Hearts Under Ice - CS Patra Page 0,2

She had been doing laundry and was waiting for everything to finish drying. “Remember that he’s a person, just like you. You shouldn’t worry about how smart he is or how long he’s been working there. Treat him like you would treat anyone else.”

That was sound advice, and Olivia did plan on doing that. Scientist or not, she could treat him like a person. If she kept herself from sounding ridiculous and messing up, she would be perfectly fine. “I know, Mama. I just hope I don’t get tongue-tied.”

“Take a deep breath. You will be fine.” Her mother said. “I’m just glad we finally found something, and they offered you the job on the spot. I thought you wouldn’t have enough experience, but I guess it didn’t matter.”

“I’m not actually doing experiments, Mama. I think anyone could handle a little bookkeeping. It’s not the most glamorous job in the world, so I doubt you’d need a whole lot of experience for it,” Olivia said. “It’s a nice salary, and we should be able to pay off my loans soon.”

“I really hope so. I hate that we had to take out a second mortgage on the house, but we need to keep things on top.”

Olivia nodded and felt terrible about their whole money situation. Her father and mother both worked full-time jobs that neither one liked. They were office jobs that didn’t challenge them, but they helped bring in money. Her father talked a lot about going back to school and getting his masters degree. He had wanted to pursue his education in hopes that he could get a higher position and a better paycheck. Those hopes were dashed when they saw how much tuition cost. He would never be able to pay for the classes on the salary that he had, and it didn’t seem like he would get much help from anywhere else. He had to put aside getting a degree in hopes of his daughter getting her dream job. In his mind, she was far more important, and she needed the education more than he did.

“I can always get that degree later in life,” he said. “I can do it when I’ve retired and we’re a little better off. You need to put your life together first.”

Olivia knew what he meant. She alone had a lot of debt from earning her undergraduate degree. They had saved up money to send her to college, and it still wasn’t enough. Financial aid hadn’t given her much, so she was forced to take the loans. Now that she was done with college, she was ready to get rid of them. The problem was trying to get a job that would pay enough so she could do that. Like her father, she also had hopes of getting her graduate degree, but they would have to wait. Once she had saved up enough, she could finally apply and pay for everything. Then she would probably have the life she wanted.

“Don’t forget your purse, O.” Her mother reminded her. This was the third time she had said this. Olivia had a horrible tendency to misplace things, and her most recent mix-up had been when she put her purse in the fridge. Her mother saw this after an hour and called her down. Fortunately, she had taken her phone out, and the rest of the contents were just cold. Since that moment, she was always reminded to keep an eye on her purse. Apparently, leaving it in the fridge was worse than having it stolen, according to her mother.

“I promise I won’t leave anything behind.” Olivia said. “It’s true that I’ve put some things in the wrong places. Keys in soap dishes, my coat in the bathroom, purse in the fridge, and God knows what else. This time, I’m going to be straightened out. I will have everything in the right place!”

“That’s fine, honey. As long as I don’t find your bras in the pantry again, you can do whatever you want.”

Olivia winced at that. “Thanks for the reminder, Mom.”

“I’m just saying! No one wants to find underwear next to the chips and crackers.” Her mother held up her hands. “Seriously, I do hope things go well with this job. Who knows? Maybe this can lead you to something new. You could get a more permanent job from it, or maybe something even better. I think this is a step in the right direction.”

Olivia nodded and thought about what they had said. Even though Vaughn