Chapter Ten #2
Roadkill pulled the door open and motioned for Jenna to go ahead. He held the door as Lacey approached and entered then followed them inside.
“Come on back. If the door is unlocked, he’s here, somewhere.
” Roadkill stepped past them, pausing at a glass door and looking through it before going past and opening the door behind the counter.
“Yo, old man. There you are. I’ve got someone for you to meet.
” Roadkill waved for Jenna to come closer.
“Jenna, this is Papa Smurf. He runs the shop. Papa, this is Jenna. The woman I told you about last night.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jenna stepped to the desk and held her hand out at an older man, with a close-cropped snow-white beard and stocking cap. The cap wasn’t red, but she could see why the man would be called Papa Smurf.
“Nice to meet you too, girl. Have a seat and talk to me for a minute.” Papa Smurf shook her hand then waved for her to sit in one of the old, battered chairs on this side of the desk.
She took a seat then looked up at Roadkill.
“You want me to stay here with you or out here with your sister?” He tilted his head back toward the other room where Lacey waited.
“With Lacey, if you don’t mind.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her sister.
More that she didn’t trust strangers with her sister.
She had no idea if there was anyone here with them, and the outside door was unlocked.
Having Roadkill with Lacey made her feel better.
He nodded once and went back into the front room, closing the door behind him.
“Now, tell me a little about yourself,” Papa Smurf said when she turned back to face him.
“I’m not sure what to say.” Jenna lifted one shoulder and let it fall.
“I assume he told you I’m looking for something to support my sister and I.
” She jerked one thumb over her shoulder toward where Roadkill waited with Lacey.
“What he probably didn’t tell you is that I’m devoted to her.
I want to make sure she has someone with her so she doesn’t get into trouble.
So she knows she’s cared for. That means I’ll either need to leave at three or she’ll be underfoot.
” She paused, wondering if that would be the deal breaker here.
Yes, Roadkill had said they would possibly be something for Lacey too, but Roadkill saying it and the manager of the shop letting it actually happen were two different things.
“That’s workable. We can arrange for either you to take a break to go pick her up, or the school runs a bus by here, stops about fifty yards down the street. If it’s okay with you, she could ride here then spend the rest of the day with you.”
Jenna tilted her head from side to side as she considered it, but didn’t say anything.
“As for the job, if you’ve been waiting tables for a while, I’ll assume you’ve got decent customer service, not that we need anything over the top, just someone to greet people and answer phones, schedule appointments.
That kind of thing. Oh and figuring up the bills.
How are you with computers? They’ve been trying to get me to switch over to a new billing and inventory system, but I haven’t had time to figure it out. ”
Her heart fell. She’d been getting her hopes up but knew this would be the deal breaker.
“I can turn one on. If the internet is already connected I can use that but not much more. It’s not that I can’t figure things out, we’ve just never had money for more than the basics and why have a computer when I can do everything from my phone?”
“Are you against learning?”
“Not at all.”
“What time do you drop your sister at school?”
“I try to drop her off between 7:20 and 7:30.”
“Good, how about we have you start at 8 a.m. Monday morning?”
“Well, um. I’m not sure. Don’t you think we should talk a little more?”
“What do you want to know?” He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his belly as he watched her.
“Well. I need to know what you’re offering the way of pay. Like I said, I’m responsible for my sister and I’m not going to do anything to put her at risk.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to.” He leaned forward, picked up a block of sticky notes and pen, he scribbled something on the top note, ripped it off and held it out to her.
“That’s hourly. I’m looking for 8-5, Monday through Friday.
Any overtime will be paid at time and a half, we have a limited holiday schedule, but you’ll be eligible for full benefits. ”
“Benefits?” she asked, barely hearing him as she started at the post it. The hourly wage he’d written down was more than three times what she was taking home now, even with tips and at full time, it was double the hours. She blinked, trying not to let the tears that pooled in her eyes fall.
“The club has a group plan for health insurance, as well as dental and vision. We can get all the paperwork filled out on Monday to get the two of you added.
“Insurance too?” Her words were barely more than a whisper as she looked back up at him. She found him watching her, a sympathetic look in his eyes. Then something he said clicked. “Club? What club?”
Papa Smurf’s brows rose to meet the edge of his cap. “He didn’t tell you about the club?”
Jenna frowned and shook her head.
“Sweetheart, we’re part of the Savage Warriors.”
Her eyes went wide. She’d heard about the Savage Warriors.
They were a motorcycle club, which was enough for some to assume they were all scum, but of all the things she’d heard, she couldn’t recall a single thing, that came from what she would consider a reliable source, that would lead her to believe they were bad men.
Rough around the edges? Undoubtably. Blunt and wild?
That was a given. But she couldn’t recall a single thing that told her they were mean, that they did anything that hurt the community or that they ran wild, bullying the town and the people in it.
Just the opposite in fact. She knew they did a Christmas toy event every year, she heard they teamed up with the Marine Toys for Tots program to make sure they went to kids in need.
“Is that going to make you run?” Papa Smurf asked her. His gaze like a weight on her shoulders.
Jenna looked back to the piece of paper in her hand then looked up at him and met his gaze.
“Not at all. I’ll be here 8 a.m. Monday. One question though, how many people work here?”
Papa Smurf frowned. “There’s me and three other men most of the time, once in a while another brother or two will stop in, but usually it’s just the four of us. Well, five now. Why?”
“Just curious. Do you need anything else from me today?”
“Let me get your number, just in case and I’ll give you mine too. We’ll also need all the usual papers on Monday to prove you’re legal to work, but that’s all.”
“Papers? Like my birth certificate and social security card?” A moment of panic hit her as Jenna tried to remember where they were. She thought they were in the lock box under her bed, along with the same for Lacey, copies of her custody order and a few other important papers.
“Yes, those. I wanted to suggest, if she’s interested, I could put your sister to work too. She could start by cleaning up in the afternoons then possibly move on to working on vehicles, if she’s interested.”
Jenna shook her head. “Not now. I want her to focus on her schoolwork. That comes first. She can come in and we can work on her homework, if there’s time after that, she can work, if she wants. I’m working hard to make sure she gets as much of a childhood as she can.”
“Understood.” Papa Smurf said with a nod. “You’re right, education comes first. We’ll see how things go before we make any final decisions on that.”
Jenna started to protest but he held up one hand.
“I won’t interfere with the way you’re raising her. I just want to stay open to possibilities. Who knows, maybe a change in routine and atmosphere will motivate her. We will never know until we settle into the situation.”
She thought about that, then nodded. “All right. One more thing?”
Papa Smurf didn’t say anything, but watched her with one brow lifted, waiting.
“Dress code?”
“This is a mechanic shop. Suits and fancy heels will only end up getting dirty or you hurt. We’re all about comfortable and casual.
Wear what you like.” He looked down at the desk, then stopped and looked back.
“Wait. Let me make a couple of stipulations. No heels. No sandals. Try to look clean and neat. If you expose too much skin, the guys will hassle you. If one of them crosses the line or makes you uncomfortable, let me know, or tell Roadkill. Other than that, wear what you want.”
She stared at him wide-eyed for several seconds, then nodded. She could do that. Mason had always been so critical of anything she wore, even it if it was exactly what he’d told her to wear. From what Papa Smurf said, he wouldn’t be so exacting, but she wouldn’t know until Monday.
“Thank you. I’ll see you Monday morning then.” She stood and turned for the door.
“Sweetheart, if you can figure out the new software and keep me from having to deal with it, on top of my not having to stop what I’m doing every time someone comes in or the phone rings, then you’re worth your weight in gold.
You do well with the job and you’ll be seein’ a raise.
That’s just a starting wage.” He nodded at the sticky note she still held in one hand.
Jenna glanced down at the paper and the number on it, then back to him.
If she did this job well she could make more?
Now she was determined to do her absolute best here.
The starting wage alone would make things so much easier for her and Lacey.
She didn’t know what to say so she went out to the waiting area to see what Lacey and Roadkill had been up to.