Page 130 of Trusting Easton

“You think she’ll be mad?”

“No, she wants me to have a relationship with him. She just didn’t want him around me if he was just going to put you down.”

“Does your mom know when the divorce will be final?”

“She said it should be done by the end of the month. I think we should drive home that weekend, after she signs the papers. I know she asked for the divorce, but I can tell she’s sad seeing her marriage end. It’s less about my dad and more about our family. She’ll miss having all of us together for family dinners and holidays and trips.”

“Then yeah, let’s go home that weekend.”

It’s weird to say ‘home’ when it’s Easton’s house. But when I was living there it felt like home, especially after Easton’s dad moved out. The house felt different after he left. It felt lighter, less tense, and I wasn’t afraid of being kicked out. Jenna was nicer to me too. Being around me and knowing how I used to live has made Jenna less selfish and demanding. She still asks her parents for stuff, but she doesn’t demand it. And her parents don’t give her as much as they used to. Her mom makes her do chores now to earn what she wants. Her dad doesn’t do that, but he no longer buys her stuff just to keep her quiet.

“Oh, my job starts next Monday,” I say to Easton. “She called when you were getting stuff from the car.”

“That’s great! Are you excited?”

“Yeah, I think it’ll be fun.”

Next week I’ll start my new job as a nanny for a family with three kids, ages eight, six, and four. I’ll work Monday through Friday from seven to three. It pays well and I get to do kid stuff all day, like playing games and going to the park. It’s almost like I’m reliving the childhood I never had.

Last winter, I started babysitting for some of the families in Easton’s neighborhood. It was Penelope’s suggestion. She knew I wanted to earn some money and knew lots of people who needed a sitter. When word got around that I was available to babysit, I had more job offers than I could take. I worked mostly at nights after the nanny had gone home. I was the night nanny. That’s what they called me. I’ve learned rich people prefer the term nanny over babysitter. I’ve also learned that rich kids my age don’t babysit, leaving a shortage of sitters and putting me in high demand. I was so busy I had to quit my job at the skating rink.

The people I’ll be working for next week are friends with a family I worked for last spring. They recommended me, I drove here to meet the family, and they gave me the job. I can’t wait to start. I really like working with kids. I might even do it as a career, although I’m still considering auto mechanics. I signed up for a class. It starts in September.

I have no idea what I want to do because I never thought about it. When I was living with Ted, I just assumed I’d get through high school, then work whatever job I could get that would pay the bills. But now I’m thinking I could do something I’d actually want to do. I just don’t know what that is yet. Penelope said I should try different things to see what I like, so that’s what I’m doing, starting with this class.

Penelope’s also figuring out what she wants to do. She’s going back to work as a lawyer, but she hasn’t decided where yet. She has a lot of connections and could have a job today if she wanted it, but she wants to make sure she picks a place she’ll like. In the meantime, she’s been working with some of her connections in the criminal justice world to go after Vince and his massage place. It was shut down a month ago. It was a long process and I don’t really understand it. All I know is that an undercover cop went to the massage place, saw what was going on, and shut it down. Vince was arrested and put in jail. He’s fighting the charges, but hopefully won’t win and will serve at least a few years in prison.

The cops didn’t have any evidence to go after my dad. I don’t know what his involvement with Vince was, but I’m thinking it wasn’t as much as I thought. The cops didn’t find his name in any of the paperwork in Vince’s office or on his computer. I think my dad probably just told Vince I needed a job and that if he hired me, my dad would get a cut of whatever I made. I don’t really care that my dad didn’t get arrested. He’s out of my life and I don’t want to think about him.

“Easton?” Penelope knocks on the door. “Are you in there?”

He opens the door. “We were just coming out. Is lunch ready?”

“No. We ran out of propane. Would you go to the store and get a new tank?”

“You coming with?” Easton asks, looking back at me.

“Sure.” I meet him at the door.

“Here’s some money.” Penelope hands him some cash. “Ann brought the old tank out front to exchange.”

Easton and I go outside to the driveway. He takes the empty tank and puts it in the back of the Jeep.

“Feels good out today,” he says. “Not too hot.”

He goes to open my door, but I remain behind the Jeep, watching an older woman coming down the sidewalk. She looks really familiar, like… well, I know it’s not her, but it looks like her.

“Nova?” Easton says. “You coming?”

“In a minute.”

He comes up beside me, following my gaze to the lady. “What’s going on?”

The woman is closer now, looking straight ahead as she walks. She’s short and pudgy, wearing cropped white pants, a bright pink shirt, and a large sun hat.

“Holy shit, is that—” Easton looks at me.

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

---