Page 32 of Finding Forgiveness

It’s late when I finally walk through the door. It’s been a long and exhausting day, but I’m still smiling.

“Hey,” Connor says, looking up from the lounge where he’s sitting. “You’re coming home late?”

“I’ve been at work,” I say, which is a sentence I never thought I’d hear myself utter. There’s something very liberating about those words.

“You have?” he asks, standing. “You got a job already?”

“Yes. Brooke hired me.”

“Wow.”

“Jaz and I went to the studio after breakfast and she hired me on the spot. Look,” I say, digging in my bag. I pull out the four crisp fifty-dollar notes and proudly hold them up. To some, it may seem like a lot of money, but considering the extravagant lifestyle I’ve been used to living, it’s like small change, but I couldn’t be prouder of myself. “She paid me in cash because I don’t have a bank account or tax file number yet. I actually got two-fifty, fifty dollars a class, but I had to pay for a cab home.”

“You should’ve called me; I would’ve come and picked you up.”

I flick my hand. “Jaz offered to come and get me as well, but the new and improved, self-sufficient me wanted to do it on my own. Who knows, I may even learn how to catch a bus going forward … it will be a lot cheaper.”

“I’m not having you catch buses, Cass. Especially at night.”

“Why?” I ask frowning.

“Because it’s not safe.”

It is sweet that he cares, but the new independent me doesn’t like being told she can’t do something. “My dad called me today. I should have my car by the end of the week.”

“Good,” he says, crossing the room. “Until then, I’ll take you wherever you need to go.” He passes by me and opens the drawer of the hall table by the door. “Have you eaten?”

“No.”

He pulls out a stack of pamphlets and hands them to me. “Since it’s a celebratory dinner to commemorate your new job, you can choose what we have to eat.”

I smile. “Anything?”

“Yes … as long as it isn’t that raw fish crap you eat.”

My smile grows because I knew he’d say that. He hates sushi. “Hmm.” I thumb through the selections in my hand. “How about Five Guys?”

He looks at me accusingly. “Since when do you like burgers?”

To be honest, I’ve never been a fan, but I know Connor loves them, and even if we’re celebrating my job, I want to do something nice for him … he’s been so good to me the past few days.

“That was the old me,” I say, pushing the pamphlets into his chest. “The new and improved Cassandra Lewis is on a voyage of discovery.” Rounding him, I head towards my bedroom.

“Where are you going?”

“This working girl is going to take a shower.”

“You want me to order?”

“Yes.”

“What do you want?”

“Surprise me, Maloney.”

Chapter10

Connor