“Would I kid about this?”
“No.” I laugh as I struggle to contain my tears.
“I’ll want you to shadow her and do some on the job training, and a trial period. I won’t show you any favoritism because we’re old friends.”
“And I wouldn’t expect you to, Lisa. I appreciate you giving me the chance to prove myself.”
“I didn’t think so, but I wanted to put it out there. I think you’d fit in so well at the Spinal Cord Injury Center.”
“You know I work well with all types of personalities.”
“I do. Can you start in a week?”
“Yes.”
My heart is full. My daughter is happy and thriving, I have a man I love who treats me better than I can remember being treated, and now I’m returning to the career field I love. Things are slowly starting to look up. I lost sight of who I was and what I wanted for a long time. That’s over now.
“You just made my year.”
“Well, you saved me a lot of scrambling to find a replacement. I think fate stepped in on this one.”
“I think so,” I reply with a smile. It’s about time life dealt me a better hand.
***
I bring the phone to my ear as I reenter my apartment.
“Hey, honey, how are you?”
“I’m good, Mama. Just calling to check in.”
“Well, you have perfect timing. Guess who goes back to work next week.”
She screams, and I hold the phone away from my ear and laugh.
“I’m the one who’s supposed to be excited,” I say as I close the door behind me and lock it.
“Mom this great! Ahhh. I knew you could do it. Where are you working? What will you be doing?”
“I’ll be working at Lisa’s physical therapy center, replacing a therapist who’s leaving to work freelance. It’s only part-time, but that’s perfect for me re-starting. They specialize in spinal cord injuries, so I’ll be focusing on brushing up in that area. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
“Mom you are going to kick ass.”
“I’m going to do my best.”
“You have to celebrate.”
“I will.”
“No, I’m serious. Get pretty and have Jagger take you out somewhere.”
I smile at her mention of my boyfriend. “If that’s your way of asking how thing are going between us, they’re great. He’s pretty amazing.”
“As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“You’re sweet. How’s school?”
“So far, so good, but ask me once we have our first round of finals.”