CHAPTER 13
Petal
“Hot choc, please!” Dru, Hollis’ adorable little girl, trills from the booster seat next to Hollis in their booth.
I couldn’t spare the afternoon to hang out the way Hollis invited me to, so they brought the fun to me.
She also brought one of the prepaid cards she told me about, in case I hadn’t gotten to the store to get one for myself.
“If that’s okay with your mama, I’ll bring one right out for you.” I don’t want to cross any boundaries if Hollis is one of those ‘sugar is toxic’ kinds of parents, but saying no to Dru’s adorable pleading would be impossible for me if I were her mom.
“Yeah, hot chocolate is fine. Do you have lids for the cup?” Hollis smiles at her daughter in the way mothers do when their kid is being precious. A lot of the time the level of preciousness I see strikes me as the kind only a parent could love, but Dru actually is adorable.
“When’s your break? Can you sit for a while and hang out?” Her hopeful expression has me agreeing without hesitation. It’s after three, so the lunch crowd is gone and the dinner guests haven’t arrived yet. It’s perfect timing for me to take a break and eat before my second shift of the day.
“I can sit for a bit. It’s my break before the dinner shift. Let me put your order in and grab whatever George made me to eat today. I’ll be right back?” I probably sound like an overly eager dork, but Hollis is the first friend I’ve made since high school finished over a half decade ago.
Making friends as an adult is outrageously hard to do and better systems need to be created.
Launching kids into adulthood without the soft skills to land grown-up friends is a massive failing of the educational process.
Maybe, if I’d been better at making friends, I wouldn’t have fallen for Jordan’s bullshit.
I imagine my life would be much better now if I’d been able to see through the veneer he wore to fool the world.
Still, Jordan is in my rearview, and it’s finally looking as if I have a future shaping up. Hollis with her adorable daughter, Dru, and her determination to help me are a part of that future, and finally having a friend makes me feel giddy with hope. If I’m a little overly eager about it, sue me.
Once their food is ready and I have the burger George made for me, I go back to the table intending to sit across from where Hollis has Dru boxed in.
The little girl is bouncing in the plastic booster seat and scribbling with the crayons Pete hands out with children’s menus.
Hollis told me the day we met that she’s a single mom and doesn’t have any other family to speak of.
She’s such a natural at it I have a hard time imagining how hard things must have been for her.
“Grilled cheese and applesauce for Miss Dru, your cobb salad with extra avocado and a side of fries for sharing, and for me, a burger loaded with every extra calorie George thinks I need.” I set their plates in front of them and mine where I’ll sit.
“I dunno who George is, but girlie he’s not wrong. You look like a strong wind would carry you away.” Hollis’ assessing look is a reminder I haven’t had the budget to indulge in the skin care and makeup rituals I used to delight in.
True, part of those routines were to keep Jordan happy.
Early in our relationship, I learned at the bruising end of his fists what looking unkempt and embarrassing him when he brought people over meant.
And maybe, a small part of me enjoys the freedom to exist without any requirement to please anyone but myself.
Not going to lie though, I really do miss pampering myself and copying social media tutorials to achieve fancy looks.
“Well, if I keep eating as much as George, he’s the owner here by the way, wants me to eat, it’ll take a tornado to blow me away.
” I’m joking, but the real truth is, I’ll eat every bite I can because I appreciate having a boss who gives a shit about me.
Between George and Hollis, it’s really nice to feel as if there are a couple people who would notice if I disappeared.
That was honestly the scariest thing about being under Jordan’s thumb.
He and I both knew not a single soul on earth gave a shit what he did to me.
Hollis, Dru and I dig into our meals, making idle conversation that Hollis and I both make sure is Dru-appropriate.
I learn from Hollis’ very careful explanations that she is what she calls a ‘bop’ which means she works in the sex industry.
Reading between the lines, I realize she used to do actual escort work but now, only does online stuff.
Maybe, once I have a place of my own, I’ll have her help set me up to do the same thing.
Because despite all the hard stuff she’s been through, it’s obvious she’s making tons of money, now, and doing it safely without being under the thumb of an abuser.
“So let’s talk next steps. The cards I brought can be reloaded at any big-box retailer, but we also need to get you set up with new forms of identification.
I brought the paperwork to fill out for a replacement social security card and a certified copy of your birth certificate.
Assuming you were born in this state?” Hollis pulls a folder from her giant designer bag and passes it across the table.
“You can have the documents sent to my address if you need to. I mean, as long as you trust me to receive them and not steal your identity.” She smiles reassuringly, and I can’t help the giggle her offer gives me.
“Please, steal my identity. You can’t do any worse with it than I have.” The joke doesn’t ring as funny as I mean it to. Knowing I got myself into such a mess is actually really depressing.
“Stop that. You’re in a rough spot, but you’re climbing out of it.
That’s not nothing. So stop beating yourself up.
” She gives me a fierce mama bear look that has me sitting straighter and breathing deeply.
There’s no way she’s older than me, and I make the mental note to ask her how old she is later.
Still, she has a commanding strength I wish I could bottle and save for when I’m doubting myself.
“Okay. I’ll try,” I promise. She gives me the whole folder and watches as I flip through the contents. There’s a flyer for the local post office’s post box service and a brochure for a bank.
“Different bank than where we met. I’m moving my money to a new company after watching how dismissive they were to you.
Any financial institution that refuses to help a woman in need is not one that gets to hold my money.
” Hollis arches a perfectly shaped brow and glares out the plate glass window to where the glowing sign of the bank where we met just barely peeks around the corner of the block.
“You really are a girl’s girl, aren’t you?” I ask.
“Damn straight. Gotta be one to raise one,” Hollis declares.
Dru’s head snaps up at her mom’s curse word, but instead of copying her mom, the preschooler meets my eyes across the table and lifts her tiny fist into the air.
“Girl power!” she crows in her little musical voice before dropping her fist and returning to her grilled cheese sandwich. Guess Hollis really does lead by example, because I absolutely believe, though she might not be old enough to tie her own shoes, Dru’s a ride or die friend in the making, too.