Chapter 7 #4
“Actually, you did, I must say. Based on the report from the caller, I thought you probably lived in a pigsty with garbage piled up four feet high. This place isn’t fancy, but it’s perfectly livable,” she said.
“One of my concerns is that you haven’t had a paternity test done yet. Do you have intentions of doing that?”
He knew exactly what to say to that―he and Glen had talked about that extensively.
“No, ma’am. I don’t have the resources to do that.
My attorney said that, with a birth certificate and the note from her mother, if child protective services won’t take that as evidence of her paternity, your agency will have to pay for it.
The burden of proof is now on you,” he said, repeating word for word what Glen had told him.
“I see.” Ms.Parker made another note, and Blue wished he could see what she was writing. “Well, Mr.Wallace, I think I’ve seen enough. We’ll be getting in touch with you regarding the next step.” She rose, and Blue did too. “Thank you for your time,” she said and extended a hand.
Blue took it and squeezed it gently. “Thank you, Ms.Parker. I appreciate the work you do to protect children.”
“You’re welcome. Have a nice day,” the woman told him as she headed to the door.
But when they reached it, she turned. “You do realize, if you need something for her or have questions, that’s also one of our duties.
We’re there to help, Mr.Wallace. We’re not doing this for spite.
If we can help you in some way, we’ll be glad to do it. ”
That surprised Blue a little. “Oh. Well, thank you for the offer. If there’s anything I think of that I think you might be able to help me with, I’ll be sure to give you a call.”
“Yes, please. And if things change―you get a job, she gets sick, anything―please keep me apprised. If anything bad should happen and we don’t have it documented, that will reflect poorly on you.”
Blue nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I will most certainly do that.”
“Good. Goodbye, Mr.Wallace. Have a good day.” She stepped out the door and Blue closed it behind her. As soon as he heard her start her car, he slumped against the back of the door and sighed. God, he was exhausted from all of it!
Indigo had started to fuss, and he was pretty sure she was a little hungry. He’d gotten a bottle for her and was getting ready to feed her when the front door opened. “Is the coast clear?” Anne asked and grinned.
“Yeah.” He held the bottle up in front of the baby and she started to squeal and squirm. Once the nipple was in her mouth, she settled right down.
“How do you think it went?” she asked, settling beside him on the sofa.
“I think it went well.” He began recounting everything that was said and felt comfortable with the way it had gone. From what he could tell, he’d done a good job of fending off the woman. “And then she left.”
“She didn’t give you any idea what she thought?”
Blue shook his head. “Except she did say the place was much better than she’d been led to believe by Galloway.”
“She actually told you it was him?”
“No. But we both know it was.”
Anne sat quietly and watched as he fed the baby. When Indigo finished eating and he readied to burp her, Anne smiled. “Do you mind if I do that?”
“Of course not,” Blue said and handed Indigo off to her.
He pulled Anne’s hair back and draped the cloth burp pad over her shoulder, and he watched while she jostled the baby against her shoulder and patted her back.
In seconds, Indigo let loose with a belch that could’ve been heard in the next room. “You’re a pro!” he said, laughing.
“Done it a million times,” she said, nestling Indigo in her arms. “She’s such a good baby, and pretty too.”
“Yes, she is.”
“What now?” she asked.
“Now I go looking for a job, preferably this afternoon if you can watch her.”
Anne nodded. “Sure. Don’t mind at all. Where are you going to start?”
“I have no idea.” And he wasn’t kidding. He really didn’t have a clue.
He searched the house over, but he never found Mr.Wentworth’s business card.
It probably went through the wash and was gone forever.
And there was no way he’d go to Vanguard without it.
They’d laugh him right out of the building.
They’d probably do it with the card, but without it? He wouldn’t even attempt it.
Thankful that they kept Saturday hours, he went to the state career services office first, but they had nothing on file that he was qualified to do.
After that, he went to a couple of automotive parts places, but none of them had openings, even the ones he knew personally from working in the industry for so long.
His next attempts were at small repair shops, but they weren’t hiring either.
One guy told him to come back the next week and check again, but wouldn’t let him fill out an application.
He didn’t figure much would come from that.
After that, he didn’t know what to do, so he started with the fast-food places nearby.
Every one of them gave him an application, told him to fill it out, and then bring it back in a couple of days.
Every one of the managers looked at him like there was something seriously wrong with a grown man trying to get a job at a taco place or burger joint, but desperation had begun to set in.
He had to find something, even if it was part time.
That evening’s set at the bar went well, but even the warm response he got to one of his original songs didn’t make him feel better. Nothing did. All he could think about was the baby he loved and how he’d let her down. What if he couldn’t find something? Would they take her away from him?
“You okay, man?” Devon asked just before their last set.
“No. I’m not.”
“Wanna talk?”
Blue didn’t know what to do. He never talked to anyone about the things that bothered him, but Devon seemed like a good guy, so he launched into everything that had happened. He finished with, “And now I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna do.”
“Do you want my opinion?” Devon asked. Blue was used to people just giving him their opinions and not giving a shit what he thought about it.
“Sure.” Got nothing to lose , he told himself.
“I think you need to be aiming higher.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think you need to be looking for better jobs, not worse ones.”
Blue shook his head. “Nobody’s going to want me.”
“What? That’s crazy! You’re a good mechanic. You should be able to get a good job,” Devon said, and Blue could tell he meant every word.
“Yeah? Well, I’m not ASE certified, and everybody wants that,” Blue told him.
“Hey, some of these places send guys off to school for that and pay for it. Plus you’ve got something these younger guys don’t have.
” When Blue hiked an eyebrow up, Devon said, “You’ve got a ton of experience, and you’ve got good intuition.
” Blue thought about what Mr.Wentworth had said: All he hires in his service department are book-learned idiots!
They don’t know jack shit about cars. You deserve better than that.
You’re a damn fine mechanic, and your talents are going to waste there.
But he didn’t know how to get in touch with Mr.Wentworth.
“Blue?” Devon said, and he realized his thoughts were drifting away.
“Devon, nobody will hire me. I’m a fuck-up and a loser.”
The big guy just laughed. “We’re all fuck-ups from time to time.
But you have a skill set that most guys don’t have.
You should go after something better, something that will give you a good living for yourself and that little girl.
And wouldn’t you like to meet somebody special and have a woman who’d make life a little easier for you? ”
Anne. She was so much better than him. He was a nobody. Why was she the least bit interested in him? “Yeah. That would be great,” he said, knowing it would never work out. She’d get tired of being dragged down by him.
“Then go for it, boy! You can do it!” Devon said, laughing, and slapped him on the shoulder. “Now let’s get in here and play this last set so you can go home and see your baby.”
Once again, Blue sang the song he’d come to think of as Indigo’s lullaby at the end of the set, and just like before, everyone applauded, whistled, and yelled. They were packing up their equipment when he felt a hand on his back and someone said, “Excuse me.”
He turned and found a man standing behind him. “Yes, sir. Can I help you?”
“I hope so. I wanted to ask―did you write that last song yourself?”
“Yes, sir. I did,” Blue said, snapping the case shut on his bass.
“No one else collaborated on it?” the man asked. That was when Blue noticed that he was dressed very well. This wasn’t just some guy off the street who’d come in for a beer.
“No, sir. I wrote it all by myself. Music and lyrics,” he said, straightening. “Is there a problem?”
“Oh, no. No problem at all. But I’d like to talk to you sometime when you have a minute.” The man pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Blue. “Please give me a call.” Without another word, the guy walked away. Blue watched him climb into a BMW and pull out onto the street.
The card was still in his hand, so he took a look at it.
Alexander Wynn, A&R, Tidal Wave Records.
Blue read it half a dozen times, wondering if he was reading it wrong.
“Whatcha got there?” Devon asked as he stepped up beside Blue.
Without a word, Blue handed him the card.
Devon took a look at it and said, “Whoa! Wow! That’s awesome! You gonna call him?”
Blue shrugged. “Maybe.”
“You should do it. Maybe he wants to buy one of your songs.”
Buy one of my songs? Blue had thought the guy wanted to put him in a band, but buy a song?
That sounded even better to him. He’d love to play in a big-name band, but he wanted to be at home with Indigo.
“I’ll give him a call.” He probably just wants to know where I got my guitar case or something , Blue thought. But what if Devon was right?