Popcorn Love (3 page)

“Is it a problem for you?” Elena asked,
intrigued.

“It’s just that a few of my professors call me Ms.
Sawyer, and it grates on my nerves. I know it’s supposed to be
respectful or whatever, but it just makes me feel old, and I’m way
too young to feel old.” Allison winked at her. “You know what I
mean?”

Clearing her throat, Elena rested her hands in her
lap and crossed and uncrossed her legs. “Yes, I can certainly
understand that.”

“I figured you would get it. You can’t possibly be
older than twenty-five, and I bet you get that
Ms. Vega
crap
all the time, right?”

A soft blush decorated Elena’s cheeks even as she
smirked and corrected Allison. “I’m actually twenty-seven, but you
have just earned a few points in your favor for making me feel at
least two years younger.”

“Go me!” Allison took a sip of the extra-lemony water
the waiter had delivered.

Elena laughed in a soft sigh. “But yes, I am often
only referred to as
Ms. Vega
while at work.”

“Right.” Allison nodded as she pulled off her glasses
and stuck them back in their case before slipping them into her
bag, having forgotten for a moment that she was still wearing them.
She only needed them to read, drive, and sometimes to watch
television and hardly ever wore them otherwise. In fact, she tried
to avoid handling them when she could, because she was a tad
clumsy. She had broken a pair before and had had to save up to
afford the ones she now owned. She was in no hurry to break those
as well.

“You look younger with your glasses on,” Elena said,
tilting her head. “Striking either way, of course, but
younger.”

Struck momentarily speechless, Allison scratched at
the back of her head and let out a choked gurgle of a laugh. “Uh,
thanks,” she said, “for the ‘striking’ part or whatever.”

Elena smiled, and Allison could see the amusement
dancing in the woman’s eyes. “You are welcome.”

“So, you’re like some super successful businesswoman,
right?” Allison asked, quick to change the subject. “You must be
pretty awesome at what you do to be so successful when you’re so
young.”

“I would like to say that yes, I am quite successful
at what I do. However, Allison, I believe we are here so that I may
interview
you
, not the other way around.”

“Right. Totally. Fire away. Oh, and you can call me
Alli if you want; that’s what my best friend and a few others call
me. Or, you know, Allison is fine if that’s what you prefer. Just
throwing that out there.”

“Allison it is, then.”

Allison let out a small laugh and nodded. “All right,
then.” She wasn’t terribly surprised by the choice given how much
Elena seemed to favor formalities, but it might take some getting
used to.

The waiter returned then with their Cobb salads, and
the two women began to eat as Elena started in with a list of
questions.

“Why don’t you start by telling me a bit about
yourself,” Elena suggested as she nibbled at her salad. “Vivian
mentioned that you were a senior at NYU. I’m guessing that puts you
at around twenty-one or twenty-two, unless you are an accelerated
student.”

“Nope, no acceleration here. I’m twenty-two, and
yeah, I’m a senior at NYU. I’m a social-work major with a lit.
minor.”

Elena arched an intrigued brow. “Social work and
literature,” she said. “That is an interesting combination. Why the
interest in either?”

“Well, the first is a little complicated,” Allison
admitted. She didn’t like to go into detail on this particular
subject. “Let’s just say that a lot of stuff gets overlooked in the
system or doesn’t get looked into hard enough, and I want to help
correct that, or at least, I want to make strides in correcting
that.”

Allison’s stomach lurched when Elena visibly
stiffened at the words. She should have just said she wanted to
help people or something, but she tended to ramble and give herself
away. She hoped Elena wouldn’t read too much into it, but the way
the woman’s smile slipped back into its earlier strained form made
Allison suspect otherwise.

“And the other is simple,” Allison said, clearing her
throat. “I just really like to read.”

“I see,” Elena said. “I enjoy reading as well. I have
quite the collection at home, so, perhaps, if I hire you, you may
find a book or two to entertain you while Lucas naps or once he has
gone to bed for the evening.”

“Lucas?” Allison grinned. “Your son’s name is Lucas?
Is he the only one you’ve got? How old is he?”

Elena smiled brightly, clearly unable to help
herself. “Yes, his name is Lucas. He is three, and yes, he is the
only child I have.”

“Three.” Allison cooed. “That’s a great age. I bet
he’s adorable.”

“Beyond, but he is also quite the handful.”

“Most toddlers are. I’m sure I can handle him.”

The way Elena narrowed her eyes gave Allison the
impression that the woman was a bit skeptical about that
statement.

“How has he been with other babysitters?” Allison
asked.

“I have never hired a babysitter before.” Elena
shifted in her seat. “My parents keep him when I cannot.”

“Ah.” That explained a lot. Elena was obviously very
protective of her son, and parents tended to be a little skeptical
when starting out with babysitters anyway. “Well, hopefully I’ll be
a good fit.”

“So, you like children?” Elena asked. “What I mean
is, do you actually
enjoy
caring for children or are you
simply in it for the money? Is this your first potential
babysitting job?”

“The last family I babysat for moved across the
country. So, Lucas would be my one and only if you hired me, and
yes, I like kids. I love kids, actually.”

“Oh? Do you have any siblings?”

Allison laughed so hard that she snorted, and Elena
simply stared at her with a perplexed expression. “Sorry. It’s not
really funny, but yeah. I’ve had siblings before. If you count them
all up, in fact, then I had twenty-nine siblings by the time I was
sixteen.”

The surprise in Elena’s widened eyes quickly gave way
to an understanding nod. “You’re a foster child.” She whispered the
words so softly that they were almost inaudible.

Scratching at the back of her neck, Allison shrugged
to hide her discomfort. “Yup. I’m an orphan. Spent most of my life
in the system. Anyway, I don’t really like to talk about it, so if
we could move on to the next subject, that would be great.”

“Yes, of course.” Elena glanced away and licked her
lips before turning back to Allison. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to
pry.”

“You didn’t. You asked a perfectly acceptable
question and I answered it. That’s that.”

“Very well.” Taking a quick peek at her watch, Elena
sighed. “I’m terribly sorry, but I should be on my way. I am
already late in returning to work.”

“Oh, right.” Allison nodded and forced a smile.
“Yeah, I get it. I have my next class in an hour anyway.” She stood
as Elena did and stretched out a hand. “Well, uh, it was nice to
meet you, Elena.”

“You as well, Allison.” With a firm shake of
Allison’s hand, Elena collected her things and laid several bills
on the table. “I will take care of lunch.”

“You don’t have to do that, but thanks. I appreciate
it.”

Elena nodded in answer and turned to leave, but she
whirled around again when Allison called her name. She began
walking over until they were a little closer than was typically
considered appropriate.

“Look, I know you don’t know me,” Allison said. “And
I know that you probably just want the best you can get for your
son. I get that, and I’m not asking you to pity me or to throw me a
bone just because of my past or because I need the money. I’m
asking you to give me a chance because, unlike a lot of people who
get these jobs, I
do
actually care, and I’m a good person. I
work hard, really hard. I’m an honor student. I’m trying to
make
something of myself. And I may not know a lot about
family, but I
will
take care of your kid. I’ll make sure
he’s safe and happy anytime you need me to. I’m punctual and I’m
clean and I’m a good choice for this job.”

Allison reached into her pocket then and pulled out a
small slip of paper with a string of numbers scrawled across it.
“This is my number,” she said as she handed it to her. “I hope
you’ll give me a chance, Elena.” She gave the brunette one last
smile before slipping by her, out the door, and into the rush of
the city.

* * *

The soft sound of Lucas’s breathing sang like a
comforting and familiar lullaby in Elena’s ears as she drove home
from her parents’ house with her sleeping son in the backseat.
Lucas always fell asleep in the car, whether the drive was five or
fifty minutes. Something about the hum of the road always knocked
him out.

Elena watched the road beneath the orange sky as the
sun set and her thoughts wandered. She thought of the hectic day
she had at work, but mostly she thought of the woman she met on her
lunch break, Allison Sawyer. Something about Allison stuck with her
after she returned to work and even now. Elena was accustomed to
taking command of the majority of the social situations she found
herself in, and considering she had intended to interview this
young woman as a potential employee, she had assumed this situation
would be no different. Boy, had she been wrong. Allison Sawyer had
slipped right in and taken the reins like she was entitled to them,
like she had bred and raised that horse herself, and strangely
enough, Elena had simply let her—no arguments, no fuss. Elena
couldn’t stop thinking about it but as she contemplated the young
woman, she made a split-second decision.

She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel
impatiently for the remaining few minutes it took to reach her
house. As soon as she parked the car, she dug through her purse
until she found the small slip of paper she had been given earlier
that day and punched the numbers into her cell.

“Who’s this?” the voice on the line asked without any
form of greeting, and Elena couldn’t help the small smile that
formed on her lips.
So blunt,
she thought.

“Hello Allison. This is Elena Vega.” Before she could
say anything else, Allison jumped right in. Elena was surprised
that she had been expecting anything else from the woman.

“Elena, oh my God, are you hiring me?”

“Well, I was hoping that we could do a trial run. I
want to make sure that Lucas is comfortable with you before I make
a final decision. If you are interested, when might you be
available to come meet Lucas and perhaps spend a bit of time with
him?”

“Yeah, I’m definitely interested.” Elena swore she
could hear her grinning over the phone line. “And well, it is now
officially the weekend. I just got out of my last class, so I’m
available right now. I mean, if that’s okay with you and
everything.”

Mouth agape, Elena tried to think of an excuse to
pick a different time and day. She hated impromptu anything. It
always made her feel flustered and nervous, but, then, impromptu
seemed to be the definition of Allison Sawyer. So if Elena was
going to hire her, she had better get used to it. She glanced at
the small digital clock above her stereo. Five forty-five blinked
back at her. She swallowed before stuttering, “Oh, well, okay. Um,
yes, I suppose that right now would be fine.”

After she had rattled off her address and listened to
a pen scratch down each word, Allison’s voice came back over the
line. “Sweet. I just need like fifteen or twenty minutes, then I’ll
be there.”

“Very well.” Elena’s palms were beginning to sweat as
she thought of everything she had to do prior to Allison’s arrival.
She wanted to tidy up, despite the fact that her house was almost
always immaculate, considering she cleaned up after Lucas on an
hourly or even half-hourly basis. Clutter drove her mad. She
supposed she should also provide dinner, considering Allison said
she had only just left class, so she likely had yet to eat. What
could she cook in fifteen minutes?

“Elena?”

Elena snapped back to attention, her cheeks flushing
for no one to see. “Yes, I’m here. I will see you soon,
Allison.”

As soon as she hung up, Elena jumped out of her car
and quickly collected Lucas from the backseat. He rubbed at his
eyes sleepily as she carried him into the house, but, by the time
they reached the living room, he was wide awake again. Elena
chuckled as the boy smiled slyly at her and said, “Momma, you wanna
make dinosaur nuggets.”

“Oh I do, do I?” she asked, still laughing as she
carried him into the kitchen, held him at the sink to help him wash
his hands, and then put him in his seat.

“Uh-huh.” His nod was overly dramatic.

Elena opened the freezer and looked inside. “I
suppose I’m in luck then, because we happen to have an entire box
of dinosaur nuggets.” She pulled out the box of grilled chicken
nuggets cut into dinosaur shapes and waggled it at her son.

Giggling, Lucas threw up his arms. “How long?”

“Not long, baby.” She stopped to drop a kiss to his
forehead and muttered to herself. “Now, what to make for
Allison?”

* * *

When the doorbell rang, Lucas had already devoured
his dinosaur nuggets and sweet peas and had run off to play. Elena
still found it strange how much her son actually enjoyed peas. He
was one of few kids she knew to actually love them, but she was far
from complaining. She finished straining the pasta before going to
answer the door. The pitter-patter of Lucas’s feet running toward
her from the other room meant he was too curious to stay away, but
he was also quite shy. He hid behind her leg as she pulled open the
door.

Allison looked exactly as she had earlier that
day—long blonde ponytail, jean jacket, and everything.