after Alicia turned seventeen. I really didn’t miss him as much. My memories of him aren’t very good ones. After Mom passed away, he took up drinking too much whisky every night to hide the pain, and I remember him yelling at Alicia all the time. He wrote Alicia and myself a letter when he left, saying he couldn’t stand the physical reminders of Mom–– which apparently were us. He eventually remarried and now lives in Georgia with his new wife and her children. I hadn’t spoken to him since he left, and Alicia was no longer in contact with him, either.
Alicia was my hero. We had an aunt and uncle that took us in for a year, until Alicia turned eighteen. After that, we moved to Des Moines from our hometown of Baruva, Illinois, population just under 1,000 and not much opportunity. Alicia secured a job at the capitol building, starting as a typist and working her way up to secretary, then an office manager. It was there that she met Craig Bowersworth, and they immediately fell in love and were married. Alicia worked her ass of as essentially a single mother for years, helping raise me, enrolling me in school, keeping me clothed and healthy. I loved my sister with all my heart and missed her terribly. I had thoughts of moving to Seattle to be close to her again, but I loved Kaufman College and Lila and my other friends and really wanted to make it on my own. I wanted to stop relying on her for tuition and rent money and health insurance.
“Those are all great suggestions, just not for me. I was thinking about choosing a different major, maybe trying to narrow it down or something. Business is so broad, so general. Maybe that’s part of the problem.”
Lila carried our bowls to the sink, adding some dish soap and running water over them to “let them soak.” Lila’s version of doing the dishes. “That’s always a possibility. Let me look at the job quick that you mentioned. What was it for?”
“A manager at a spa and salon.”
“That would be perfect for you! You love those places. And see ––your major could help you out here.”
“Don’t get too excited. I can’t see a whole lot of owners putting an inexperienced twenty-year old in charge just because she loves getting pedicures.” I pulled up the bookmarked page and Lila started reading, running her eyes across the page.
“Alex, are you kidding me? It says right here, ‘no experience required, business degree preferred.’ That’s you! What are you waiting for?”
“First of all, a lot of job postings say they don’t need experienced people, but if someone walks in and has ten years working at a spa under their belt, they will get the job. And secondly, I don’t have a degree yet. Or have you forgotten that minor detail?”
Lila shooed off my concerns with a wave of her hand. “Big deal. You’ve nailed every interview you have been on. You’re enthusiastic, hard-working, and personable. You have to at least apply for it. Just give it a chance. You’ll never know unless you go for it.”
“I already put getting my résumé together on my to-do list for today.” I hesitated, weighing the pros and cons in my head. “And I do interview well.” I once landed a job as a hotel clerk, even though I interviewed in a mini-skirt. In my defense, I never meant to interview, or even apply for the job when I left my apartment on the way to the mall that day. I saw the Now Hiring sign from the road and decided to stop in for an application. The manager was there and not busy, so I filled out my app, did the interview, and scored the job the next day. “I’ll get it done by the end of the week,” I decided, causing Lila to squeal and clap her hands together. “But I’m not going to get overly optimistic about this. And I’m going to keep job hunting. Waitressing is just not for me anymore.”
“I agree. I’m getting tired of it too. I feel like something positive could happen here. You’re focusing on getting a fab career, and I’m going to up my chances of getting discovered. I feel good. Things are about to change for us, Alex.”
“I hope you’re right, my friend. I hope you’re right.”
Chapter 2
The following day was a Friday, which meant the night shift for me and Lila. We worked