Page 34 of Protection for Asher (Safeguarded By The SEAL #4)
Making the bread didn’t take too long, and she texted Thario at ten asking if she could stop by. He replied almost immediately stating that he would love to see her. She called for a taxi and was at his house thirty minutes later.
When she walked in, Frog came over to meet her, wagging his tail. “How are you doing, good boy?”
Thario chuckled. “He smells whatever you brought over and thinks it’s for him.”
She chuckled. “I don’t know how good olive and cheese bread would be for him. I also made regular wheat bread, too.”
“You know you didn’t have to.”
“I know, but I wanted to thank you.”
“So Squat called me and said you need to change your address with your bank and log in using my computer.”
“Do you mind?”
“No, I’m happy you came over. It’s nice to have people to talk to.”
She nodded. “I get that. I think I need to get a job or something. I'm going a little stir-crazy sitting at home alone.”
His laughter filled the room and Frog barked. “That was the hardest part for me. Learning to be alone.”
“I think I’m ready to start working. I haven’t really found a therapist I like. I went to one, but we didn’t click. I’ve been doing some reading, and that has helped, but I know I need to find someone to see.”
“Yeah. It’s hard when you don’t click. I’ve had a few people I’ve worked with who weren’t the best fit. I hope you can find someone soon.”
“I will. Part of the issue is I don’t have much money.”
“Yeah, I get that part. The military pays for mine. That makes it easier.”
She nodded. “I’m trying a video session later in the week. The person is from New York, so maybe they’ll work out.”
“So let’s get you logged in at your bank while I eat some of that bread.”
“Sure.”
She pulled up the website for her bank and hesitated. Fear filled her as she thought about logging in.
“Do you remember your login information?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I just don't want them to be able to trace me here. I can't have anyone finding me.”
“It's safe. I have all the computers set up so they can't be traced back to this location.”
She drew in a deep breath and let it go slowly. “Okay. Let’s see what happened to my bank account while I was gone.”
The login ID was easy, but the password took more than a few seconds to think about.
After a moment she figured it out and typed in the correct string of letters and numbers.
The screen changed, showing that she had some money, though not much in her account.
Most of the money was in her savings account.
“Well, that’s not enough to buy a car, but it’s enough I can at least buy some groceries without having to rely on Squat.”
“You know he doesn’t mind,” Thario said.
“I know, but I don't want to be the kind of person who uses someone. I like paying my own way. I mean, I know I won't be able to here in California, not for a long while, but I want to do as much as I can.”
“That’s admirable. I know you’ll be good at whatever you decide to do.”
“Thank you.”
“So your car. I called and got it out of the impound lot. I’m working on selling it.”
“Thank you.”
“Once I get the money, I’ll get it to you.”
“Thank you so much for all you’re doing to help me.”
“I enjoy doing it. You know, life is funny. I had a path, a good path, and it was all blown to hell.”
She shook her head as sadness hit. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“It’s okay. This life is different, but I’ve found something I like doing, and I’m good at it. I get to help people get their lives back. It’s something good that I can do.”
“Speaking of what you do, once you have some time, I'd like to learn how I can help you. I'm not great with computers, but if you give me tasks, I can do them.”
“Oh, that would be awesome. The other women come around from time to time to help. It comes down to once a week someone is here helping me.”
“That’s great. I’d love to learn. After all that happened, I want to give back.”
“I think you'll be great at helping because you want to do it. How about next week? We can set up a time.”
“Thank you.”
She left Thario’s place after giving Frog some belly rubs. Once again she wondered if she should get a dog. Animals were expensive, and she didn’t have a job. Maybe later, after she got a job and had some money coming in.
She felt good, not good enough to open her banking application on her phone, but good enough to head to the closest grocery store to her place and put in an application.
She could start moving forward instead of being stuck in place.
If she got this job, it wouldn’t be her final destination, but it would go a long way to getting her where she wanted to go.