Trials of Love and Motherhood by Brittany Johnson (ebook reader with built in dictionary txt) 📕

“Ugh! You people!” I said shaking my head.”He was nice, okay? He was funny and a gentleman.” I said quickly and to the point. “Happy?” I asked sarcastically. Corey rolled his eyes. “You’re not that dumb Riles. Seriously, how did it go?”  He asked with a serious expression on his usually smiling face. I sighed again and told them everything.

I told them about the ride there and how he acted with Liam, I told him about Jessie getting mistaken for his dad and even about the ride home. “Oh! He said to tell you that he’d see you on his next off day. He just doesn’t know when that will be since he may have to train a new employee they are hiring.” I said, suddenly remembering the conversation in the car. He never did tell me where he worked. I glanced at the clock on the microwave. 2:37 P.M. It feels so much later. I grabbed a pot from the rack and filled it with water. I turned to Corey again and asked, “Where does he work anyway?”.  He scrunched his face up in thought. “I can’t remember.” He said, surprise clear in his voice. Rachel flicked his forehead. “You can’t even recall where your own friend works?” she admonished lightly. Corey shrugged his shoulders and looked at me apologetically. “It’s ok. I was just wondering. I mean if where he works is hiring, I want to put in an application.” I said, putting the ramen in the pot. I turned on the stove and set the pot on the burner.  Corey and Rachel went back into the living room and plopped down on the couch. “So, are you going to call him?”Rachel asked, waggling her eyebrows. I threw an oven mitt at her playfully. “I haven’t decided yet, creeper.” I chuckled.

I sat down on the love seat and checked my Facebook. There were two notifications and when I clicked on them, they were friend requests. Emily Rubler and Jessie Kingston. I clicked on Jessie’s profile. I smiled when I saw the profile picture. It was the same Jessie. His picture was of him cuddling his beautiful Red Nose Pitt Bull. They both had big smiles on their faces and looked so happy. I tilted my head and smirked. What would it hurt? He is cute. I accepted his friend request and happily looked at his page. When I scrolled down, a name jumped out at me. The first name on the posts section of his page was Emily Rubler. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. The post was innocent enough; a pig in a dress. That’s odd. Why would she send me a request? I don’t know her. It was probably one of those people you may know things. I accepted Emily’s friend request, not thinking anything more about it.

I put my phone down and turned off the stove. I fixed and ate my food absent mindedly as I watched the Science Fiction themed movie that my brother had playing on the television. My eyes stayed on the screen, but my mind wandered to an old dark place. James used to love these movies. My mind flashed back to when my ex husband and I would sit and watch these movies for hours. We’d laugh and enjoy ourselves, and then the drinking would kick in. My mind flashed again. This time the scene was a fight. We were screaming at each other and there were tears in my eyes.’ I’m not a horrible mother!’ I screamed, my voice cracking as I ran to the other side of the house. Loud stomping followed behind me as well as his yelling. ‘You’re just as abusive as everyone in your life! You never do anything you’re supposed to do as a mother!’  I hid in a closet, my hands covering my ears.

I shook my head, trying to shake off the unwanted memories. ‘I’m sorry, but that’s the only way you learn.’ That one phrase from my memory stuck around. That’s called abuse Riley. You didn’t deserve that. That’s why you left. I reminded myself of that every time I started thinking about him. I did what was best for me and my baby.

My phone buzzed, startling me out of my thoughts. A number I didn’t recognize was on the caller I.D. I answered my phone cautiously. Please don’t let it be a bill collector.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Sanders?”

“Yes? This is she.”

“Hi! I’m Margret Hamilton with the Springhill Library. You filled out an application for our front desk position a few weeks ago. Are you still interested in the position?” Margret asked brightly. Oh my god! I finally got a call back! “Yes! I am very interested!” I said enthusiastically. I could hear the smile in her voice. “Great! Now, I know that when you filled out the application, it gave a summary of your duties and pay. Are you still okay with that?” She asked, her voice still just as peppy. “Yes, very.” I answered quickly. “Alright! Well, I do want you to know that we have an onsite daycare. It is in the building connected to ours. I noticed on your application that you did mention needing to take occasional time off for certain appointments for your son, so I figured you might want to know about our daycare services. If you choose to use it, there will be a monthly fee of thirty dollars taken out of your checks. This would be done in fifteen dollar installments each pay period.” She said, pausing to take a breath. “When would you be able to start?” She finished. “As soon as possible!” I answered a little too loudly. My brother and Rachel looked at me like I had grown a third head. I heard Margret laugh on the other end of the phone. “How does tomorrow at 9:00 A.M. sound?” she asked. I didn’t even need to think about it. “That’s perfect. I will be there!” I said excitedly. “Perfect! See you then!” She said in a cheerful tone. I hung up the phone and jumped up and down.

                “I got a job at the library!”           

Text: Brittany Johnson
Images: Km Berggren
Editing: Brittany Johnson
Publication Date: 06-29-2017

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
This is a sample of the story I am writing. I put real aspects of my life into it, so it means a lot to me. This book is for me and my baby, along with my amazing little brother. He always manages to make me feel better, even if we have to have entire arguments in Supernatural quotes. I love you guys and thank you so much for keeping me sane!