“Your sister mentioned something about that. She told us that you were really dedicated to your job there, and that she thinks your being let go had something to do with you having kids.”
I shrug. “There’s no way for me to know for sure, but I have called in sick several times. I don’t ever do it for myself; whenever I’m ill, I just work through it and keep to myself so no one catches my cooties. When it’s my kids, though, I don’t have any other choice but to stay home. The daycare won’t take them when they’re sick, and I get that. Nobody wants someone’s kid making their kid sick. That’s not cool.”
“Of course. And anybody who would fire a person for being a good parent to their kids doesn’t deserve to be operating.” His mood has gone a little dark. “When it comes to family, you don’t need to worry about that garbage here. It would never happen. Dev has a son, I have Sunny. Everybody understands those commitments.”
Because he seems serious, I can’t laugh. But inside I’m chuckling. He talks about his fish like it’s his child. I want to ask him how long goldfish live, because if he’s this attached I’m worried for him. In my experience they don’t last more than six months, and I’m afraid when those six months are up for Sunny, Lucky’s not going to do very well with it. Is he crazy? I’m starting to think everybody here has at least one screw loose. The only one who seems completely sane is Thibault, but I’m not going to bet any money on that. I’m sure he has issues. We all do. I guess I fit in here more than I realized.
“Mommy, I’m bored.”
I look over the table toward the dog bed. Sammy is leaning against Sahara with both of his arms extended over her back. His right hand is flipping one of her ears back and forth, and his left one is poking Felix in the forehead, over and over. Felix’s eyes are half closed, and he’s swaying a little in a half-seated position. It’s possible Sammy has managed to hypnotize the poor dog with the finger poking.
I look at Lucky. “Do you need me for anything else? I mean, after we figure out what our schedule is for going to the site?” I check my phone one more time for May’s answer, but there’s no response yet. I’m going to give her a piece of my mind for ignoring me. Another Sister Code violation.
Lucky shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so. I’ll have a copy of the file delivered to you in the next few hours, so you can take a look at it this afternoon. Write down any concerns you have, and we can discuss them next time we’re together. Be sure to keep track of your hours, because Ozzie will want to pay you for the work you’re putting in.”
I nodded. “Okay. Will do.” I stand, gathering my purse and my phone. “I promised to take my son to McDonald’s, so I should probably get going.”
Just as Lucky is about to respond, the door to the kitchen opens and my heart starts hammering away in my chest. Dev.
Sahara gets on her feet, causing Sammy to fall back into her bed. He’s left there staring up at the ceiling, laughing and moaning at the same time. “Whoaaa, Thahara. You bounthed my head on the floor.”
Dev stands in the doorway looking at Lucky and me, smiling in what looks like confusion. “What’s this?”
Lucky answers, which is a good thing because I have no idea what to say. “This is our computer specialist. She came to do some work for us, like we discussed.”
Dev’s responding grin leaves no doubt in my mind about how he feels. Relief flows through me.
“Great news. Welcome aboard.” He looks to his left, catching Sammy’s attention. “And who’s this? Did we get another puppy?”
Sammy smiles and does his best canine imitation. “Woof! Woof!”
Dev nods. “Nice. Good puppy. Stay.” He points at Sammy and gives him a hard look as he walks around the table to where Lucky and I are sitting. Then he drops into a chair next to me like it’s no big deal, like it doesn’t make my heart go faster. “So what’s the scoop? Are we going to start work right now, or do we have time for lunch?”
I open my mouth to answer, but Lucky beats me to it.
“Jenny was just saying that she has to take her son to McDonald’s. And Sunny’s waiting for me at home, so I was going to leave them to it.”
Dev rubs his hands together. “I love McDonald’s. Can I go?”
Sammy jumps up from the dog bed and then continues to hop with every word that comes out of his mouth. “Yeth! You can go. Right, Mama?” It’s not unusual for him to make instant friends with someone he deems worthy, and treating my son like a dog gives you a leg up in this three-year-old’s evaluation process.
I pause for a few seconds, trying to figure out what my answer should be. Do I want him to go? Yes. Should he go? Debatable. Would I enjoy having another grown-up to talk to at McDonald’s? Absolutely.
“He can, if he really wants to.”