06

She nodded, looking into her drawers and pulled out a file. « You’re in luck because today one of our best cleaning ladies had to go back to Mexico because her mom was sick, so if you’d like, you can get the house she had. »

Weren’t they supposed to run a background check and – I don’t know actually interview me ?! This place and job were sketchy as hell !

« Won’t you run background checks on me and stuff ? »

She nodded, pulling strands of her blonde hair back into her tight bun. Poor lady looked like her face was ready to fall off from all the make-up she had caked up, but also because her bun tightened her skin in a really unattractive way. « Right now we sign all the papers and you’ll get a background check in the police station right down the street. After you get that to us, we’ll give you the keys and go from there. »

« Okay… » I trailed off. I really didn’t want to do this. This had sketchy written all over it. What type of agency ran things so unprofessionally ?! If this was my job, I wouldn’t be doing this. I should probably get out and never look back.

She cleared her throat, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and tucked back her blonde coloured hair. « The person you would be cleaning for is named Mr. Luca Valenté and the weekly pays are each $1,500. »

« And, uh, where do I sign again ? »

Mrs. Hannagan raised an eyebrow, stacking all the papers together and I bit back my tongue. This lady really had some issues with me and I didn’t know what they were or why she had them. I had never met her before in my life, so it’s not possible that I did something.

« Everything looks like it checked out. »

I nodded, sitting back and leaned my back against the seat. « I’m a little confused about something. » She tilted her head to the side, an unspoken sign to speak my thoughts. « Why do you help people find jobs, if you don’t benefit at all from it ? »

She snorted, scrounging her face up unattractively and flattened her hands on my fingerprint papers. « This agency was started by my mother ; she’s always wanted to help immigrants find jobs and keep girls like you off the streets. »

I wanted to open my mouth and tell her that I wasn’t an immigrant. I wanted to tell her that if I wanted to be a prostitute, I’d make more than her in one damn night. I wanted to tell her to stop looking at me like I was some poor unfortunate soul and I wanted to do everything in the least civil way possible, but I managed to keep my mouth shut because the $24 I had where now down to $15 and there was no way I was going to ask Mrs. Maggie to lend me money.

« We accept donations from people and that’s how we stay afloat. But, really it is none of your business Ms. Rodriguez. » Her icy eyes stared me down and I gritted my teeth. « These are the keys to Mr. Valenté’s home and the address. He will leave out instructions for you when you get there on Friday. His contract is to go clean up twice a week, any day of your choosing, between the hours of 8am and 3pm. »

My fists were clenched so tightly that my nails were starting to hurt me, but it was the only thing I could do to not smash her head down on the desk. Pendeja. « Okay, » I managed to breath out carefully.

« You will essentially be signing the contract with Mr. Valenté, so he is your boss ; you have to report to him if anything occurs. We wish you the best of luck, Ms. Rodriguez ; have a nice rest of the day. »

I got up from the chair and walked out faster than a bat out of hell. « Pendanga, se cree que to’ los hispanos somos inmigrantes. ¡Tus abuelos fueron inmigrantes también, gringa estúpida ! Y yo no soy ninguna fücking puta. »

Chirpy Chanel raised an eyebrow as I continued muttering things under my breath, but I was too focused on the anger I felt at her stupidity. I honestly didn’t even want this job now. I’d go straight to Mrs. Maggie tell her how this weird ass interview went and start looking for other jobs.

After I paid the $9 to the taxi driver, I felt my account squealing at the $5.24 it had left. It was mandatory to have $5 in my bank account. If that ride had been more than $9, I would have to walk the rest of the way there.

I was so angry as I stumped up the stairs that I didn’t realise that I wasn’t out of breath when I knocked on Mrs. Maggie’s door. This was a miracle ! By the end of the first flight of stairs, I was already dying !

« Dani-love ! » Mrs. Maggie exclaimed happily, pulling me in for a hug. « How did your interview go ? »

I held up the papers in my hands and muttered, « I have a job, but I’m not going. »

« What ? » She frowned, closing the door behind her. « What do you mean ? What happened ? »

« Well that bïtch is racist as hell and judgemental. Just because I wasn’t wearing a fücking suit to the interview, doesn’t mean that I’m a prostitute ! » She motioned for me to sit down, but I was too angry. I wanted to punch that fake-tittied blonde bïtch.

Her frown deepened and she took a sip of her tea. « Tell me everything that happened. »

And so, I did. I told her about the application I had to fill out and the non-disclosure statement I had to sign. Basically, I wouldn’t screw up the company’s reputation by messing up the opportunity they gave me and I’d abide by the contract I’d sign with the so-called Mr. Valenté.

« So, » she tapped the rim of her tea cup, « you wouldn’t be working for Mrs. Hannagan ? »

« No, » I shook my head, feeling my anger slowing dissipating, « and if I did, Toby would probably have to break me out of jail. »

Mrs. Maggie chuckled quietly, shaking her head and patted my hand. « Then, what’s the problem ? »

« The problem is that she’s a racist little cünt-« 

« Language, darling, » She mumbled into her cup, shooting me a cheeky smile.

I breathed in sharply, rubbing my temples and breathed out. « Sorry, Mrs. Maggie. You know I’m really trying to stop, but that, that woman is terrible ! So freaking judgemental ! »

« That’s just the real world, sweetheart. Remember that the word is full of ignorance and no matter what, at the end of the day, you have responsibilities ! You have to feed Toby and yourself. You need to pay for rent and try to move out of this dingy complex ! »

« I’m not leaving you, Mrs. Maggie, » I blurted out.

She laughed, her cute wrinkly dimples making her seem younger. « I never said anything about you leaving me, Dani-love, but you need to try and find some genuine happiness. I’m not going to last you forever and I want someone to take care of you when I’m gone. »

I pouted my lips, looking down at the small envelope with Mr. Valenté’s information and muttered, « I don’t like this conversation anymore. I have Toby ! »

« Sweetheart, » She sighed, placing the tea cup down on the table and said, « every day I get close to meeting up with my Noah. I want to make sure that when that time comes, you’re well taken care of. »

« I really don’t like this conversation, » I sighed, blinking away the stupid tears that were threatening to come out.

The thought of not seeing Mrs. Maggie ever again scared the heck out of me. I knew that there would be a time she wouldn’t be there anymore, but I didn’t want to think about it. I forced her to go to her check-ups and so far, everything was healthy.

She grinned, squeezing my hand before grabbing her porcelain cup again. « I know my sons have given my grandchildren, but I haven’t seen them in years. I would like to see yours before I meet Noah. »

« You want to meet my grandchildren ? » I grinned cheekily and she rolled her eyes.

« I want you to get married to a good, loving man, and have lots of cute babies. »

I widened my eyes in horror and shook my head. « Mrs. Maggie, my vagina wasn’t cut out for more than two children. »

She laughed, her blue eyes twinkling in happiness. « The point of this is that you need to start somewhere and if working for Mr. Valenté will help you save up a little bit of money, then you need to take that opportunity. »

I pursed my lips, unhappily and sighed. « Why do you always say things in a way that make me give in ? You always win ! »

« Imagine how bad it was for Noah ! » She giggled, sighing and stood up. She walked towards the record player and put down a record. She lowered the volume, so it wouldn’t be too loud and swayed a bit to the music with her eyes closed.

Mrs. Maggie was truly one of the strongest people I knew – actually, there were very little people I knew, so she was the strongest person I knew. She kept on smiling and living happily even after losing the love of her life and I had never been in love, but by the way her face lit up whenever she talked about Noah, I knew that it was beautiful and precious.

That was one of my biggest fears ; falling in love and them dying before me. They weren’t allowed to die ! Once they married me, they had to put up with me until we were good to cross over.

« So, » Mrs. Maggie turned back to me, « when is your first day ? »