Across the restaurant, seated with another woman, was Jim, the father of the child she was carrying and the man she thought she was currently dating.
She ran out of the restaurant after him as he left to confront him, “Jim! How could you? And at MY restaurant!”
“Brandi, I – she was an old college girlfriend. I just wanted to show her around the town and this is Pleasantview’s nicest place!”
“You were HOLDING HANDS! Honestly. Just… have a nice date. Be out of my life!”
Needless to say, at the end of her shift, there was no further talk of promotion.
Home was cozy, though. Beau and Shadow were waiting on Brandi, and that always made her happy. Her boys were growing up so big.
Daniel Pleasant was finally able to stop by and check on the house, and see if he could fix anything.
“Oh Mr. Pleasant, I’m so relieved! There are so many things that are broken, and the bathtub got stolen! And I’m sorry about rent being late… everything has kind of piled up all at once…”
“Brandi, again, please call me Daniel, and it’s not problem. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long, but I’ve got several properties and things just go wrong in the winter, you know?”
“Thank you so much, and the rent – can I pay it all next week? I’ve got doubles to work and I might be getting a promotion soon. It’s just hard this time of year, with the boys, they’re always eating! And I’m trying to cut out what I can and-”
“Brandi, Brandi, you’re rambling honey. I understand things are tough. I’m sure we can arrange… something.”
“…Something? What do you mean?”
“Oh, you know. Let me say it like this, it would mean I’d waive this week’s rent. And there’s nothing to worry about, because it’s not like you can get pregnant right now.”
“Mr Pleasant, Daniel, I don’t think I can do that. I mean I know I’m hard up, but… what if my kids found out?”
“No one would know a thing. We could take care of it right now, and then all that rent – gone.”
“…”
“See, Brandi, that wasn’t so bad.”
“Mr Pleasant, never again.”
“Awe, Brandi, don’t burn bridges when you don’t know what the future holds. You’ve got a little one on the way soon. Things could get really hard. You wouldn’t want to end up homeless in the winter, would you?”
“Please. You got what you wanted, can you leave now? I don’t want the kids to see you.”
“I’m so glad I could help solve some of your problems. Call me anytime. Nice room, by the way.”
“Oh Skip. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to do. I just want to take care of our boys.”
A few days later, it was time.
A daughter for Brandi! A sweet little girl named Norah.
Even though Dustin had always struggled with some behavior issues, especially after Skip died, he was also a great big brother, and just took on more whenever he needed to.
Brandi hated that Dustin had to be so responsible sometimes, and that when he didn’t, he acted so irresponsibly. If only she could find a way to strike a balance for him.
Would trying to find a partner help her kids? Or would it make things worse? She had been on the dating scene, but that had only ended up with another baby without a father around. And then there were her own needs – Brandi wanted adult companionship. She wanted a boyfriend, and maybe a husband some day. But there were so few decent guys out there, and the ones that were decent, she just couldn’t see herself with.
That might not be something she needs to worry about for a little bit as that promotion finally came through!
And Brandi was able to get home from work just in time to see Beau turn into a teen.
With another young man in the house, who needs boyfriends anyway?
Later that night, the toilet broke again.
All the next morning, Brandi had a sense of dread building in her chest, knowing she’d have to call Daniel Pleasant to fix it.
But did she really have to? There were a few tools at her disposal. Maybe she could be out from under Daniel Pleasant for good.
She could get a loan, and move. It was risky and high interest and she didn’t like being in debt, but she definitely couldn’t do what she did earlier to get out of late rent. It was worth getting the boys out of that trailer and having a fresh start.
Everyone is nervous, but excited, to start on this new chapter.
It’s beautiful.
It was so spacious compared to the trailer. They’d fill it with decorations and make their mark soon enough. The boys could each have their room if they wanted (although they chose to stay together – for now). The little ones could share a whole room, and they had an actual kitchen and living room and FIRE PLACE.
They had their first meal together, and it was amazing.
The Gobias Koffi Family 