1. PS: You are hired!

Sitting on her favorite spot by the window sill in her bedroom, Rebecca slowly filed her nails. It was a beautiful sunny morning but all that was lost in her eyes, as her mind was focused on other things. Looking down at her work, she flexed her nails before continuing with the slow filing. Being fresh out of college should have been exciting but in this day and age it was more of a challenge, and she was facing one of the biggest. Her mother had taken to an early retirement due to poor health, her brother was still too young to even consider him taking a job, and her father was gone, taking with him all of her mother’s savings and leaving only her to take care of the family.

Step-father, she reminded herself sternly.

Rebecca and her brother had a nine year difference between them. They did share a mother but different fathers. Rebecca's biological father had passed away so long ago that she could not even remember him. For a while, it was just her and her mother until Andy came along. At first, he had showered them with attention, always coming running when they were having issues with the house her father had left them. He never showed his true character, not once before the marriage and three years after.

When Nathan was born that was when Andy showed who he really was. After getting laid off at work for drunkenness and insurbodination, he became very abusive to the family. His abusiveness did not have boundaries, physical, financial and emotional. It had reached a point where little Nathan would run and hide from his own father once he heard him come in through the front door.

All Rebecca remembered was the once handsome man she loved had turned out to be a drunken slob who would help himself right where he sat ane demamnded they clean up after him. Their mother bore the most of the abuse, as she tried to protect them as much as she could.

The challenge that faced Rebecca currently was to find a job, any job, and fast. Yes, their mother had been one of the clever ones who had put aside a few cents for the rainy days, separate from the amount that Andy left with. And the fact that their house was mortgage-free meant they were ok with the saving that they had but how long will that last? Just taking it without putting something back in was not the way to go. That being said, Rebecca had dropped off her job applications to all employment agencies that she could think off and she crossed her fingers and hoped for the best.

Looking down at her nails she smiled. “There we go,” she mumbled as she glanced at the clock on the opposite side of her bed. Standing up she slipped her freshly manicured feet into her fluffy bedroom slippers and made her way out of her bedroom. Jogging down the stairs she headed straight to the kitchen. It was a Sunday monring and that meant a family breakfast was in order.

A small smile formed on her soft pink lips. Memories of when she was young and how her mother could force her to sit at the table for a meal flooded her mind. It had never worked and they reached a compromise after Andy had disappeared from their lives.

Humming to herself, Rebecca started on breakfast.

“Something smells yummy,” her mother commented half an hour later as she made her way into the kitchen. She sniffed the air and smiled at her daughter. “Aah yes, I should have guessed you were going to make waffles.”

Rebecca smiled, “morning, Mom.” She discretely ran her eyes over her mother, making sure that she was ok.

“How are you this morning?” Her mother asked as she pushed herself onto the stool next to the island where Rebecca was finishing up the waffles.

Rebecca shrugged, “I'm good. Keeping my fingers crossed on the job hunting.”

“Something will come up, darling,” her mother reassured her with her best-winning smile. Just by looking at the woman, no one would say that Emma was ill. Rebecca herself forgot sometimes. The only reminder that her mother was ill was the heavy breathing and constant shortness of breath that she experienced together with the slow-motion that she used when walking.

Rebecca just shrugged, “how about you? How are you feeling?”

“There are good days and bad days,” Emma replied, looking at the waffle that Rebecca was placing on the plate. “Today looks to be a good day.”

Rebecca smiled, “that's good.”

“I'm hungry!” Nathan announced as he entered the kitchen.

Rebecca and her mother burst out laughing. That was Nathan, always straight to the point. “Good morning, darling,” his mother pulled him in her arms and pressed a kiss on his cheek, to the chagrin Nathan.

“Have a seat,” Rebecca nodded to the stool next to their mother.

As if it knew that everyone was seated and eating, the phone decided to ring. Emma frowned, “it's a bit too early for a call, don't you think?”

“Probably Lily asking about our mall trip later on. I left my phone upstairs, she probably called me there first.” Rebecca said as she stood up. “I had promised to pick her up.” She picked up expecting her best friend's voice. “Hi.”

“Miss Claymore?” a foreign voice enquired.

Rebecca frowned. “Speaking.”

“Hi, I am Amanda Frank from Great Employments.”

Rebecca's eyes widened. Finally! “Hi, Amanda! Please tell me that I have a job somewhere.”

“You had stated that you are prepared to work at any job, so we have something for you. One of our clients has requested a housekeeper. The woman who was to take this position has moved states and you were our last hope. Do you think you will be able to do a housekeeping job? I know it's not what you would like but it's what we have at the moment.”

Who was she to be choosy? “I am ready,” Rebecca smiled. “You just tell me when and where and I will be there!”

“Excellent,” Amanda replied. She went further to give her details. After a few more minutes of chatting, Rebecca placed the receiver down and turned, leaning on the wall and smiling as her mother watched her.

“Well?” her mother asked as she placed her fork down. “What did they say?” She had been listening to her daughter’s side of the conversation.

Rebecca walked to where her mother was sitting, leaning forward, she placed a kiss on the hollow cheek of the woman. She waited as she sat back down on her seat before breaking the news. “I got a job.”

Her mother sobbed a bit, “really? As what?”

Rebecca glanced on the floor for a few minutes, she knew her mother would not like it but there was nothing that they could do. They needed the money. “It's just for a little while, mom.”

“Where will you be working, Becky?” her mother was adamant with her questions, and Rebecca knew better than not to give her what she needed.

“As a housekeeper,” Rebecca stood up quickly and moved to where her mother was sitting, taking the shaking hands in hers before her mother could say anything, “it's only for a short time, mom, until something else comes along. It beats sitting around doing nothing.”

“But a housekeeper!” her mother exclaimed, shaking her head. “That is an old woman's job, Becky. You will be taking care of someone's house for them, cleaning after them. You have a degree in business management, for God's sake!”

“Well, I would be managing a house, so I guess the management aspect will come in handy,” Rebecca tried to lift her mother's mood with a joke. When she saw it was not working, she sighed. “Listen, mom. We need this money. I really don't care where I work as long as we have an incoming flowing in, that is fine with me. It’s pretty hard to get jobs nowadays. I promise that I will keep looking, but in the meantime, this will have to do.” She stood a kissed her mother's weathered cheek. “Don't sweat it.”

“You are my daughter, of course, I am going to sweat it,” her mother shook her head. “I am supposed to provide for you. You are not supposed to start thinking about buying groceries and taking care of your brother at this time, it's my responsibility, and I have failed on that.”

Rebecca shook her head, “no, mom, don't say that. It's not your fault that you got sick, and neither is it your fault that you cannot work anymore. We need the money, mom. If we wait until the last minute to start thinking about how to pay for the hospital visits and Nathan’s tuition fees, it’ll be too late. We need an income.”

“But still,” her mother began.

“I don't want to hear it,” Rebecca hushed her mother. “Now, eat your breakfast so that we can go for your morning walk.”

Her mother smiled, “yes, ma'am.” She winked at her daughter as she continued with her food..

“Geez, Becky,” Nathan spoke up for the first time. He had been stuffing his face with waffles and turkey bacon. “You sound like mom, it's so creepy!”

Rebecca laughed as she threw a napkin at him, “as the saying goes-like mother, like daughter.”

Nathan shook his head and walked to the sink with his dirty dishes. After a quick rinse he turned to his mother, “can I go bowling today, mom?”

“May I,” Rebecca corrected automatically as she flipped through the magazine in front of her, stabbing her waffle with a fork with the other hand.

“May I go bowling today, mom?” Nathan corrected with a roll of his eyes towards his sister.

Their mother shrugged, “depends on your sister, honey. If she is heading to town, she can drop you off.”

“That's ok,” Nathan shook his head. “Jordan’'s brother is in town, he'll take us.”

Rebecca looked up, “Oscar is in town? For how long?”

Nathan shrugged, “don't know and don't care.”

“Nathan, don't answer your sister that way!” their mother reprimanded him.

“But, mom!” Nathan groaned, making a face.

“I won't tell you again,” their mother narrowed her eyes on him.

“Sorry, Becks,” he mumbled his apologies. “I don't know how long he's in town for.”

Rebecca nodded as she continued flipping through the magazine. Oscar Blake was a friend and had been a super crush of hers. He had moved away to college in a different state, showing up once in a while to visit his family. He now worked for an IT company, exactly what he had wanted since they were growing up.

The shrill of the phone had everyone looking up. ‘I'll get it!” Nathan ran to the phone.

“Don't,” their mother started just as Nathan picked up the phone, “run inside the house. I swear that boy will be the end of me,” she murmured to Rebecca who gave her a huge smile.

“Becks, it's for you,” Nathan placed the receiver on the counter before taking off in a run towards the main door. “Shooting a few hoops, mom!”

“You just ate!” their mother called after him, though it was a waste of her breath as the door was already closed behind Nathan.

“Hello?” Rebecca picked up the receiver.

“Hey, girl!' Lillian's cheeky voice came through. 'What's up? You were supposed to call me last night but you didn't! And where the heck is your phone?”

“Hey, Lily!” Rebecca moved back to her seat. “Sorry about that. Got home so tired, just fell on my bed and blacked out. My phone died and now its on the charger.”

Lily laughed, “I figured. So, are we still on for that mall trip later on? You are going to come and pick me up, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure!” Rebecca nodded. “Guess what?”

“Spill!” Lily replied with excitement.

“Well,” Rebecca smiled, “I've got a job!”

Lily's scream had Rebecca remove the receiver from her ear for a few seconds. “When? Where? OMG!”

Rebecca laughed, “Lily, breathe! It's nothing fancy or anything. I'll be housekeeping.”

“Who cares!' Lily scoffed. “You'll be in the employed bracket! When do you start and where is this?”

“Tomorrow,” Rebecca supplied and went on to give her the address.

“You do know that you have just told me the address where some of the richest lucky bastards live, right?”

“I know,” Rebecca watched her mother struggle to her feet. She shook her head when her mother reached for her plate. “Go have your morning walk in the backyard, I'll clean these out," she mouthed to her mother. “I had to ask the woman to repeat herself three times. She probably thought I was crazy or something.”

“So, you decided what you are wearing tomorrow?”

Rebecca frowned. She had not thought of that actually. “My pair of jeans and a t-shirt.” She cringed when Lily screamed at her.

“What? You cannot be serious! You can't just show up at a mansion wearing your jeans!”

“What's wrong with my jeans?” Rebecca frowned. Jeans were very practical, especially if a person was going to be moving around and cleaning.

“I am not saying there is something wrong with jeans, just yours. For one, they look like they have seen a better day ten years ago!” Lily supplied. “We are going shopping today. I have seen a clearance sale advert in at least three shops. You better not be late picking me up! Later, girl!”