The woman sighed and looked at Ellie as if she had just asked her to single-handedly build a temple to the gods. “I guess I can try to reach them.”
“Thank you,” Ellie said, letting the gratitude play in her voice and eyes. “It really means a lot.”
The woman plucked her phone from its cradle, stabbing at the keypad.
No wonder those nails are chipped.
When the call ended, Ellie thanked the woman one last time and practically ran out of the building. Warmth wrapped itself around her as she stepped outside, and she took a deep breath of fresh air. That was a close call. Too close. She couldn’t keep living at the end of her rope. Not without losing her mind. Something had to give. She just didn’t know what.
It wasn’t like she could cut any more corners. She already shopped at the discount stores and spent less each week on groceries than most people spent on fancy coffee. She wore secondhand clothes, lived in a modest apartment, and drove the car she bought in high school. She even pushed as far between oil changes as she possibly could to save a buck.
What else could she do?
Close the café?
Then what? She’d still be drowning in debt—thank you Parasite Steve. Was she going to have to give up and file bankruptcy?
Her stomach hollowed out and her heart grew brittle. She didn’t want to do that. It would be admitting defeat—something she wasn’t at all interested in. She was a fighter. A survivor.
Her cell phone interrupted her thoughts as she pulled to a stop at a red light. If her stomach had hollowed out before, it imploded when she saw who was calling.
Her cook.
The one she’d talked into covering for Ben tomorrow. And the only reason he’d be calling at all would be to call off. She answered the phone with a smile on her face and hung up feeling nauseated. The guy was sick. No way he’d be able to work in the morning which meant Ellie had no one to help her run the café. And if Saturday was like the last two days, there would be no way for her to keep up.
She pulled into her parking spot and threw open the car door, eager for fresh air. She took big, gulping breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Tears pressed against her eyes and her hands began to quiver—all signs a full-blown panic attack was eminent.
But she didn’t do that anymore. Panic attacks. She’d chosen to leave those behind when she got out of the foster system. She was the master of her fate. In control of her life.
Her phone rang again as she slid her key into the lock of her front door. What now? she thought as she answered the call and pushed into the apartment.
“Hello?” Her voice was gruffer than she intended. She dropped her purse on the floor and swept her hand against the wall, flicking on the lights.
“Ellie?” She recognized James’ voice in the same instant she recognized the lights weren’t coming on.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Leaving the door open for light, she moved deeper into the darkened apartment to the next light switch. Flicked it on.
Nothing.
“Ellie? Are you okay?”
She sat down on the floor in the middle of her lightless living room and put her head in her hands. “No. I’m not okay.”
“What’s wrong? Where are you?” The concern in James’ voice just about crumbled her reserves.
“It’s nothing,” she said around a tight throat. “I’ll survive.”
“I’m sure you will, but Ellie? I need you to tell me what’s wrong.”
She sighed then swallowed her pride and explained.
“But you paid the bill? Before the end of the day they told you the payment was due.”
“Just barely, but yeah. In fact, I just got back from there.” Embarrassment rolled in her belly, encouraging the tears still fighting to make an appearance. She wondered if she might throw up. “And my cook canceled for tomorrow and I haven’t found a full-time replacement for Ben and I…” She trailed off, not wanting to give her worries a voice.
“One thing at a time, sweet Ellie.” James sounded warm and strong and she didn’t know if it made her feel better or worse. “Call the power company. Explain their mistake. Get your electricity turned back on. Call me when you’re done.”
Ellie did what he told her to do, priding herself on keeping the quiver out of her voice as she spoke to Madame Condescending Chipped Nails. Apparently, the technician who was in charge of disconnects was done for the day. And he didn’t work on the weekends, so long story short, Ellie wouldn’t have power until Monday. She called James back and explained, losing control of the quiver.
“That’s such utter bullshit,” he said. “Gotta love living in a small town.”
“I guess,” Ellie said and groaned. The other benefit of living in a small town was the gossip. Combine this story with James’ attempts at getting her more customers and all of Bliss would be believing she was homeless by Monday.
“Okay. Here’s what you’re going to do. You can’t stay in a dark apartment without air conditioning for the whole weekend. I won’t have it. Pack a bag. Grab the food out of your fridge and get your ass over here. I’ve got more than enough electricity to share.”
Pride demanded she turn him down. “No way, Moore. Thank you, but I can’t impose on you like that.” Plus, her heart was already inflating like a hot air balloon on steroids at his attempt to sweep in and rescue her. She couldn’t have that.
“It’s not an imposition and I will be highly offended and driven to drink myself to oblivion if you continue to turn me down.” Ellie could imagine the devilish twinkle that was surely making his dark
