****
I decided to start Tanner on his journey to becoming a chef by letting him stir the sauce for our pasta. He took the job seriously and didn’t move from his perch on the counter top. Normally I wouldn’t let him sit there but I wasn’t going to turn down his offer to help. Maybe when he was older, he would become a chef and cook something for me for a change. A woman could dream…
While the water for the pasta was warming up to a boil, I called Tessa to tell her about my day.
“Do you need me to come over with some wine?” my best friend asked. “You’re not that far away.”
Tessa lived up the road from me for my entire life. She bought her childhood home when her parents retired to Florida. She was my rock in many situations even though at times we fought like sisters. I never missed out on having a sibling she was practically family.
“That’s not even the worst of it,” I said, grabbing a box of angel hair pasta from the cabinet. I was only up to the part in the story where I was late for the interview.
“No!” Tanner said, pulling me away from my conversation. “I want noodles!”
“One sec, Tessa,” I said, replacing the angel hair pasta and pulling out the last box of penne.
“Tell that kid of yours to stop interrupting,” Tessa said. I could hear the smile in her voice. Tessa was Tanner’s godmother and non-blood related aunt. If anyone could possibly love my kid more, it was a tie between my mom and Tessa.
“Anyway,” I said, continuing my story, “the interview went fine. At least I thought so. He seemed impressed by my resume and I don’t think I said anything wrong.”
“So what was the problem?”
“He asked me out to lunch afterward.”
There was a long pause on the other end. “Like a date?”
“See, I don’t know. But I felt awkward saying yes.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but not every man who offers to buy you food wants to sleep with you.”
“Yeah, well I’ve had experience with that before, remember? And I got a kid out of it.”
“Not all men are like your douchey ex-husband.”
I laughed, feeling the euphoria of this day being close to over.
Tessa never got along with Killian and she wasn’t afraid to show it whenever the three of us were together. I supposed I should have listened to her from the start, but then I wouldn’t have Tanner. And I couldn’t imagine my life without my son, even if that meant I had to deal with Killian for the rest of my life. It was well worth the price.
I poured the pasta into the pot of boiling water while Tessa told me about her day. Hers was much more boring than mine, but I would have preferred that to what I experienced.
Dinner was finished when our conversation was coming to a close. “Alright, Tessa, I have to—”
A muted beeping filled my ear. I looked at my phone and saw another call was coming in. It was a New York City area code. I tried to remember who else I’d sent my resume to that would be calling at such a late hour.
“There’s another call coming in,” I said. “It might be for another interview.”
“Text me later,” she said. “And my offer for wine still stands!”
“Bye!” I said quickly, switching over to the other line. I didn't’ want to miss out on a chance of redeeming myself with another job interview. “Hello?”
“Hello, Mrs. Foster.”
“It’s Miss,” I said, even though I still had Killian’s last name, I no longer wanted to be referred to as his wife. “This is she.”
“Ms. Foster, this is Sandra DeGregorio from Mr. Carrington’s office.”
Every single word in my vocabulary disappeared from my brain at that moment.
Tanner tried to lift the pan of sauce and my instincts caught up with me. I snapped my fingers and gave him a look. He let go of the handle of the pan and jumped off the counter.
“Ms. Foster?” Sandra said into my ear.
“Yes, yes, hi. How can I help you?” Had I forgotten something at the office? It would be on par for the day.
“Mr. Carrington would like to offer you the job of his assistant.”
He what?
“Do you accept the position?” she asked, her tone slightly annoyed.
“Yes, absolutely. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, Ms. Foster. I need you to call back tomorrow morning at nine to set up a time to come down to do your paperwork.”
“Okay, that sounds great!” I said, barely able to contain my excitement.
“Have a good night,” Sandra said.
“You too!”
I put my phone down on the kitchen counter and clasped my hands over my mouth. I tried to contain a squeal from bursting out of me. Oh, what the hell! I screamed and jumped up and down.
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Tanner asked.
I fell to the ground and knelt in front of him, taking his hands in mine. “Nothing is wrong, baby. I got the job!”
His little arms wrapped around my neck. “I knew you could do it.”
I kissed his cheek and scooped him up, twirling around the room. His giggles inflated my already bursting heart. I was out of breath by the time we were done doing a celebratory dance.
I put Tanner down and held him by the shoulders. “Tonight, we can have ice cream for the dessert!”
“Yay!” he said, throwing his fist into the air.
I managed to capture his child-like glee. I couldn’t believe I got the job. Everything that I’d been through today had paid off in a big way. I couldn’t believe my luck.