Flipping her phone shut, Julie released a sigh of relief. Maybe it was only weekends, but she had to try. Even if she could only get a little bit of independence at first, just a foot-in-the-door kind of thing, then she could attempt to dig herself out of the hole she had made for herself.
The big, ugly hole.
Susan promptly texted her the phone number along with the note "Ask for Jim," and since Julie still had some time on her hands, she decided to go ahead and call.
The phone call was brief and disorganized, and within two minutes she somehow had an interview with Jim. Apparently the position was for "birthday party help," and when she asked what that implied he had said, "Oh, we can discuss that when you get here. I'm sorry, I'm in kind of a rush right now. Just some basic set-up, we provide the cakes, the cups, the napkins, you get everything ready and get the kids set up, you know. You basically help me host the party. I need a Saturday and Sunday person, the pay is hourly, the hours depend on how many parties are booked, but your absolute longest day would be either 9:30 am to like 5:45 or 11:30 to 8—that's what I'm looking for right now."
"Is there any really heavy lifting involved?" she had asked, thinking of the baby.
"Naw, not for you. Unless of course you consider a package of plates and some napkins heavy. I do any heavy lifting myself."
Julie chuckled. "I'm pretty sure I can handle that."
She was scheduled to "discuss with Matt" at around 5, and since she had already made up her mind, that shouldn’t take too long, so she agreed to go for an interview at 6:30.
When she got off the phone, she had been completely amazed. She had two job interviews in two days. Granted, they were for very part-time gigs, but if she managed to get both of them she would be employed three days a week outside of the job at the café, which was a step in the right direction.
She was absolutely going to get her life together, she decided. It was going to happen, whether she inadvertently tried to screw it up or not.
From scaring children and scheduling interviews, she went back to work at The Lofthouse Café. Apparently she had done well enough that morning, so they said she could come in until four to pick up a couple of extra hours if she wanted to. Since she had only been scheduled for 4 measly hours that morning, she eagerly agreed, knowing she would need the money. Julie hadn't figured out who made the schedule yet, since she had only been there about 8 hours since she had been employed, but if she didn't end up getting the other jobs she was going to have to have a discussion with someone about those craptastic 4 hour shifts.
Julie managed to survive yet another—partial—shift, and Aaron had actually left for two hours and left her there alone. He returned about 20 minutes before her shift was over and came over to tell her very briskly, "Matt is going to be at the apartment a little before five. If you have sex anywhere in my house, the deal's off and you're sleeping in your car until you get on your feet."
Before she could even respond –or pick her jaw up off the ground—he had breezed past her, clipboard in hand, pencil jammed behind his ear, and made his way back to the cooler.
Leigh spotted Julie with her mouth hanging open when he was walking away and she misinterpreted the situation, walking over to Julie with a slight giggle. "Don't worry about him, I know he can be a bear, but he really does have a good heart. He just…hides it well."
Julie looked up, confused.
"I know, he seems very grumpy at first, but it will get better, you'll see," she said, patting Julie on the arm with a compassionate smile and then breezing past her to grab a coffee pot and make her way out to a table with a Barbie-style smile on her cute face.
Shaking her head, Julie went to get some cups from the dish washing area so she could start restocking everything before her shift ended.
Unfortunately, she dreaded the discussion after work much more than she had dreaded actually working.
Despite herself, she found herself rushing home to rummage through her things and find an appropriately cute (in the "see what you're missing out on" kind of way) but entirely platonic outfit. She didn't know why Aaron was ridiculous enough to think he should have to worry about them having sex—the last thing Matt wanted with Julie was sex. He had already discarded her like an old magazine he was tired of reading, now he was just on a mission to empty her womb of the evidence so he could go back to his beautiful ice queen wife.
That, she decided, was why she wanted to look cute—to remind him that he was a dumbass and he should have done things differently.
However, after trying on 8 different outfits, she gave up, knowing she would never really be able to compare to Emma in looks—damn her beauty—so the whole point was probably moot.
Plus, it was hard to find even the cutest little low-cut sweater attractive when tiny little burps kept escaping your typically un-gassy body as you analyzed your reflection in the mirror.
Damn early pregnancy.
As she considered going back to the closet to look for a different top, she heard a knock at the door.
She suddenly felt like she had swallowed an ice cube and her heart began to hammer in her chest. She would have to stick with the sweater and the jeans, and she no longer had any time left to put it off.
Matt was there to "discuss the situation."
Shoulders slumping with dread, she forced herself out of the bedroom and down the hall to the door where she hesitated, squared her shoulders, and prepared for battle.
When she opened the door, she was met with Matt, a slight smile on his endearingly friendly face, and before she realized it he was hugging her by way of greeting.
She stood stiffly as her mind registered the embrace her body felt and she heard him murmur, "Hi, Julie." Then, still holding her in the embrace, he seemed to inhale her scent, saying, "God, I've missed you."
What the hell?