I was asleep with my head on my desk when Maggie and Alyson came in and woke me up. “Jeff? Wendy wants to know if you’re still going to help move my things into her apartment,” Alyson said.“Yeah, I can still help,” I rubbed my eyes and ran my hand through my hair.
“Jeez, Jeff, you look terrible. What happened last night?” asked Maggie.
“I had some sort of horrible nightmare-dream thing last night so I didn’t get very good sleep,” I yawned and crossed my arms.
“What was it about?” Maggie inquired.
“I honestly have no idea. It was so weird, I can’t even explain it to you,” I stood up and moaned loudly. “When are we moving again?”
“We’re meeting at my parent’s house right after work. With Nathan’s Explorer and your Jimmy, we should be able to get done pretty fast. Also, Kathryn wants you to hurry up and get those new applicants hired so they can be trained and ready for Vespers coming up.” Alyson cleared her throat and continued. “Also, she’s hired a new apprentice to help her out. She starts next week.”
“This is the first I’ve heard about it. She went over my head?”
“Technically, Kathryn is director of special events while Darrell is director of food service so she is her own boss. She can hire whoever she wants to work under her, she just hasn’t until now,” Maggie explained.
“Well, can I at least get the apprentice’s name?” I asked, leaving the office.
“Melissa Girard, I think,” Maggie answered.
“Really? Wow, that’s incredible,” I said, quietly.
“Why?” asked Alyson.
“Melissa Girard is just my ex-fiancée is all,” I picked up my pace and went into the cafeteria while Maggie and Alyson stopped and looked at each other in shock.
I loaded a couple boxes into the back of my Jimmy and brushed my hands together. “Jeff, come upstairs and help Nathan carry my bed down,” Alyson shouted from her open bedroom window.
“I’ll be right up,” I ran inside the house and bounded up the stairs. I reached the top of the stairs and leaped from the fourth step down to the top and slammed my head on the door jamb, went down on my knees and, for a couple seconds, went blind. “Ow! Damn it!”
“Are you okay?” asked Nathan who, along with Alyson, were smiling.
“Just a concussion, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I slowly staggered to my feet and rubbed my head to check for blood.
“Good because my bed isn’t going to move itself,” Alyson said.
I grabbed one end of the mattress and Nathan grabbed the other end. We carefully maneuvered the mattress around the corner and down the stairs and loaded the bed into Nathan’s Explorer. We did the same with the box springs and Alyson pulled apart the bed frame and put it in my Jimmy. Alyson went upstairs to turn off her bedroom light, came back down and got into Nathan’s SUV. I got in mine and we drove a block and a half to an apartment building where both Maggie and Wendy lived. We backed into a couple of parking spaces and prepared ourselves for carrying the bed pieces up another flight of stairs. Alyson put the bed frame back together and Nathan and I unloaded the box springs and carried it up the stairs into Wendy’s apartment. Wendy, Maggie and Alyson carried up the remaining four boxes.
Although it was almost midnight when we got Alyson all moved in, it was mainly because of goofing around. Nathan went home and Wendy and Alyson headed to bed. Maggie invited me over for tea and to talk. I obliged. Maggie made the tea just right to drink and it was perfectly sweetened.
“Jeff, you have tomorrow off right?” Maggie asked, sitting down next to me on the couch.
“I have to come in and formally hire those new applicants but I’m not coming in until about three so the morning and early afternoon is all mine,” I took a sip of the tea, which was still warm despite the presence of ice.
“Could you drive me to the health department in Lawrence?”
“Sure. Is something wrong?”
“I think I’m pregnant,” Maggie smiled nervously and I stared at her in awe and amazement. “You have amazing green eyes, Jeff…”
“How…how far along are you?” I asked, ignoring her comment on my eyes.
“If I’m pregnant, about three weeks.”
“Do you know who the father is?” I asked her.
“Um…I know who it’s not,” she chuckled nervously. “Look, the reason I asked you is because I thought you wouldn’t give me a guilt trip like the other workers or my family. Also, I trust you to keep this quiet until I’m ready to tell everybody.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. Of course I’ll take you tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Jeff. I’m so scared that I didn’t want to go alone and I definitely don’t want to raise this child by myself…” Maggie began crying so I scooted over to her and held her, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Ssh. It’s okay. You wouldn’t be raising him alone. You have friends and family…”
“My family wouldn’t help out and you truly learn who your friends are after you become pregnant,” Maggie sobbed.
“You always have me…” I whispered in her ear and hugged her tighter. “I promise…”
Next:
Jeff and Maggie go to a doctor and learn whether or not she's pregnant; Darrell and Kathryn confront the staff about being friends with Jeff and Jay, Emily and Heather start working at Baker.
