My heart pounds in my chest as anxiety overcomes me. Maybe I should have let Joey keep our situation a secret from me. I wouldn’t be so worried now if I didn’t know. But that’s not fair to my brother, either, because he shouldn’t be shouldering the burden on his own. We’re siblings, not a parent and child. I need to help my brother work through this because it’s as much my problem as it is his.
I settle on the couch, preparing myself for the worst. Joey will be even more depressed if he comes home empty-handed. I worry about his mental health, and try to brace myself for the upcoming emotional onslaught. In an attempt to keep myself busy, I scroll through the few contacts in my phone and dial the number of my best friend, Jennifer.
My friends hate that I have to call them, but my flip phone can’t send or receive texts. As a result, they always answer the phone when I call, but I know they would prefer to text.
“Hey, girl! What’s up?” Jennifer sings after the first ring.
“I have news,” I begin.
My friend giggles.
“Oh? What? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, it’s good news. I just got a job.”
Jen clucks.
“Are you serious? I’m impressed, Brit. Your brother let you get a job? I never thought I’d see the day because your brother is way overprotective.”
I laugh. Jen is right. But it’s okay because I’d rather have a brother who loves me than no one at all.
“He doesn’t exactly know about the job yet,” I admit. “I’m going to tell him when he gets back.”
I can almost hear Jen nodding.
“That makes more sense. Where are you working? I can’t believe you landed a job in this economy. After all, no one is hiring right now.”
I frown.
“You sound like your dad.”
Jen sighs.
“That doesn’t surprise me. Now that my dad’s doing work from home, I have to listen to him talk all the time. Why doesn’t he have more conference calls? How does he even have so much time to chat with us?”
I giggle because I’ve met Howard a few times. He works in finance and loves to lecture Jen on things like the stock market and international finance. Not that my friend is listening. Jen is into healing crystals and eating vegan, not the Dow Jones. But then she giggles again.
“Anyway, where’s the job at? How much are you making?”
“Oh, right. It’s at the grocery store ShopMore. The one right of Main Street. I’m just going to be a cashier, so it’s nothing special.”
But Jen whistles.
“Damn! You go, girl, and lucky you. The owner of the store is super hot.”
I squint.
“You’ve seen him?”
Jen giggles.
“Only twice, but it was enough. You get to work with Corona’s most eligible bachelor. No seriously, girlfriend. He was named Hottest Bachelor of 2020 by Girl Mag last year.”
I blush.
“Really? He is really gorgeous.”
Jennifer laughs.
“Get it, girl, before he’s scooped up by someone else. What was his name again?”
But before I can say anything else, the trailer door opens, and Joey walks in. He’s carrying four full bags, which is a good sign because four bags of groceries will last us several weeks.
“I’ve got to go, Jen. Joey just got home.”
“Okay, tell him I say hi. And good luck on your new job, Brit. Tell your new boss I say hi too,” she adds mischievously.
I hang up, hoping Joey didn’t hear Jennifer’s words through the phone. My friend is such a piece of work sometimes.
“You didn’t have to hang up on my account,” my brother says with one eyebrow quirked. “I don’t mind you talking to your friends when I’m around.”
“I know, but I have something I want to tell you.”
He places the bags down on the floor.
“Should I be worried? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I walked downtown today…” I begin. Immediately, my brother frowns.
“You’re not supposed to be going out for walks where there are a lot of people,” he interrupts. “You can’t social distance when it’s crowded.”
I hold up a hand.
“Joey, there weren’t a lot of people downtown. And besides, I needed to go because I was looking for a job.”
My brother frowns again, his eyebrows drawing together in a straight black line.
“Britney, I told you, this is my problem, not yours.”
I shake my head.
“No it’s not, Joey. It’s our problem, so I got a job.”
Joey frowns again.
“You did? Where? I didn’t know that places were hiring.”
I nod.
“They’re not, but I got lucky. The grocery store downtown had an opening, and they brought me on.”
My brother shakes his head with wonder.
“I love you, Britney, but why you? You have no experience working anywhere, let alone at a grocery store. Why would they want you?”
I frown. Joey’s words sting, even though I know he’s just being honest. Clearly, he’s not thrilled about the position, but he doesn’t have to insult me while he’s at it. The look on his face lets me know he realizes he said something wrong.