Read Online The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jill Smolinski
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Deedee, and she’ s a real doll. I know you’ ll adore her. The reason I thought of you for Deedee is that she has dreams of being a writer when she grows up. Isn’ t that perfect? Let’ s see,’ she continued. ‘ What else can I tell you about her? She’ s Hispanic on the mother’ s side. The father’ s not been in the picture since she was little. She lives not far from you in the Mar Vista area, and she’ s a freshman at-’
‘ Freshman!’ I exclaimed. ‘ How old is she?’
‘ Fourteen.’
And with that my bubble burst. How was I going to mold and shape a teenager? As clay goes, they’ re already pretty hardened by that point. I couldn’ t hide my disappointment. ‘ I was hoping for someone& younger.’
Rose was silent for a moment and then said, ‘ She’ s still a girl. A good kid, too. Her mother is legally blind. Deedee helps take care of her and her little brother as well. We thought she deserved some fun time.’
‘ It’ s just that& fourteen? What do I do with a fourteen-year-old?’
‘ You could still take her to movies. Play with makeup. Do that Rollerblading you love so much,’ she said, and I cringed remembering that I’ d put that on my application. ‘ You may find you have more in common with an older girl than you would have with a younger one.’ When I didn’ t respond right away, she added, ‘ I’ m not trying to talk you into anything.’
‘ I know.’
‘ She’ s a sweet girl who could use a break.’
‘ Can I think about it?’
‘ Of course. If you’ re not comfortable with this, we can always find you another match, although to be honest, I don’ t know when that will be. We tend to be more stringent about matching younger girls within their ethnic culture. It could be months. But it’ s important that you feel you can bond with your Little, so it may be worth waiting.’
Months! I didn’ t have months! ‘ I’ d imagine it’ s tough having a mom who’ s legally blind,’ I ventured.
‘ Deedee shoulders much more responsibility than a fourteen-year-old should have to,’ Rose agreed. ‘ She’ s spunky, though.’ Then she asked, ‘ How old are you again?’
‘ Thirty-four.’
‘ Here’ s something else to consider. I’ m guessing you’ ll want to be starting a family soon.’ I tried not to snort into the phone as she continued, ‘
Would you be able to balance the needs of a Little with your new family? Sadly, that’ s when many girls get set aside. A teenager, on the other hand-she’ s only going to need a Big for a few years at the most.’
A few minutes later I hung up, having agreed to take the next step, which was to go with Rose Morales to meet Deedee and her mother at their home. We could check each other out, with absolutely no obligation to buy.
It was after one o’ clock when I returned from the lunchroom, kicking myself for putting Rollerblading on my application. They’ d had so many lines under ‘ Hobbies.’ I was embarrassed to leave them all blank.
Lost in thought, I didn’ t hear Bubba bound up.
Bubba was the CEO’ s black Labrador that he sometimes brought to the office. He immediately buried his nose in my crotch. Like owner, like dog.
Which meant, I realized with dread, that Lou Bigwood wasn’ t far behind.
‘ Hey, Bubba,’ I bleated, attempting to pull his face away in a gesture of friendly dog petting rather than the heavy petting that Bubba was aiming for.
Bubba clearly hadn’ t seen HR’ s sexual harassment video that talked about inappropriate touching. My attempts to push him away only excited him further. He lunged for me, sending me reeling back-stumbling and bouncing and boinging and grabbing for the wall to catch my balance.
‘ Bubba!’ It was Lou Bigwood. ‘ Come back here, boy.’
In all the time I’ d worked at L.A. Rideshare, I’ d seen Bigwood only from a distance at staff meetings. I was far too lowly for direct interaction. Bigwood was in his late
‘ Freshman!’ I exclaimed. ‘ How old is she?’
‘ Fourteen.’
And with that my bubble burst. How was I going to mold and shape a teenager? As clay goes, they’ re already pretty hardened by that point. I couldn’ t hide my disappointment. ‘ I was hoping for someone& younger.’
Rose was silent for a moment and then said, ‘ She’ s still a girl. A good kid, too. Her mother is legally blind. Deedee helps take care of her and her little brother as well. We thought she deserved some fun time.’
‘ It’ s just that& fourteen? What do I do with a fourteen-year-old?’
‘ You could still take her to movies. Play with makeup. Do that Rollerblading you love so much,’ she said, and I cringed remembering that I’ d put that on my application. ‘ You may find you have more in common with an older girl than you would have with a younger one.’ When I didn’ t respond right away, she added, ‘ I’ m not trying to talk you into anything.’
‘ I know.’
‘ She’ s a sweet girl who could use a break.’
‘ Can I think about it?’
‘ Of course. If you’ re not comfortable with this, we can always find you another match, although to be honest, I don’ t know when that will be. We tend to be more stringent about matching younger girls within their ethnic culture. It could be months. But it’ s important that you feel you can bond with your Little, so it may be worth waiting.’
Months! I didn’ t have months! ‘ I’ d imagine it’ s tough having a mom who’ s legally blind,’ I ventured.
‘ Deedee shoulders much more responsibility than a fourteen-year-old should have to,’ Rose agreed. ‘ She’ s spunky, though.’ Then she asked, ‘ How old are you again?’
‘ Thirty-four.’
‘ Here’ s something else to consider. I’ m guessing you’ ll want to be starting a family soon.’ I tried not to snort into the phone as she continued, ‘
Would you be able to balance the needs of a Little with your new family? Sadly, that’ s when many girls get set aside. A teenager, on the other hand-she’ s only going to need a Big for a few years at the most.’
A few minutes later I hung up, having agreed to take the next step, which was to go with Rose Morales to meet Deedee and her mother at their home. We could check each other out, with absolutely no obligation to buy.
It was after one o’ clock when I returned from the lunchroom, kicking myself for putting Rollerblading on my application. They’ d had so many lines under ‘ Hobbies.’ I was embarrassed to leave them all blank.
Lost in thought, I didn’ t hear Bubba bound up.
Bubba was the CEO’ s black Labrador that he sometimes brought to the office. He immediately buried his nose in my crotch. Like owner, like dog.
Which meant, I realized with dread, that Lou Bigwood wasn’ t far behind.
‘ Hey, Bubba,’ I bleated, attempting to pull his face away in a gesture of friendly dog petting rather than the heavy petting that Bubba was aiming for.
Bubba clearly hadn’ t seen HR’ s sexual harassment video that talked about inappropriate touching. My attempts to push him away only excited him further. He lunged for me, sending me reeling back-stumbling and bouncing and boinging and grabbing for the wall to catch my balance.
‘ Bubba!’ It was Lou Bigwood. ‘ Come back here, boy.’
In all the time I’ d worked at L.A. Rideshare, I’ d seen Bigwood only from a distance at staff meetings. I was far too lowly for direct interaction. Bigwood was in his late
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