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Tonya
Emma shot through the door like a puppy who’d just been let out of his crate.
“I take it you had fun?” Tonya asked, smiling.
“I did! And now I’ve got a sugar high!” She giggled and held up a fluorescent green card. “I won, so I got a free game! Wanna go play another round?”
Tonya leaned back from Fiona’s laptop and stretched her back. “How did you win? You never play mini-golf.”
Emma took an exaggerated bow. “I guess I am just a natural.” She plopped down in a chair on the other side of the table. “Or Mary Sue and her brother were really bad. Did you get my text?”
She nodded. “I did. Are you sure you want me to apply for that? I would be at school with you. I don’t know if you want me so close all the time. I don’t want to cramp your style.” She said it in a joking tone, but it was a serious concern.
“Are you kidding? I would love to have you there all the time! Please, please, apply for the job! Please!”
Her heart soared at Emma’s response. What a great kid she had. “Okay, okay, I will, but applying doesn’t mean I will get hired.”
“You will!”
Fiona came into the room nodding. “I think you’ve got a good chance. You’ve got the right skill set.”
“What skill set is that?”
She opened the fridge. “Smiling at people you don’t want to smile at and running the show without getting any credit.” She pulled out a can of soda and popped it open, looking self-satisfied.
“All right. I’ll print out another resume.”
Emma looked confused. “Mrs. Patterson has a printer?”
“No, I’ve been going to the office supply store. They print them for me for a small fortune. This will be my third trip today.”
“Your mother also hired a lawyer!” Fiona said proudly. “She’s a ball of fire today.”
Tonya laughed. Fiona might have been kidding, but any kind of praise felt good.
Emma shifted in her seat uncomfortably.
“What is it?” Had she changed her mind already?
Emma didn’t immediately respond.
“What is it, Emma?” Her mind was racing to dark places.
“Dad’s moved in with Mrs. DeGrave,” she spat out.
Tonya leaned back in her chair and exhaled. “Oh, is that all?”
Fiona cackled in delight. “That’s my girl!”
“Is that all?” Emma repeated, incredulous. “I thought you’d be horrified!”
Tonya thought about it. “I guess I’m horrified in a detached, objective sort of way. But I’m not really any more horrified than I was yesterday.” She smiled, trying to comfort her daughter. “I think I’ve maxed out on horror.”
Emma still looked stunned.
“Your mom is becoming strong.” Fiona held up one arm as if flexing her bicep and then shook the whole arm in the air. “She is too tough to be hurt anymore! She is pulling herself up by her bootstraps!”
Emma’s shocked expression morphed into one of confusion.
“I’m not really doing anything,” Tonya said quickly. “But God is doing a lot.” She reached across the table and took Emma’s hand. “I’m still hurt, of course, and I’m still praying that God fixes all this somehow. But I’m not nearly as hurt as I was. And I’m not scared anymore. I know God has us.”
“Good,” Emma said.
“How did you find out?”
“Jason was at the golf course.”
“Ohh,” Fiona cooed. “The great Jason plays miniature golf?”
Emma ignored the bait. “Print out another resume and then start praying that he gets you that school job. Then I won’t have to ride the bus!”
Tonya laughed. So that’s why her daughter wanted her at her school. Emma had been complaining about the bus ride for ages. They’d built the school miles outside of town, so it wasn’t a quick ride. And it was a ride full of bullying, foul language, bad smells, and mean pranks.
She’d begged her to drive her to school, but Tonya had usually been too busy. “I will pray for this job, and I will pray that if I don’t get this job, God will give us a way to get you to school without riding the stinky school bus.”
“I’d offer to give you a ride, but my car won’t start,” Fiona said, and they all laughed.
