Tag: Dave

This diary entry is part 1 of 29 in Lily's diary dated 07 - January 2022

Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!! or BOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I’ll let you know on January 1 of next year which one I pick.  But we’ll go for YAAAAYYYYY right now.

So last night was mostly uneventful.  We stayed up, watched the ball drop on TV, made a bit of noise, drank some cider, wondered what the heck the big deal was all about, went to bed, got woken up by people shooting off fireworks outside, went back to bed.  As predicted, Sabby was a bit hurt that I wouldn’t eat her cookies.  I told her that I love her cookies, but there were just too dang many, and I was going to need to back off a bit just to keep from getting acne!  She was still a bit hurt, but Dave stepped in and told her that if I didn’t want to eat cookies, I didn’t have to eat cookies, and it was not a referendum on her parenting.  He added that he enjoyed her cookies very much but if she kept this up we’d need to rent a truck and use it to haul all the leftover cookies to the homeless shelter.

The problem was, he wasn’t exactly exaggerating.  There are piles and piles of cookies in the kitchen, of every conceivable type and variety.  I don’t even know how she managed to make them all!  Well, he was exaggerating a bit, but not as much as you’d think!  I think they’d all fit in the back of the car if we were careful.

She pouted a little, but he poured her a glass of champagne and she perked up after a few sips.  She doesn’t drink much but it seems to cheer her up when she does.

Around midnight Liz stopped over though, and we hugged and yelled “Happy New Year But Not Chinese New Year” and collapsed laughing.  We’ll celebrate Chinese New Year when it comes time, and Golden Week too!  After giving her some very large plates of cookies, she stumbled home under their weight and I’m sure they celebrated very well.  You think I’m joking, don’t you?

I also celebrated with Jack when it came time for him, and I asked him what his resolution was.  There was a pause, and he said “to be the best boyfriend I can be.”  Awwww.  He keeps this up and I’ll have to find more creative ways to thank him.  I said I didn’t have resolutions, but I came up with a few. I’m not telling, though.  Only a couple have to do with him.

I had to go to work this morning, even though it’s New Years, and it’s amazing how many hung over people came in for horrifically unhealthy munchies and coffee.  I was just my usual bubbly, cheerful self, and that seemed to annoy them more than anything.  But I gotta be me!  The owner asked me if I wanted more hours, and I said I’d have to talk to my family first.  School comes first.  But when summer comes, I’ll be the first in line!  He didn’t seem too happy, but he understood.  That’s what happens when you hire a sixteen year old.

Speaking of school, it starts again on Monday.  I guess Crystal and her family are still moving into their new house and getting back on their feet, so Crystal will be coming here for school for a bit longer.  They haven’t yet decided whether to put her in public school, but I guess one thing at a time, and we like having her around.  I hope she likes cookies.

Otherwise, I guess it’s a new year.  Last year was good, but it kinda sucked too.  I hope this one is better!  And I hope Allison likes her books!

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 30 of 30 in Lily's diary dated 06 - December 2021

Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

SABBY MADE MORE COOKIES!!!

I went to Dave.  I said I was worried about Sabby.  Dave just shook his head.

“Lily,” he said, “it’s a strange thing about women.  They nest.  This is Sabby’s way of nesting.  You don’t have to eat them, but let her be.  It makes her happy.”

“But… but… she gets sad when we don’t eat her cookies!  And I don’t want to gain weight!”

He sighed.  “It’s okay to say no, Lily.  Sabby can deal.  But let her be her.”

I shrugged.  No more cookies for me.

I also sent Allison a package of books.  I found some books I thought she’d like at the cheap bookstore.  Also, David had some books I thought she’d like.  I snuck them out then told him after.  He never noticed.  I don’t think he’s big on reading but he shrugged.  I guess he’s still a little bit sweet on Allison.  Even though he still seems to pine a bit for Aika and Mika.  Both Aika and Mika.  Sigh.  Boys gonna boy.

So tonight everyone’s staying up to ring in the New Year.  Hey, here’s a thought.  So the old year is always an old man, and the new year is always a baby.  So who makes the baby in March?  Does the old year find a random woman?  Inquiring minds want to know!  I’m hearing random fireworks.  Sabby did get some sparkling cider, though.  Yum!  Don’t mind if I do.

Tomorrow will be 2022!  I wonder if 2022 will be different!  I’m kind of scared that it will be.  I’ll be texting Jack at 2022 as well.  He’s staying up with his parents too, but they’re in a different time zone, so I get to celebrate it twice!

Well, I’ll sign off now, we’re going to play games and do fun stuff before midnight!

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 25 of 30 in Lily's diary dated 06 - December 2021

Hi! It’s me! Lily!

There is subscriber specific content in this post.  As usual, it isn’t necessary to the story.

Let me say it right now.  Sabby was right.  I don’t know why I doubt her.  She was right.  She’s always right and it annoys the snot out of me sometimes.

So as you can see by the topic above, Christmas was today.  I guess that’s pretty obvious, right?  December 25?  Christmas?  Yay me?

We got up early because David couldn’t wait, and we sat around the tree in our pajamas and opened presents.  I got Beth a new makeup kit and hairbrush, which she seemed to appreciate.  David got a new game, which of course he liked.  I made sure to check with Sabby about what kind of game to get him, though, and it couldn’t be too expensive, it’s not like I had infinite money to play with.  I got Dave a grilling set, which he loved!  And Sabby… well… it’s so hard to shop for her.  The letter worked so well for her birthday but that’s kind of a one shot thing.  I bought her a sterling silver charm bracelet, and put all sorts of charms on it that showed her what she meant to me.  I put a heart, a charm that said “mom”, and a very pretty translucent glass charm on it.  She loved it.

“Mom?”, she said, with hope in her eyes.  The symbolism of that word wasn’t lost on her.  I just nodded.  She launched herself at me and we hugged it out.

“Does that mean I get to be Dad?,” Dave said.  I giggled.  “Hit me with your best dad joke and we’ll think about it,” I said.  He laughed.  “Of course!,” I said, and hugged him too.

But they got me stuff too!  Dave and Sabby got me the piano, so I didn’t expect anything else from them!  But they got me lessons too!  I’ll be working with a teacher!  I guess that’s part of schooling but still nice!  Beth got me a very pretty necklace that said “Lily” on it, and of course I hugged her.  David had help yet again, I know he did, because he got me some assorted bangles and hair clips.  He got a hug too, whether he wanted it or not.  True, I don’t usually wear bangles, but the kid thought of what I’d like rather than what he’d like, so credit where credit’s due.  I put a couple on.

After everyone else exchanged presents, we had a big breakfast – Sabby had been cooking some more.  She cooked and she cooked till her cooker was sore!  We had pancakes and eggs and toast and all sorts of yummy stuff.  Even chocolate syrup!  After breakfast we cleaned up all the wrapping, and there was a knock on the door!

It was Grace, with her parents!

She hugged me!  She loved her present!  It was just a toy from the convenience store but she was holding it sooo proudly.  “Thankth, Auntie Lily!”, she said, and she handed me something too.  It was just a piece of paper with a child’s drawing of her and “Auntie Lily” on it, with a heart and a smiling yellow sun, but it was perfect!  I thanked her, of course, and immediately put it on the fridge.  She went back to Liz’s house with her parents, but I think my heart grew three sizes!

Anyway, Dave and David turned on the TV to watch some parade or something.

Sabby grabbed lots of paper plates (yeah, yeah) and put cookies and brownies and treats and all sorts of stuff on them, covered them with cling wrap, and she and I trekked over to Liz’s house wearing Santa hats.  “Merry Christmas!,” we yelled, and Liz’s mother looked surprised. 

“You didn’t have to -“

“I made way, way more than we could eat,  Here, we have snickerdoodles, and sugar cookies, and brownies, and, oh!  I read that you have something in Ohio called buckeyes!  I made some of those too!,” Sabby said cheerfully as she handed the plates off.

“I want a buckeye!  I want a buckeye!”, Grace said excitedly.

“Well, thank you, and Merry Christmas to you too,” Liz’s mother said happily.

I handed Liz her present (and after yesterday, I need to get her back!) and she gave me a hug.  I got her a set of fancy chopsticks.  She loved them.

I waved at Jack, and he waved back.  As we were leaving, Grace was already tearing into the buckeyes.  Oh, that poor family once the sugar hit…

Anyway, I don’t know how to describe the rest of the day.  It was just a lovely Christmas.  Dave and David watched a football game, Sabby made a huge dinner with turkey and all of the good stuff, while Beth and I sat at the kitchen table, ate cookies, drank juice, and just chatted about everything and nothing.  We had a huge dinner, and after, we watched a Christmas movie.  Dave wanted “Die Hard”, but Sabby vetoed that, and we watched Home Alone instead.  What a silly movie!

Christmas is amazing.  The day starts out so quiet, and throughout the day, everything slowly wakes up – children pop out of their houses playing with their new toys, traffic on the freeway starts to get louder again, and the world starts up.  But for that few hours, that few wonderful hours when everyone wakes up, the whole country, the whole world, is quiet, celebrating everything that’s important to them.

Tomorrow is back to normal.  Jack and I are going to spend the evening together after I get off work.  They leave a couple of days from now.  I’ll miss Jack.  But I won’t be heartbroken like last time.  We’ll see each other again.  Now I know it.  We’ll see each other again.

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 24 of 30 in Lily's diary dated 06 - December 2021

Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

There is subscriber content embedded in this post!  But you have to be a subscriber to see it!  But as usual, don’t worry, you don’t need it to enjoy the story, and if you’re under thirteen, you shouldn’t.

Tomorrow is Christmas!  And Santa is a silly billy! Making a list to find out who’s naughty or nice.  And reindeers with electrical issues flitting around dropping presents into houses with gas heating!  Okay!

But still.  Christmas eve is nice.

Sabby spent all day making goodies.  Sooooo many goodies.  Cookies, and cakes, and things for dinner tomorrow…  soooo much food.  There’s chocolate stuff, but sugar cookies and ginger snaps and, well, she goes all out!  I offered to help but she shooed me out of the kitchen and told me she gets lots more done when no one’s bothering her.  It’s like she dances around the kitchen!

I asked her why Dave doesn’t help.  She says she doesn’t want him to.  She says that men are perfectly welcome in the kitchen, but not her kitchen.  I guess she can be a bit old fashioned.  She says he can take care of the tree and the decorating and all that fun stuff, but the kitchen is hers.

And the food just kept piling up.  I swear, when that woman gets going, she gets going.  And there’s even more tomorrow.

I went over to Liz’s house with Jack’s presents, and he was there.  They had a fire going – for whatever reason I don’t know, because the temperatures are at record high.  If you want a white Christmas, Texas ain’t where to be!  But we sat by the tree and the fire and exchanged our presents.  They were nice enough to give us a little time alone.

Jack told me he’d been thinking very hard about what to get me – that I’m very difficult to shop for.  It’s not so much that he doesn’t know me, but he can’t think of anything I’d actually want.  So he thought and he thought and he thought some more, he thought and he thought till his thinker was sore, and he finally had an idea!  Hah, Dr. Seuss reference there.  He handed me a small box.

“What is it?,” I said, those same stupid words that every women everywhere from the beginning of time says to their man, and his response was the same response that every man everywhere says back.

“Open it.”

So I did.  As I was tearing into the package, he just kept talking.  “I didn’t think you liked jewelry all that much so I didn’t get you that, and clothing isn’t really a good gift, and electronics is something a boy would want, and…”

But he was just kind of droning on, my attention was totally on the package.  I tore into that, and…  oh my God.

Oh my God.

“Where did you find that?”, I said.  In my hands sat the most beautiful and intricate glass spider lily I’d ever seen.  It glimmered in the firelight, and seemed to shine inside with a light of its own.  “It’s beautiful,” I breathed.

“I had to order it special,” he said.  I think he wanted to say more but wasn’t able to as my lips were pressed against his.  I pulled back and looked in his eyes.  “I love it,” I said.  “I absolutely love it.”  I looked down.  “I feel bad that mine isn’t as nice.”

“That kiss was the best present,” he said.  I handed him his present, half ashamed, and he opened it.

“I love it,” he said simply.

“Really?  I didn’t spend a whole lot and I don’t think I thought as hard as you and…”

He kissed me.  “I really do love it,” he said.  It was an intricate painted figurine of a woman who looked a lot like me, in a magical pose.  “It’s beautiful.”  It’d cost me a pretty penny too.

“You don’t sound…”

“No, I do!,” he said.  “She looks like you.”

I blushed.  “But she’s beautiful.”

“And you don’t think you are?  My God, Lily, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?  One reason I never look at other girls is because none of them measure up to you!”

“You… you mean that?”  I melted.  Just melted into a little puddle of Lily-goo.

“I couldn’t be happier,” he said.  Liz walked in and sat down. “You lovebirds done?  Can I give Lily her present now?”

I didn’t leave his side, but she sat down next to us and she handed me her present.

“I forgot to bring over my present for you,” I said sadly.

“You’ll give it to me later.  Now open it.”

I tore the wrapping off, took one look at it, and blushed deeply.  “Liz!”

She grinned.  “I knew you wouldn’t buy those, so I did.  Maybe you’ll wear them for Jack later?”

Jack looked curious.  “What are they?”

I hid them. 

“Maybe you’ll find out soon,” Liz said, smirking.

“Liz, I can’t figure out whether to kiss you or slap you!”

“I’ll take a hug.”

So I hugged her.

Jack and I spent a couple of more hours together.  He didn’t mention Liz’s gift again, and thankfully.

Oh, and a little later, Jack’s parents gave me a gift too.  That was so nice of them, they didn’t have to.  They didn’t give me an actual box or anything, but they gave me their blessing.

“Lily,” his mother said, “You’re one of the best things to happen to our son in a long time.  Jack’s told us how seriously you take your relationship, and you seem like a nice, smart girl.  We approve.  We hope someday you’ll get married and give us cute grandchildren, but you’re young.” 

“Anyway,” Jack’s father said, “We approve of you.  Don’t hurt our son, but welcome to the family.”

“I’m not -“

“To us, being our son’s girlfriend is a serious thing.  We expect that the two of you will make it legal someday, and if not, then you’ll break it off sooner rather than later.  But it’s still serious, to us.  While you are with our son, you’re family.”

I hugged both of them.  “Thank you,” I said, sincerely.  I handed them Grace’s present.  “Will you make sure Grace gets this?  It’s nothing big but…”

Jack’s mother accepted it.  “Thank you for thinking of her.”

“It’s nothing special -“

“She’s four,” Jack’s father interrupted.  “She’ll break it in a week no matter how expensive it is.  She’ll just appreciate that you thought of her.  I’d let you give it to her personally but she’s napping.”

After a little more socialization, I went home.

Dave had been busy!  There was so much cardboard and stuff sitting around, and there was a brand new, shiny digital piano sitting next to the tree!  It was pretty high quality too!  I sat down and played a few chords.  Dave came in, hearing me playing.

“Merry Christmas,” he said.  “That’s your present from us.”

“Oh my God!”, I said, and hugged him.  “Thank you!”

Dave took all the cardboard out to recycling, and we had a very nice dinner.  After that, we sat around the tree, I played some carols (Sabby made sure to get me some music), and we just had a very nice night together.  Maybe Sabby’s right.  Family’s the most important thing.  I have so much family now.  Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful.  Christmas is a time for family.

And you all are my family too.  I don’t know everyone who reads this.  I don’t know how many people read this.  It could be five, it could be five thousand.  But I know you’ve been reading my diary, and following along with my life, and learning about me, and Sabby, and Dave, and Beth, and Jack, and all of the family I’ve been collecting over the past few months.  I don’t have a gift for all of you.  But you are all my family just the same, and as I say every single day when I end this diary, I

Love you all!!!  ❤ 

This diary entry is part 19 of 30 in Lily's diary dated 06 - December 2021

Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

OMG am I an idiot!  I mean seriously an idiot!  How the heck did I not get all the clues that everyone was dropping?  I should have known, and I was still utterly surprised!

JACK IS HERE!!!!!  Well, let me start from the beginning…  there was a cloud of gas… well, not that early.  HAHA!!

I ran and went to work this morning.  It was a cool but sunny morning, and I had to wear that stupid hat again.  But I told the owner this time that if any guys came on to me I’d give them what for!  He just said to try to keep from causing any permanent psychological damage.  I said I’d try.  He sighed and told me to go doot.

And, well, it kept happening.  Apparently I’m really sexy in a Santa hat.  But I just smiled sweetly and commented on the size of the food they were buying.  “Are you sure you want to buy something so small?”

Message received.

One older guy with a beard and shaved head was really nice though.  He gave me a hundred bucks.  Told me Merry Christmas, and to spend it on someone I loved.  Awwww.  Some people are really nice.  They make up for the karens.  He got into a blue Cruze but it looked like Santa’s sleigh to me!

Anyway, I got home, and no sooner had I got in the door did LIz text me and tell me to come over, she had something to tell me.  So, silly me, I went over to her house.  I walked in, and there he was, all smiles.

“Lily!”, he said.

Of course, I calmly and collectedly squealed, ran over to him, TACKLED him, landed on the couch, and kissed the snot out of him.  After about a minute I heard a throat clearing, and everyone was staring.  Liz’s parents were smirking, Jack’s parents were tapping their feet, and LIz’s mouth was kind of slack.  I cleared my throat and disentangled myself from him and he got up too.  I grabbed his hand, though.  I didn’t let go.

“Ummm,” I said eruditely.  “Good to see you.”

“Is this how you greet everyone?,” he smirked.

“Only LIz,” i said, smiling.

Liz ran over and smacked me on the arm.  Everyone laughed.

“I’m here until after Christmas,” he said.  “I hope I get at least one real date with you.”

“Oh my God I’d love that,” I said, happiness just bubbling out of me and popping as it floated to the ceiling.

Grace spoke up.  “Auntie Lily!”

“Grace!,” I said, and ran over and hugged her.  “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” she said shyly.  “You kith Jack?”

I blushed.  “I like him.”

“Tho do I.  He’th my brother.  You kith me?”

I kissed her on the cheek.  “I kiss you.”  She giggled.

“Let’s go over to your house,” Liz’s mother said.  “Your parents have invited us for dinner.  And I suspect Dave wants a talk with Jack too.”

Jack suddenly looked a bit uncertain, but I squeezed his hand, and we walked over.

Greetings were exchanged, but it didn’t take very long for Dave and Sabby to sit both of us down, away from everyone else.

“So this is the Jack I’ve been hearing so much about,” Dave said.

“That’d be me,” Jack said, a touch of false bravado in his voice.

Dave sighed.  “I was hoping to have this talk a bit later.  Beth is only fourteen after all.  But, here we are.  I only have a few things to say.  Don’t hurt my daughter.  Don’t make promises you can’t keep.  Don’t make me a grandfather prematurely.  Be responsible.  And enjoy being young.”

He gulped and nodded.  “I love your daughter,” he said sincerely.  “I wouldn’t hurt her.”

“I believe you,” Dave said, “intentionally.”  He let that hang in the air.

“I can’t promise I won’t hurt her unintentionally,” he said quietly.  “That’s a promise I can’t keep.  But she’s an amazing girl.  I don’t want to lose her.”

“She is amazing,” Sabby said.  “When I first heard about you, I thought she was being a little irresponsible.  I’m still not sure how responsible she’s being.  But we’ll give you a chance with our daughter.”  She frowned.  “Lily loves you.  I can see it in her eyes whenever she talks about you.”  I blushed.  “Don’t you dare take that for granted.”

“And doors stay open,” Dave said, quietly.  “Sabby told me what you were up to in Orlando.”  Now it was his turn to blush.  “I understand being young.  I was young once.  But not under my roof.  Understand?”

I lowered my head.

“Kissing is okay,” Sabby said, looking like she was sucking on a lemon.  “But you know the line.  Don’t cross it.”

We both nodded.  Dave slapped his knees.  “Well, now that that unpleasantness is out of the way, I’m grilling dinner.  Jack, you want to help?”

Beth chose just that moment to come downstairs.  “Who’s this?,” she asked curiously.

“Beth, meet Jack,” I said.  Oh no.

Her eyes lit up.  “You didn’t tell me he was so HOT!”

“Well, he is.”

“Ah, the famous Beth,” Jack said sagely.  “I already like you.”

“Why?”

He stood up and walked over to her, and lifted her chin with his index finger until he was staring directly into her eyes.  “Lily’s told me all about you.  You don’t back down, and you don’t apologize.”  He booped her nose, and she blushed.  “I respect that.”

Sabby spoke up.  “You might not respect it when she’s cussing you out and telling you exactly what she thinks about something you care about.”

“Yes, Lily told me about your temper,” he smirked, not leaving her eyes.  “But I’ll take my chances.  After all, who knows.  Someday you might be my sister too.”

She eeped and ran back up to her room, blushing.

“I might regret that later,” he said softly.  “But she’s still pretty cool, at least from how you described her.  I think she’ll be alright.”  He walked back over to Jack.  “You were saying something about grilling?”

“Aren’t you the confident one,” Dave said bemusedly.

“Or I’m good at faking it,” Jack said.  It was starting to get dark, but they got Liz and Jack’s fathers, and they all went outside to do man stuff.  Like grilling.  Grace went outside too and was running around the backyard with David.  David’s good with four year olds!  Who knew?

I went to the kitchen with Sabby, Liz, Jack’s mother, and her mother to help her make all the fixins,  It was a bit crowded but we got it all done.  David’s came inside to set the table.  Grace had a bit of trouble with the meet but her mother cut it up for her and she was having a grand time.

After dinner, Jack and I went up to my room while the adults chatted.  Everyone seemed to be getting along.  As promised, the door stayed open.  Jack sat on the edge of my bed along with me.”

“There’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said.  “I’ve known you for about a month and I want to know if… if you want to be my girlfriend.”

My heart leaped into my chest.  I reached over and kissed him softly.  But then I pulled back.

“Oh, Jack, I want to say yes.  I want to say it so bad.  But…  I think we need to talk about some things first.”

“Well, it’s better than no,” he said, looking a little hurt.

“Oh no!,” I said.  “Not no!  Never no!  It’s just…” I played with my hands in my lap.  “Do you remember what Sabby said?  When we were in Orlando?”

“She said a lot of things,” he said.  “She’s very wise.”

“She is,” I said.  “But what I had in mind was when she said that every relationship comes with a price.  Jack, if we start on this path, we’re both going to have to give things up.  We’re going to have to make some decisions together and we’re going to have to make some choices together.”  I sighed. “I just want to make sure that both of us are willing to pay that price.”

“You’re taking this seriously,” he said, a somewhat unreadable look on his face.

“I don’t want to get hurt,” I said softly.  “Maybe it can’t be avoided.  But I want to give this the best chance.”

He blew out a breath.  “Well, I’d have preferred you to say ‘yes, yes, a thousand times yes’ like in those cheesy novels,” he smirked, “But you’re probably right.  Let’s decide this week.  But I might try to woo you.”

“‘Woo’ me?”

He smiled, reached over, and kissed me.  I melted.

“Woo you.”  He let me go, and I must have had a dazed look on my face, because he took my hand and pulled me up.  Not letting go of my hand, we both went downstairs and joined the adults (and Beth and David too) in conversation.  We played some fun games too.  I’m sooo shocked, but David and Grace got along so well!  It’s like he was made to be a big brother!

I think Jack made a good impression on everyone.  Sabby told me he was a nice boy, and Dave didn’t say anything, which I guess is a good sign.  I know he reads this, so I’m not going to say anything about what we’ve talked about before I talk about it, with him.  A boyfriend is a big thing.  A long distance boyfriend is a bigger thing.  I don’t want to mess it up.

But oh my God I missed his kisses soooo much.

Love you all!!! 

This diary entry is part 15 of 30 in Lily's diary dated 06 - December 2021

Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

So Crystal did come back today.  She seemed a bit subdued, but I just gave her a big hug.  She tensed a bit but then relaxed into it.

“I still understand,” I said.

“I know,” she replied.  “Do you even understand…”, her voice trailed off.

“A little.  There’s a guy rotting in jail right now because of something he did.”  I frowned.  “Turns out I know martial arts.”

“Will you teach me?,” she asked hopefully.  “If I’d known…”

“I’m not good enough,” I said.  “But I’m sure we can work something out.  But, I’ve got something very important to ask you.”

“What’s that?”, she asked as we walked over to the couch.  I sat down next to her.

“Well,” I said, play-thinking.  “I was thinking, and it seems to me that there’s something we can help each other with.”

“What’s that?”, she asked.

“Well, it seems that you’re in need of a big sister, and I don’t have enough younger sisters…”

“But you have a lot of younger sisters!  You have Beth, and Mika, and Aika…”

I shook my head furiously.  “Not enough younger sisters,” I repeated.  “There’s no such thing as enough younger sisters.  And, well, I was wondering…  do you want a big sister?”

Her eyes widened, and she launched herself at me.  “Oh yes!  I’d love a big sister!!! Maybe if I’d had a big sister…” she sniffled.

“I can’t promise everything will be okay,” I said as I pulled her off me.  “But I’ll do my best”

“Oh, wait,” she said, “you mean you? Well, I’d have to think about it…”  But she was smirking.  I punched her arm.

“Well,” I said.  “The first order of business as a new younger sister of mine is to learn how to brush each others’ hair.  Beth and I do that all the time and it’s wonderful.”  I smiled.  “But we can do that tonight.  I think you have some schooling to do.”  Sabby chose just that moment to walk in with some books.

Other than that, it was a pretty normal day.  We did school and had lunch and Beth and Crystal did some more bonding over schoolwork.  Crystal still seemed a bit sad, but I think she’ll get through it. She’s a strong girl, had been through maybe as much as me, and, well, she has me as a big sister now.  She has everything she needs!

I’m modest, did I ever say that?  I’m a silly billy.

Dave came home a little later, he and Bob had a job site to go to.  Dave always says good help is hard to find, and I guess they had to clean up after someone’s mistakes again.  Seem the job of an engineer is equally split between making good decisions and cleaning up after people who made bad decisions.  But Bob got it taken care of, and Dave seems happy.

Christmas is in ten days!  But it’s not really gifts I’m looking for.  I have everything I need, and more besides.  I just want a day where everyone I love is in one place and we all are one big huge happy family.  That’s all I want.  Too bad Jack can’t be here.  I miss him.  I miss his touch.

But we still chat.  Sometimes for a long time.  He’s actually really smart!  He’s sensitive but he isn’t afraid to tell me when I’m being a silly billy.  It can hurt for a bit but I love that.  He loves how I look and seems to adore my body, but he tells me over and over again that it’s my heart he loves, and I believe him.  Maybe that makes me a silly billy too, but I believe him.

Look for the helpers, Mr. Rogers said.  Look for the people who make the world better, and you can’t go wrong.

Love you all!!! ❤️

This diary entry is part 14 of 30 in Lily's diary dated 06 - December 2021

Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

It’s morning!  You get a bonus post!  Are you happy?

Jack was worried about me a bit last night, and I love him for it.  It’s been a little hard – does anyone get any rest around here?  But he reminded me of that quote from Contact – “The only thing that makes the emptiness bearable is each other”.  Sure, bad stuff happens, I hate it, and I don’t know why.  But we have each other.  I’ve got Jack, and Sabby, and Beth, and the whole gang.  And Crystal’s got her parents, and us now (I’m her big sister if she wants one), and the church and the pastor are helping her too.  Maybe some people are terrible, but some people are good, and like Mr. Rogers said a long time ago, look for the helpers.  Maybe that little girl died in a tornado.  But people looked for her and found her body, after the tornadoes left.  That counts for something, right?  Maybe not enough, but something, anyway.

Sabby says Crystal is probably coming around this morning for school.  She says to just treat her normally and let her talk if she wants.  School is kind of a fluid thing anymore – sometimes it happens at unexpected times, and sometimes it doesn’t happen at expected times, and that’s okay.  I’m looking forward to seeing her.  She’s a good kid.  I hope she can have a good Christmas, anyway.

Dave did give her father a job, by the way.  I don’t know if I ever mentioned this, but Dave owns his own engineering business.  He’s out sometimes doing jobs, but he works from home a lot of the time too.  He used to go to an office, they tell me, before the virus hit, but after it hit everyone just works from home now unless they have to go out on a job, and he can save all that money he was spending on an office.  I guess that’s how Sabby affords the occasional shopping trip with Beth.  As you can imagine, their family is in quite a bit of turmoil right now, but they seem to be survivors, I think they’ll be okay.  All we can do is be there.  He had to talk to the rest of his team to make sure they would be okay with it, but everyone gave the thumbs up, and, well, Bob’s employed now.  I guess the church is going to set him up with a place to rent while they get on their feet.  I’ll miss having Crystal around as much, but I hope we can keep spending time together.

It’s funny how the world is full of such bad and such good, all at the same time, isn’t it?

I’m going to go run now.  I hope Crystal comes over.  I really want to give her a hug.  I won’t tell her everything will be alright.  But I’ll tell her that we’ll all do our best to help everything to be alright.  And that’s the important thing.  Isn’t it?

Love you all!!! ❤️

This diary entry is part 10 of 30 in Lily's diary dated 06 - December 2021

Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

So, as you can see from the title, today was Sabby’s birthday.  I had such a hard time figuring out what to get her, but I figured it out.  I’ll tell you how it went later in the post.  Also, I hear that Allison’s family’s having a rough time with the virus.  Poor Allison. We need to invite her over at some point – after all that’s run its course.  The virus sucks.

So it was a normal Friday.  Everyone was excited that it was the end of the week.  Crystal seems to be adapting, little by little.  She and Beth are still working on their lessons together, and there seems to be a grudging respect.  Turns out Crystal is pretty smart!  Whether Beth smart or not, I don’t know, but she can hold her own!  Sabby gave them some pretty hard math work and they were competing to see who could solve it first!

After school, I went and put on some nice clothes (not quite as nice when I first met Emiko, but nice enough) and Sabby made a very nice dinner.  I didn’t know she could make Japanese food, but she made ramen!  With the soft boiled eggs and seared fish and everything!  (we still have some fish left over from Dave and David’s fishing trip.)  She’s a great cook.  Anyway, Emiko showed up as dinner was being finished, with her husband and two daughters.

Her husband was a tall, older man with full hair and a kindly face, maybe a little younger than Dave, his name was Bill.  His daughters were 10 and 9, named Mika and Aika.  They looked so much like me!  I asked Emiko what their names meant.  She said “Beautiful flower” and “Lovely flower”.  Seems she really liked flowers.

Nothing wrong with that!  I think David was really taken with them.  I hadn’t seen him look like that since Allison.  I nudged him and said “Those are my half-sisters”.  He just nudged me back and said “They’re not mine.”  What could I say to that?

So we sat down to eat – Emiko seemed really surprised at the quality of the ramen, and even Crystal was slurping it down greedily.  Emiko asked about Crystal, and we just said she was a family friend who was staying with us for a while.

Crystal wasn’t having any of that, though.  “I’m homeless.  I’m staying here for a while so my parents can get back on their feet.”

Sabby cast one of her trademark glares at Crystal.  “You’re not homeless, Crystal.”

She frowned.  “This isn’t my home.  Thank you for taking me in, but this isn’t my home.”

Sabby frowned, but let it drop.  Crystal went back to inhaling her ramen.

Bill broke the silence.  “Well, you can just imagine how surprised we were when we found out my wife here had a daughter sixteen years ago.”

“She didn’t tell you?”, I asked, surprised.  Emiko looked really embarrassed but didn’t say anything.

“Not a word.  When she told me a week ago that she was going to meet you, I was floored.  I had no idea!”

“Well,” I said diplomatically.  “I imagine it wasn’t the easiest topic to bring up.”

Emiko nodded, still looking embarrassed.  “It was never the right time.”

“Well, you know now,” Sabby said.  “Mika, Aika, why don’t you tell your half-sister a little about yourselves?”  Kind of a hamhanded way to change the subject, but it worked nonetheless.  I felt like there was a little bit of tension between Bill and Emiko regarding the topic.  Regarding me.

Mika and Aika took turns telling us about themselves, their favorite subject at school, etc.  David was enraptured.  Great.  After they were done,  I told them about myself too, how I knew martial arts and the piano but didn’t know why.  They seemed like decent kids.  Bill even seemed decent, just a little put out at not being told about me.  Can’t say I blame him, but the past is the past.

After dinner, Dave went and got a cake, and brought it out with one candle.  “Tonight is Sabby’s birthday,” he announced.  “Let’s all sing the song?”

So we sang the song.  Gifts would be given later.  But everyone got a piece of cake, which Mika and Aika were very enthusiastic about.  The cake was chocolate.  Girls after my own heart.

After dinner we retired to the living room and just chatted about stuff.  Nothing earth-shattering.  Emiko did tell me I have grandparents in Japan, though, and invited me to come along the next time she went back home.  She thought it was important that I knew where I came from, even if a little.  Like I was going to say no!  But that would be sometime next year.  Guess now I need to work more at learning Japanese.

Eventually, they all left.  My half sisters seemed like decent kids.  But I didn’t quite know what to make of Bill.  He seemed nice enough, but he didn’t seem all that happy to meet me.  I guess I understood.  I’m her child.  Not his.

Finally it was time for presents to Sabby.  Everyone handed her a nicely wrapped box except for me.  She opened them happily.  Dave got her a glass flower (which she loved).  Beth got her a nice necklace, which she immediately put on, and David had obviously had help, because he got her a bubble bath.  After all the gifts had been given, I cleared my throat.

“Sabby,” I said, “I didn’t buy you anything.  But in Japan, it seems that it’s a tradition on special days like this to write a letter and then read it out.  I wrote you a letter.”  I went and got the letter.  “I know it doesn’t sound like much, but give it a chance.”

I opened the letter and cleared my throat.

“Sabby, I don’t know what your age is now, because you won’t tell me.  I know that you’re one year older now than you were a year ago.  And a little over one year older from how old you were when I was found on the side of the road.”  I sniffed. “I still remember that day like it was yesterday.  How you came and got me from the hospital, and took me to the store to get some necessities, much like you did Crystal yesterday.”  I looked at Crystal meaningfully, then went back to my letter.  “I remember coming back to your house, and you showing me the guest room, which you turned into my room that very night, and me being soo confused and soo scared and not knowing who I was or even what my name is.  I remember two things about that night:  you didn’t name me, and you didn’t leave me.”

Sabby sniffled.

“I chose the name Lily that night, and you called me that from that day forward.  And I cried.  I’ve cried harder, but I’ve never cried as long.  And you were always there.  You held me, and talked to me, and you let me cry, and you… ” my voice broke, “you helped me through what was certainly one of the worst times of my life.  That I can remember anyway.

“And then you took me shopping. I remember that day too.  I had been crying for so long and so hard my stomach hurt and I didn’t have any tears left, and you took me shopping.  It’s not about the things you bought me, but that’s when you made me a part of your family.  It took me a long time to accept that, but that was the first time we really spent together, and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”

I paused, and wiped my eyes.  “Sometimes we fight and have harsh words, but I’ll never forget what you did for me, and what you still do for me, and… and you’ll always be my mother.”  I put the letter down, ran over, and hugged her.

She hugged me back, her body shaking.  “You were right about the Japanese letters,” she said, wiping her eyes.  “Thank you, Lily.  I loved everyone’s presents, but…. thank you.”

Crystal just looked at me, a tear running down her face.  “You… you do understand.”, she said, quietly.

I nodded.  “I do,” I said, just as quietly.

She jumped up and ran over to me, and glomped me.  “You understand,” she sobbed, “You understand.”

I just patted her back.  “I do,” I said softly.

“Lily,” Sabby said, with much emotion in her voice.  “I will never regret adopting you.”

I just smiled wanly and sat back down, after Crystal disentangled herself and did the same.

Finally, Sabby went to take a bath.  Not an angry bath this time, but a happy, birthday bath.  Dave went up too, looking eager for some rea… oh.  Well, after Jack, I guess I can’t say much.  Looks like she was going to get another present that wasn’t for our eyes.

Crystal and Beth and I sat and talked until a few minutes ago.  We didn’t really have a slumber party, but the three of us had some serious girl bonding time, with hair brushing and games and all that fun stuff.  Crystal’s defenses were finally coming down, and there was light in her eyes at last.  After all, I understood, and she knew I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.

I really did understand, and now she knew.

Her parents are going to spend some time with her tomorrow, and she’s really looking forward to that.  After all, even though they had had some hard times, they’re still her parents and she still loves them.  But she has a home for now, and maybe now she could start to heal.

Love you all!!!

This diary entry is part 9 of 30 in Lily's diary dated 06 - December 2021

Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

Well, things got even more chaotic.  I didn’t think it was possible.  It’s like I live a movie sometimes!  I wake up in the morning and everything’s upended!!!

So last night, actually as I was writing the post, Dave got a phone call.  He called us down a few minutes later (I’d already finished it) and told me he just spoke to Sabby, and they’d talked to the pastor and Crystal’s parents, and agreed to take Crystal in for a little while while her parents got back on their feet.  The reason was that we’re already being home-schooled and everyone thought it was important that Crystal got at least some education, so it just seemed to make sense.

Beth didn’t seem all that happy but I didn’t really care.  The more the merrier, I guess.

Dave did sit us down, though, and told us in no uncertain terms (well, Beth specifically, but the message applied to us too) that she’d been through a traumatic situation and that we were to make her feel as much at home as we could.  For the time being, she was to be treated as if she were another sister.  Dave said that because I came from a similar situation and knew how it felt, that I was to be “in charge”.  If I thought something was a good idea, they’d probably do it, and if I thought it was out of line, they’d put a stop to it.  That’s a lot of responsibility, but I guess I understood.  None of them understood like I did, even if I didn’t fully understand.  I nodded solemnly.

Sabby had apparently made a trip with Crystal to the superstore, and picked up some necessities, like basic clothing, bedding, etc.  She was going to camp out on the couch for a little while.  I gave my blessing – the couch is major comfy and heck, I wouldn’t mind sleeping there sometimes.

They arrived back with a lot of bags and one scared-looking Crystal.

Sabby showed Crystal where the bathroom was and told her to take a shower and put on some of her new nightclothes, and we’d make up the couch, and that school would start in the morning.  We didn’t know exactly how to fit her in, but everything we were doing was just winging it anyway, so we’d figure it out.  She did as instructed.  I heard some faint sobs coming from the bathroom, and a few minutes later, she came out clean but puffy eyed.

I sat her down on the couch/bed and sat next to her.

“I understand,” I said simply.

“No you don’t!  How could you!  Look at you and this family, and me…  I’m not worth all this!”  She folded her arms defiantly, but the sadness in her eyes betrayed her.

“I do!,” I said.  “I really do!  I’m adopted!  They found me on the road!  I didn’t even have memories!  All I had were the clothes on my back!  They took me in, and I cried for a long time!  It took a long time before I felt like I fit in here!”  I took a deep breath. “If anyone understands, I do.  And in some ways you’ve got it better.  Your father will get a job, and will make some money, and get a house, and you’ll move back with them and everything will be good again!  I only met my birth mother last week, and I’d never even seen her before!”  My eyes stung a bit.  “They still made me their family!”

I was quiet for a moment while I composed myself, but so was she.  “They’re good people.  They’ll treat you well.  But you’d better treat them well too.  No food smushing or attitude or yelling.”

She deflated.  All the fight went out of her.  “I’ll try.”

“It’ll be hard,” I said softly.  “It’s always hard.  But things will get better now.  I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she said softly.  Where’d I heard that bef – oh.

“Well, I promise that all of us will do our best to keep that promise.” I patted her knee.  “Get some sleep.  Tomorrow’s a new day.”

I stood up and started to go back to my room.  I heard a choked sob, like she was trying to hide it.  I turned right around and came back.  I just sat down and wrapped my arms around her, and let her cry it out.  She fought it a bit, but eventually she couldn’t anymore, and just cried and cried.  I did understand.  And Sabby did that for me, on my first night too.  The least I could do was return the favor.

You don’t have to know someone to love them.

The next morning I went on my run.  After I came back and took a quick shower, we all sat down for breakfast.  Sabby made the good stuff – blueberry pancakes.  Crystal’s eyes just kind of looked dead, but she did eat, and Beth was fairly well behaved.  Thankfully.  Because of the change in circumstances, Sabby cancelled the volunteering for the rest of the week – we’d have to take Crystal with us and I vetoed that.  No way was I going to allow her to be sent back to the shelter, even as a volunteer.  Not until she was ready.  So she was put in a “class” with Beth, and they did their lessons together.  Towards the end of the day, well, they weren’t thick as thieves, but they were chatting and cooperating with each other.  Bonus.

At dinnertime (Sabby had made something extra delicious – reheated pizza!), Dave told us all that Bob had sent his resume, and it was very impressive, so unless he failed a background check or something catastrophic like that, he pretty much had the job if he wanted it.  Crystal dutifully thanked Dave, but she just seemed…  sad.  I think she had been in survival mode for so long, now she didn’t have to, and she didn’t know how to deal with that.  I kind of understood, I guess.  I probably would have felt the same, if I’d remembered anything.

In more mundane news, tomorrow is Sabby’s birthday, and I haven’t gotten her anything!  It’s not because I forgot, but it’s because I can’t think of anything that’s worthy of her!  I could get her a hugely expensive present, and it’s just… just… a thing.  No thing could ever be enough.  I’m sure I’ll come up with something.

I told Jack about the goings-on yesterday and today.  He surprised me.  He said he likes Beth.

I said, huh? She’s been nothing but a jerk!  So bad of a jerk that Sabby threatened to hogtie her and drag her down to a homeless shelter, and then she got food smushed in her face!

That’s true, he said.  But she says what’s on her mind.  She doesn’t let anyone tell her how to feel, and she will fight for that.

I thought.  I guess he’s got a point.  Maybe she could find a better way to express it, but pretty much every time she fights with Sabby, it’s because she’s spoken her mind, and then she stands behind what she said or did, and never backs down.  Sabby can tell her she was out of line, and even fight with her, but even though Beth seems to realize that she could have expressed it better, she never, ever apologizes for saying what’s on her mind.  I guess…  I guess that’s something to be admired.  Even if Sabby doesn’t think so.  Even if I don’t think so.  I guess that’s kind of the point, though.  Right?

So Beth basically told Sabby to get lost, and out of it we got a new temporary sister.  How the heck does that happen?

Nothing ordinary ever happens to you, does it, Lily?  I could almost hear the smirk in his voice.  I guess not.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Emiko comes over tomorrow evening with her family too.  We’ll invite Liz and her parents, as well as bob and Desiree, this weekend.  I’m a little nervous, but we’ll see what happens!

Going to go play games with everyone!  Even Crystal!

Love you all!!! ❤️

This diary entry is part 8 of 30 in Lily's diary dated 06 - December 2021

Hi! It’s me!  Lily!

So today was… well… interesting.

Sabby did not talk to Beth last night.  At all.  She never came back out of her room.  It was very tense.  I just kept a low profile, I was just glad it wasn’t me for once.  Beth didn’t come out either, except to use the bathroom.  She didn’t look sorry.  At all.

So the next day, we ate breakfast, and Sabby told us in clipped tones to get dressed and get in the car.  Beth started to protest, but Sabby told her that she could either get dressed and get in the car, or Sabby could dress her, hogtie her, drag her into the car, and she was still going to go where Sabby wanted, it was her choice.  It says a lot that I wasn’t actually sure how serious Sabby was.  So we all got dressed and piled into the car.  On the way Sabby told us that school was cancelled for today, and maybe for the rest of the week as well, and we were going to have a “field trip” instead.

We pulled up next to a homeless shelter, and Sabby told us all to get out, and we walked in.  She found someone in charge, and said “these three are going to volunteer today.  The oldest one and the youngest one are here for a school volunteering activity, feel free to put them to work.  The middle one, well, she told me last night exactly what she thinks of what you do and who you provide services to, I want you to teach her a lesson.”  The lady nodded.

“We can always use the extra help,” she said, “And I know just the job for her.”

I didn’t really mind, honestly.  It got me out of the house.  Beth looked furious, but she knew better than to speak up.  The lady in charge, a strict, no nonsense older woman with a kindly face, gave us our assignments.

David was put to work cleaning off the tables and chairs with hand sanitizer in preparation for lunch.  I was back in the kitchen, making sure the cooks had what they needed and cleaning any dishes they dirtied.  Beth was put to work cleaning the breakfast dishes and taking the garbage out.  She was seething, but what could she do?

Come lunchtime, they put us all to work serving the food.  It wasn’t the greatest food, in fact, it was pretty bland, but it was hot and the people seemed to appreciate it.  There were all sorts of different people – some were obviously not really up to any good, some doing stuff I didn’t want to think about, but there were families, too.  One that popped out at me was a family that looked kind of like ours – a mother and father and a girl about Beth’s age.  She was a little shorter than Beth, with jet black hair, a pretty but plain face, and a thin body.  Dunno why she wasn’t in school, but there she was.  They were wearing ratty clothes and looked like they’d seen better days.

Beth was having some attitude, honestly, when it came to serving the food.  She was not pleasant.  She’d take the plate and plop the food onto it with a bit of attitude and move on to the next one.  That girl – though – she wasn’t having it.

“Lose the attitude, rich girl,” she said, not menacingly, but matter of fact.

Beth just glared at her, and plopped the food onto her plate.  “I don’t want to be here,” she said.  “My mom made me.”

The girl just looked at the food, looked at Beth, and smushed the food into Beth’s face.  Then she went to sit with her parents, a satisfied look on her face.  She crossed her arms and silently took the berating her parents were giving her.  Her face just said, “worth it!”.  Sabby had seen the whole thing, she was serving too, but apparently she had decided that Beth had it coming and didn’t say a word.  Beth looked murderous as she was wiping the food off her face.

Finally, after an animated conversation, her parents grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over to Beth.  “Say you’re sorry,” the mother said.

“I’m not,” she said defiantly.  “Now this rich girl’s face matches her attitude.”

“We’ve taught you better than that, no matter how unpleasant -“

“Taught me better than that?  This girl, with her nice clothes and fancy hairstyle and makeup and attitude, and we live… here.  Here,” she said, with a look of disgust on her face.  “I don’t have to take someone like this giving me attitude.”

“If you assault the people serving food they’ll kick us out, then where will we go?  Now apologize.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, completely insincerely.  There was a thoughtful look on Sabby’s face.  Beth looked like she wanted to say something, but Sabby’s eyes were boring into her.  “It’s okay,” she said, just as insincerely, and plopped some food onto the plate of the next person in line.

After lunch, and washing the dishes, we came home.  Sabby told us all that we were going to be doing the same thing for the rest of the week.  Beth sulked immediately off to her room.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”, I asked, a bit on eggshells.

She deflated.  “No, I’m not.  But Beth was so far out of line…  I’m not done, either.  Do you mind ordering some pizza?  I have to run an errand.”

“What kind?”

“Oh, just get different kinds, enough for, oh…  eight people.  And get some wings and soft drinks too.”

“Eight people? …  Sabby?”

She smiled, an evil, horrible smile.  “We were looking for a friend for Beth, right?  Well, seems to me we just hit the jackpot.”

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“I talked to her parents,” she said softly.  “They seem like nice people.  Just fell on some hard times.  Their daughter…  isn’t doing very well, either.  I think they need each other.”

“If they don’t kill each other first.”

“There’s that” she said softly.  “Maybe I don’t know what I’m doing.  But I’m Beth’s mother.  I can’t let her keep going this way, either.  I’m going to go pick them up, and they’re going to have dinner with us, and we’re going to see what happens.”

I shrugged.  “I hope you’re right.”

“Me too,” she said, quietly.  Then she left.  I got on the computer and ordered enough pizzas for a small army.

About the time the pizza arrived, Sabby did as well, family in tow.  They all came in, the mother and father seemed somewhat at home, but the girl looked absolutely sullen.  Sabby yelled for Beth and David to come down for dinner.

Beth came down the stairs, and stopped.

“You!,” they said in unison.

“How could you, mom?”, they both said, in unison.

Sabby fixed Beth with a hard gaze.  “Sit down.  You will treat our guests with respect.”

And the woman said to the girl, “And we are guests in their house.  Leave the attitude at the door, Crystal.”

I guess her name was Crystal.

She just sat there sullenly, glaring at Beth, and picked up a piece of pizza.  She mumbled thanks and tucked in.  I guess no good wasting pizza.

They did enjoy the pizzas, I guess I ordered well.  While they were eating, we learned a bit about them.  They were named Bob and Desiree Davis.  They had lost everything.  The father was actually a pretty highly qualified engineer, but his company had let him go due to the virus, and he hadn’t been able to find a job.  The mother was a stay at home mom, and she tried to keep the family afloat, but couldn’t find a good enough job, and they lost everything.  He was trying to find a job, but having no luck, because he didn’t have an address.  It was just a terrible situation all around.  Crystal didn’t have any other family to stay with, so she ended up staying with them at the shelter.  She had gone to school, but with the virus, she had to do distance learning, and didn’t have access to the lessons, so they couldn’t make it work.

“What kind of engineer are you?”, Dave asked.

“Construction.”

“I’m a structural engineer.  We always have need of new engineers.  Do you have a resume?”

“Really?”

“No promises,” he said.  “I have a few openings on my team, and if you’re qualified, I see no reason we couldn’t at least get you an interview.  Of course, how that goes is all up to you.”

“I’m qualified, I have all the relevant degrees and licenses.  But I don’t have an address…”

“Bob, if I can get you an interview, and if you were to be offered a job, would you take it?”

Bob’s lips were quivering.  “That’s all I ever wanted, to be able to take care of my family,” he said.  “It’s been so hard.  I don’t know why it’s been so hard to find a job lately, but no one wants me.”

“Wait here.”  He stood up and went to make some calls.

Desiree and Sabby made some small talk.  Beth and Crystal were still looking at each other with some suspicion, but at least the outright hostility was gone.

“Does your dad mean it?  Can he get mine a job?”

Beth shrugged.  “Maybe.  He’s a pretty nice guy, and he’s good at his job.  If your father’s any good, I’m sure he can work something out.”

“He’s very good!,” Crystal said defensively.

Beth shrugged.  “Not my call.”

“I guess not.”  She was quiet  “I’m sorry for smushing that food in your face.”

“I’m sorry for being a snot.  I was just mad at my mom for ruining my plans.”

“What was so important that you got that mad at her?”

“Nothing important,” Beth said embarrassedly.

“We’re not friends.”

“Of course not.”

“You’re still a rich girl with an attitude.”

“And you’re still rude.”

They were quiet.

“Can we keep in touch?”

A touch of a smile graced Beth’s mouth.  “I’d like that.”

Dave returned.  “I just called my pastor.  He said you can stay with him and his family until you get back on your feet.  I expect to have your resume as soon as you settle in, and I’ll speed up the process as much as I can.  The pastor will help you with computer access, a place to work, that kind of thing.  We’ll need to find you transportation too but I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“Why?”, Bob said.  “You don’t know me.  Why would you help me like this?”

Dave shrugged.  “I need a good engineer, and you need a job and to get back on your feet.  Why wouldn’t I help you?”

“I won’t let you down.”

Dave smirked.  “See that you don’t.  After all, I’d be your new boss.  Sabby, do you mind taking them back to get their stuff and then over to the pastor’s?”

“Not at all.  Everyone eat their fill?”

The nodded, and Sabby left along with them.

I smiled to myself.  It looks like Beth may have finally found the friend we were looking for.

Sabby does have her moments of brilliance.

Love you all!!! ❤️