Page 33 of Daddy's Pursuit
“Honey, not that I can think of. Why don’t you go play?”
“But I don’t mind helping out.”
Athena smiled. “Remember. You don’t have to earn your keep. I’m just glad you’re here. And you were a big help in the kitchen last night after dinner. Now run along and play. That’s Auntie’s order.” She winked.
Iris hugged her and then waddled toward the other Littles in the playroom. The diaper between her legs was an even thicker one, hampering her gait.
The crinkling was loud, too.
When she got to the group, Elena said, “What’s wrong?”
Iris sat down like the others were, the bunch forming a semi-circle. “I feel bad. Auntie Athena is letting me stay here. But I need to contribute. She let me help clean up after dinner last night, but that’s about it.”
Elena put a calming hand on Iris’s arm. “I understand. But Auntie loves taking care of Littles. It’s kind of her thing. She’s glad you’re here.”
“I know,” Iris admitted. “But I can’t freeload forever. I need to contribute. If she won’t let me help out, then maybe I can pay her rent. And I’ll save up enough until I can move out. I don’t want to take advantage of her.” Remembering her upcoming shifts that day, she smiled. “In fact, I need to be at work at eleven.”
“Do you need a ride?” Elena asked.
Iris hated admitting that she did. It wasn’t that she was too proud to accept help. She just didn’t like putting people out.
Her mind raced as she quickly tried to calculate how long it would take for her to walk from the nursery to the coffee shop. Even if she left now, she probably wouldn’t make it in time.
“Maybe,” she admitted uneasily. “Let me call and make sure they still have me on the schedule and that I’m remembering the right time.”
She doubted she was mixed up. Work was something she was sure to stay on top of. But experience had taught her that sometimes, the shop changed the schedule at the last minute. There had been more than one time when she’d walked all the way there just to have them say she wasn’t needed that day.
Getting up, she went downstairs to the phone mounted on the kitchen wall. “Auntie,” she called out to Athena who was in the attached dining room, working on some sort of craft at the table. “May I use your phone?”
“Of course, cutie. You don’t even have to ask.”
“Thank you.”
She dialed the number and waited.
“Café Noir, Teegan speaking.”
“Hi, Teegan. It’s Iris. How are you?”
“Oh, Iris. We’re good. What’s up?”
“Just checking in. I’m working at eleven, right?”
“We’ve been trying to reach you. Called your apartment,” Teegan said.
Iris could tell by her voice that there was something wrong. Bad news was about to be delivered. Holding the phone tightly, she tried not to shake.
“Yeah. That was Mrs. Harkness’s phone. She moved to a nursing home so I’m living somewhere else now.”
Teegan sighed. “I’m sorry, Iris. But we don’t need you anymore. You’ve been a great employee, but… business has been slow. We can’t compete with the big chains.”
Iris nodded, though she knew Teegan couldn’t see the gesture.
None of this was a surprise. Her hours kept getting cut as the customer stream dwindled. The last time she worked, it was an outright trickle.
A small, locally owned film-noir-themed coffee shop just couldn’t compete with the billion-dollar places that seemed to be on every corner. Not even in a town like Los Angeles where there were millions of people.
“I hope y’all make it okay,” she said.
