Chương 8
Customers did not always pay on time.
Five children did not care about net-thirty invoices.
Delaney turned her laptop toward me.
“We need a six-month financial plan.”
“I brought one.”
“You brought a plan based on current business income and temporary leave.”
“Yes.”
“You didn't include childcare at this level.”
“No.”
“Or reduced production.”
“No.”
“Or medical travel.”
“No.”
“Or therapeutic services not covered immediately.”
“No.”
She rotated the laptop back toward herself.
“So we rebuild it.”
Rachel looked at the clock.
“We have three hours.”
“Three and a half.”
She pointed at me.
“Do not become that man today.”
I shut up.
For the next forty minutes, my life became columns.
Mortgage.
Utilities.
Insurance.
Shop payroll.
Truck payment.
Minivan payment.
Groceries.
Fuel.
Diapers.
Formula.
Prescriptions.
Clothes.
School expenses.
Childcare.
Emergency childcare.
Things I had never thought to put beneath a dollar sign.
Laundry detergent multiplied rapidly when five children entered the equation.
So did toilet paper.
Delaney called a benefits specialist and placed the phone on speaker.
The woman on the other end spoke so quickly that I wrote down three acronyms incorrectly before Rachel took the pen away from me.
Some assistance could begin only after placement.
Some required separate applications.
Some would take weeks.
A kinship-style support category might not apply because I was not a relative.
A temporary caregiver stipend might.
Nothing was guaranteed by four o'clock.
When the call ended, I stared at the figures.
“I can cover three months.”
Rachel said, “Barely.”
“Four if I stop paying myself.”
Delaney's eyes lifted.
“You cannot propose financial stability by eliminating your own living income.”
“I own the business.”
“You also eat.”
“Not expensively.”
Rachel folded her arms.
“Bernard.”
“I know.”
Delaney tapped one line.
“What about the upstairs room?”
“What about it?”
“You said during the inspection that the upstairs guest room is unused.”
“It is.”
“Could you rent the detached office space instead?”
The suggestion bothered me immediately.
The detached office was part of the workshop property.
I used it for design consultations, invoices, and escaping Luis when he played old salsa music too loudly.
“I could.”
“Would anyone rent it?”
“Probably.”
Rachel asked, “How much?”
I gave her a number.
She entered it.
The six-month column stopped looking impossible.
It still looked ugly.
Ugly was progress.
My phone vibrated beneath Rachel's hand.
She glanced at the screen.
“Luis.”
“Answer it.”
She slid it toward me.
Luis did not bother saying hello.
“Marisol says yes.”
I sat straighter.
“To what?”
“To helping.”
“What kind of helping?”
“You said real help.”
“I need specifics.”
He groaned.
“Man, I am driving.”
“Then pull over.”
Rachel nodded approvingly.
Delaney almost did.
A turn signal clicked through the phone.
A few seconds later Luis said, “Fine.”
I could picture him parked crookedly beside some strip mall, one arm over the steering wheel, annoyed that the legal system required nouns.
“Marisol can do two overnight backups a week if needed.”
“Two scheduled or emergencies?”
“Either.”
“She works mornings.”
“She changed her schedule last year.”
I had forgotten.
“What days?”
“Tuesday through Saturday.”
Delaney held out her hand.
I passed her the phone.
She switched instantly into professional mode.
“Mr. Ortega, this is Caroline Delaney with county family services.”
Luis went quiet.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“Then call me Luis.”
Rachel rubbed her forehead.
Delaney asked about Marisol's availability, their daughters, sleeping arrangements, transportation, criminal background, pets, weapons, and whether either adult had current CPR certification.
Luis answered the first six easily.
Then he said, “Marisol's certified.”
“You aren't?”
“I fix cabinets.”
“That does not answer my question.”
“No.”
“Would you complete certification?”
“How long?”
“A class can be arranged.”
“Then yes.”
She asked if Marisol could come to the courthouse.
Luis paused.
“She is already yelling because I told her she has to come.”
I smiled despite myself.
“Is that a yes?”
“It is a married yes.”
Delaney handed the phone back.
“Thirty minutes.”
Luis said, “You owe us dinner for the rest of your life.”
“I can probably afford macaroni.”
“Not anymore.”
He hung up.
At one twenty, Mrs. Ellis arrived wearing a purple cardigan and carrying a canvas grocery bag full of things nobody had requested.
She put the bag on the conference table and began removing crackers, wet wipes, two children's books, apples, a packet of adhesive bandages, and an unopened bottle of bubbles.
Rachel stared at the collection.
“Were you expecting a hurricane?”
Mrs. Ellis looked at her.
“Have you met children?”
She turned to me.
“You look terrible.”
“Good to see you too.”
“I saw your picture online.”
“I know.”
“You own a comb.”
“I used one.”
“Use it again.”
Delaney introduced herself.
Mrs. Ellis sat down, folded her hands, and answered every background question with the impatience of a woman who had survived forty years of childcare licensing inspections.
“Yes, my license is current.”
“Yes, I still take two children during weekdays.”
“No, I cannot take five overnight by myself.”
“Yes, I can provide emergency coverage in his home.”
“No, I will not promise seven nights a week because I have a spine and would like to keep it.”
Delaney finally smiled.
“That's reasonable.”
“I've been reasonable since before you were born.”
“I believe you.”
Mrs. Ellis nodded toward me.
“He isn't.”
“Thank you.”
“You spent how much on bunk beds?”
Rachel looked delighted.
I said, “We're not discussing that.”
Mrs. Ellis turned to Delaney.
“He builds when he's frightened.”
I froze.
“That is not a thing.”
“You repaired my porch railing at eleven at night when your brother came to town.”
Rachel's head lifted slowly.
Delaney looked interested.
I hated all three of them.
Mrs. Ellis continued.
“He made a dining table after his mother died.”
“I was eight.”
“A terrible little table.”
“It had four legs.”
“Three touched the ground.”
Rachel covered her mouth.
I pointed at the hallway.
“There are children who need those crackers.”
May you like
Mrs. Ellis ignored me.
The laughter only lasted a few seconds, but it changed something in the room.
