Britt inwardly groaned. Lisa would be pissed about this call. Britt could kiss a raise good-bye.
“Here it is! It must have rolled off the table. Now let me find a piece of paper. I’m out of printer paper. Hmm, what should I use?”
Brittany went back to tapping her pen against her forehead. “Any scrap of paper would be fine. Maybe a piece of junk mail?”
“All right, I’m ready.”
“Great.” Brittany recited the phone number three times. She hung up the phone after wishing the old woman luck.
After two more hours of painful calls, Tasha said, “It’s lunchtime! Let’s get the hell out of here, Britt!”
Brittany’s stomach growled. She didn’t have money to go out to lunch. “Oh, I brought a sandwich.”
Tasha laughed. “Peanutbutter without the jelly again? That is a weird-ass lunch, Britt. I know you don’t really want to eat that! Come with me to get one of those teriyaki chicken bowls! Mmmm!”
Brittany looked down at her desk. “That’s okay.”
Tasha narrowed her eyes. “Girl, I’ll get you.”
“No, you don’t need to do that!”
Tasha walked around to Britt’s desk, rolling her eyes. She gripped her arm to make her stand up. “You can get me next time! Or, you know, when your loser baby-daddy finally pays his child support.”
Britt smiled. Justin’s payment was late again. He didn’t give a damn about his daughter.
Britt grabbed her bag and followed Tasha out of the office. Lisa glared at them as they walked past her open door. “You only have thirty minutes, ladies. Don’t be late!”
“Of course, Lisa!” Tasha smiled and waved, then under her breath said, “Bitch.”
They walked across the street to a little American-Japanese bistro called Tokyo House. The line to get food was too long. Britt’s heart raced, and her stomach ached. If they didn’t get their food fast, they’d be late and have to face Lisa’s wrath. Ugh. This wasn’t even worth it. Brittany still had time to run back to the office and eat her sandwich.
Tasha stood next to her, scrolling through her phone. She was completely unfazed by the time. She laughed. “Joe’s thinkin’ he’s got a chance with this!” She pointed at herself and laughed again.
Britt forced herself to focus on Tasha’s words and stop looking at the clock above the menu. “Who’s Joe?”
“He’s that dude that keeps hittin’ up my DM’s. He just wrote me a poem.” Tasha laughed and shook her head.
“Have you ever even met him?”
“Naw, girl. He lives like three hours away! I don’t know what he thinks is gonna happen.” Tasha shoved her phone into her back pocket and leaned against the white tiled wall. “Have you started dating yet? What’s that like after having a baby?”
Brittany looked at her feet. “I haven’t, so I don’t know.” No one wanted to date a girl with a baby — not that Britt had even tried. She had a hell of a time trusting anyone.
“What? Why? You’re hot!”
The line was moving quickly. Britt tried to let out a sigh of relief, but her chest wouldn’t let go of the breath. “Uh,” Britt glanced at Tasha, who was looking at her like she was crazy. “I just don’t want to date. Guys suck.”
Tasha shook her head. “Naw, Justin sucks. There’s good ones out there, too.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
They reached the front of the line and ordered their chicken teriyaki bowls, then hurried back to the office to eat.
As they walked past Lisa’s office again, she watched them like a hawk. “Five minutes!”
Britt’s chest felt like it might explode. She followed Tasha into the break room. They sat at an empty table. Britt couldn’t tear her eyes away from the clock above the door. Each second that ticked by pushed her heart to beat faster. Ugh. Why was it so hard to breathe? She stared down at her food while Tasha bitched about Lisa and Chris.
She wasn’t even hungry anymore.
Britt forced herself to take a bite, then one more. The sweet teriyaki sauce made her feel nauseated. She’d save the rest for her dinner tonight. She might be able to make it last for two dinners if she was careful. Britt closed the lid on the foam container and stuck her leftovers in the fridge.
Tasha raised her eyebrows. “No wonder you’re so skinny!”
Britt offered her a weak smile. “My stomach feels weird.”
Tasha nodded. “This place will do that to you.” She rolled her eyes and stuck her leftovers in the fridge, too. “Good luck out there.”
They walked back out to their desks and donned their headsets again.
***
Britt signed her daughter out of daycare, and Ayla watched her with pursed lips. “You need to send more formula with Millie. You only sent enough for four feedings, but she wanted more. I gave her a little of our formula to supplement, but if we do that every day I’m going to have to start charging you for it.”
Britt sighed. Her milk dried up when she started working because she wasn’t afforded adequate pumping breaks. Now her only choice was to pay for formula. “Okay. I’ll send more tomorrow.” She shifted Millie to her other hip.
“Her diapers and wipes supply is running low, too.”
“What?” Brittany frowned. “I just brought a new box in like a week ago!”
Ayla shrugged as if to say, “Not my problem.”
“Okay. I’ll get some more next week. I have to wait until I get paid.” She bent to pick up the diaper bag as a few other moms walked in.
One of them asked the other, “What are you making for dinner tonight?”
The second responded, “Uh uh! It’s Todd’s night to make dinner!”
“You’re so lucky that Todd cooks! Evan is useless in the kitchen! It’s a good thing he’s funny, or I’d leave him!”
Ayla’s annoyed face transformed into a professional smile. “Hi, ladies! Trevin and Maya were so sweet today! We had so much fun!”
Britt rolled her eyes and walked out the front door with Millie. Trevin and Maya’s moms had probably sent enough food and diapers. They were probably never late picking up their precious angels. They were going home to husbands that cooked sometimes. They were in their late-twenties, possibly early-thirties.
They were doing life “right.”
Britt buckled Millie into her car seat and smiled down at her daughter as she sucked her fingers. “Did you have a good day, sweet baby?”
Millie smiled and reached for her mom. Brittany caught her tiny hand and kissed it. “I love you.”
2
Britt
Once Millie was asleep, Britt collapsed onto the stained tan futon in the living room. The upstairs neighbors sounded like they were hosting an aerobics class, and the neighbors to the left were very loudly and passionately enjoying each other’s company.
Brittany sighed and pulled out her phone. She opened her banking app. She had $34.27. It felt like someone was squeezing her heart again.
Justin’s child support payment still wasn’t there.
He only sent $300 a month, but it paid for Millie’s diapers and formula. Sometimes there was a little leftover, and Britt was able to apply the extra to Millie’s monthly daycare fee.