Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 71625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
His head tilted.
“What?”
I could tell I’d surprised him with my words.
I nodded. “He told me today that he doesn’t work with a ballistic vest because the rest of his officers need to be outfitted first…and I was just wondering...last year y’all had that fundraiser for the sheriff’s department to get them. You should get them for your dad’s department.”
Sean’s mouth fell open, then he frowned.
“Honey…”
I looked up to see a woman walking toward us, a small smile on her face as she scratched her chin.
She was sizing me up as she approached.
“Hi.” I smiled, then waved. “Bye.”
Then I turned to walk away.
Women made me nervous.
Really nervous.
I was never really good at making friends, and the fact that the only one I did make really good friends with stole my husband, really made it hard for me to find any common ground with the female population.
I was two steps from the door when I heard him call my name.
I turned and looked at him from across the parking lot.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for the info. I’ll get my dad the vest.”
I gave him a thumb up, eerily happy that he’d make sure that his father was safe.
I wish I could do the same, but I just couldn’t afford it.
There were days we had to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because I couldn’t afford to buy groceries for the next four days.
A seven-hundred-dollar vest would buy me groceries for seven weeks, if not more.
“Thank you.”
Then I had my hand on the door, about to go inside.
“For what it’s worth, I really wanted to pass you,” Sean called. “I would have had Arnie not been a dick and told me not to let my soft heart get in the way of our company policy.”
I shrugged.
It still hurt, but it was what it was.
I couldn’t do anything about it now.
And that’s when I found my daughter standing there holding the door open. Listening to what was being said.
“They’re ready for us,” Conleigh said.
It was when we were in the exam room that she finally spoke.
“He didn’t pass you because of your legs?”
I nodded. “He couldn’t. I couldn’t pass the physical.”
“Isn’t that discrimination?”
“Not really, no. I couldn’t do the job that was demanded of me. I wasn’t able to pick up the stretcher without toppling over on my ass. Not much I could do about it,” I said, still feeling the humiliation of not being able to do a job that I would’ve done just fine a year and a half ago.
Conleigh grunted in reply.
I guess she doesn’t agree.
Chapter 8
Don’t be ashamed of who you are. That’s your parent’s job.
-Fact of Life
Winnie
It was four days later when a hurricane rocked our state. One the likes of which we’d never seen before in the history of the United States.
Everyone was scared.
Even us, and we were nowhere close to the coastline where the majority of the devastation was set to take place.
We’d watched the impending hurricane on the news, and when it finally hit that morning, the coastline of Alabama was hit hard with over thirty inches of rain in ten hours.
It was, quite possibly, the most devastating thing in the world to watch.
The news people were standing outside in the midst of a category five hurricane, and they had to hold on to a chain link fence to keep from being blown away.
Behind them was what used to be a mall parking lot but was now completely submerged. Not even the few stray cars in the parking lot could be seen any longer.
They’d just finished showing a time lapse video of the devastation when I got a call.
“Hello?”
“Winnie, this is Bob.”
I smiled. “Hi, Bob. How are you?”
“I’m well. I’m calling to see if you’d be willing to go down to the hurricane affected area and work at our sister hospital for the next week. With the hurricane and the influx of patients, we’re sending down about fifty members of our staff to help.”
I was about to immediately deny him when he said, “There’ll be a ten dollar an hour hazard pay increase, as well as time and a half since you’re already at your hours for this week. Free room and board. You’ll also be fed, and you’ll get bonuses if you do decide to go.”
The yes was coming out of my throat before I’d even had the chance to think.
Ten dollars an hour on top of my twelve fifty an hour would make it twenty-two dollars an hour plus time and a half. Hell yes, I was going to do it.
I had Christmas coming up in a few months!
Not to mention that I’d been forced to give Cody up for the next week thanks to the fall break.
Matt had stopped by earlier in the day to beg me to let him have Cody. It was a teacher in-service week, and all the kids were off for the week while the teachers were still expected to go. I hadn’t been able to refuse him. Not when I knew my son would love to go.