Page 3 of Love in Pieces

My nerves run highonce I clock out. This is the moment I have been dreading. Putting in my two weeks’ notice was never a part of my plan for the summer. I was hoping to rack up as many hours, and thus paychecks, as possible to help pay for my last year of college. But Sam has other ideas. He’s been trying to reassure me that I don’t need to work anymore and that he would pay for the rest of my schooling if I truly felt I wanted to finish it. That should seem sweet like he cares for me and wants to provide for me. But it’s just another way to govern this relationship he’s so carefully curated. At this point, as much as I put up a fight about it, he won’t budge on the job piece, but I’ve managed to convince him that school is good for me. I won’t let him take that from me. It feels like one of the only pieces of myself I have left.

As I fidget with the zipper of my backpack, I gaze toward Randy’s office. Here goes nothing.

“I’ll meet you outside, Mer. I need to talk to Randy about something.” I say as calm as possible, but I’m sure my voice shakes a little.

She gives me a weird look but doesn’t press. “Okay. Don’t take too long.”

I offer a thumbs-up before forcing my feet forward. I knock lightly, hoping he either won’t hear me or won’t be in there. But much to my dismay, he calls out, “Come in!”

“Hey, Randy. Got a sec?”

He looks up from a large black binder. “Sure thing. What’s up?”

“Um ... So, I ...”

“Please don’t tell me you’re putting in your two weeks’ too? I was hoping to count on you this summer. You’re one of my best and most reliable employees,” he says, leaning forward in his squeaky chair. He rubs a hand over the graying scruff on his chin.

“I know. I’m sorry. I ...” What’s my excuse? I never got this far in my planning.Hey, sorry. Gotta quit my job because my boyfriend might beat me up again if I don’t.Yeah, that would go over well. “I just need to take some personal time. I might come back at the beginning of next school year, though.” That’s a lie, but I hate disappointing people.

He sighs. “All right. Well thanks for being honest with me. And thanks for giving me two weeks’ notice. Not everyone does that. They seem to assume that once the school year is over, they just get to leave.”

“Oof. I’m not that bad. Thanks for understanding, Randy. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

He waves as I close his office door, the weight of it feeling a little lighter this time. Now, to tell Meredith. I just need to be upfront with her about it, but not with the full truth. I’ll tell her what I told Randy. Yeah. That should work.

Meredith sits waiting on the bench outside the doors when I exit the building. “Hey, Mer. Ready to go to the library?” I unclip my helmet from my bike, working it over my long black braids.

“Yeah. What did you need to talk to Mr. Grumpy about?” she asks, as I flip the visor up.

I avert my gaze to the suddenly interesting concrete beneath me, but the words form quickly, and I blurt out, “I put in my two weeks’ notice.”

She almost chokes on her iced coffee. “You did what?”

This isnothow I anticipated starting my summer.

?CHAPTER 2

---