Page 30 of Just So You Know, I Don't Work Friday

Checking Account Balance: $155 (I found $5 in a drawer)

Savings Account Balance: $10

Boyfriend Count: 0

It was 10:55 p.m., and I was ready for bed. It felt a little weird to be sleeping in this magnificent room. I also felt a bit homesick. I was in a strange new place, and while it was fantastic, it didn’t feel like home.

I resisted the urge to cry. I was feeling overwhelmed. At first, it had been fun, almost a joke, that I was getting one over on Finn Joseph. But he wasn’t even here, and it didn’t seem like Benedict liked me. Gladys had quit because I’d been hired, and I didn’t know what to do, think, or feel. This was a weird, solitary position to be in. My phone rang, and I grabbed it eagerly. It was Chelsea.

“Hey, big sis,” she said softly.

“Hey. Everything okay?”

“Yeah. That’s actually why I was calling you.”

“Oh, boy. What do you need money for?”

“Nothing,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay.”

“Oh,” I said. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you’re in a big, old, fancy house and you’ve never been in a big, old, fancy house before. And I figured that maybe you were feeling a little out of place and maybe you were wondering if you made a mistake and if you should go back home to Mom and Dad and…”

“Chelsea, I love you,” I said and smiled.

“I love you, too. So, you’re totally feeling overwhelmed, huh?”

“Yeah, I am. How did you know?”

“Because Polly told me.”

“What do you mean, Polly told you?”

“Polly called me, and she said, ‘I think you should call Harriet.’”

“Why didn’t she call me herself?” I asked.

“Because Polly knows you, and she knows that you would’ve been defensive if she called you.”

“Oh, Polly.” She was right. “I don’t know how you guys know me so well,” I said, “but you do.”

“Because we’re your sisters and we’re your best friends.”

“Yeah, but I’m the oldest one, and I should be the smartest one. But sometimes, I feel like I’m the dumbest.”

“Why?”

“Because you two are living your lives and you’re not pretending to be a professional housekeeper when you have no experience.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t doing that when you were in college, either.” She giggled. “Who knows what’s going to happen when we graduate?”

“True,” I said. “Very true.”

“Let’s be real, Harriet,” she said. “We got blessed with crazy parents, so obviously we’re going to be crazy as well.”

“That is true, unfortunately,” I said. “Do you think Mom and Dad are serious this time?”

“I think Mom’s always serious,” Chelsea said, “and Dad’s oblivious and just going about his life. Who knows what’s going to happen?”

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