamony goodness that she'd find inside. "You're the bestest."
Jaime rolled her eyes but smiled at her friend. "You know it!"
Becca finished organizing her receipts and closed her drawer. "Did you guys hear about what happened at the Farmstead Credit Union a few blocks over?"
"Oh?"
Tracy had just taken a bite, or she would have asked the question that came from Pepper who stepped in from the Loan Office half a dozen feet away from them.
"What happened?"
