“If you’re willing to return, you’ll be reinstated immediately.”
He continued.
“The theft allegation will be removed completely from your employment record.”
“And you will receive full pay for every shift you missed because of my decision.”
He looked at me.
“Will you come back?”
For a moment, I wanted to say no.
Part of me wanted to walk away forever.
But then I thought about Emma and Lucy.
Pride wasn’t going to pay for daycare.
“I want everything in writing.”
Mr. Bennett nodded.
“My record says clearly that I did not steal anything.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m paid for the shifts I lost.”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll come back.”
Marcus grinned.
“Good.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because nobody else knows how to organize that supply closet, and the night crew has completely destroyed it.”
I laughed.
A real laugh.
The first one in two days.
That evening, I picked up Emma and Lucy from daycare.
Lucy came running toward me holding a crooked paper crown covered in gold glitter.
“I made you a queen!”
She shoved it onto my head.
Emma studied me.
“Why are you smiling, Mommy?”
I almost cried.
“Mommy had a very strange day.”
“Did you see a dinosaur?”
“No.”
“A princess?”
I thought about a tiny white dog lying on a veterinarian’s table while a five-thousand-dollar ring glowed brightly on an X-ray.
I smiled.
“Actually, yes.”
Both girls gasped.
“I did see a Princess today.”
“A real princess?”
“A very expensive one.”
They started jumping up and down, demanding the entire story.
On the walk home, Emma held one of my hands.
Lucy held the other.
The glitter crown sat crookedly on my head while they talked nonstop about princesses, dogs, and dinner.
And for the first time in two days, I could breathe normally.
I wasn’t wondering how I would pay rent.
I wasn’t calculating how long I could keep the girls in daycare.
I wasn’t wondering whether we would lose the life I had worked so hard to rebuild.
We were going to be okay.
Steady.
After everything we had been through, steady still felt like the greatest luxury in the world.
