Five months later Frankie moved out of her mom's house and into a small apartment. She didn't have much there - one bedroom and one bathroom, a kitchen and a dining room/guestroom. She took Mercy's crib with her and set it up in her bedroom, along with some other baby-related stuff. She had one week to get it looking organized before it was "observed." She didn't have much furniture - a fold-out couch, two tables, two chairs, a tv and vcr, her bed, and a nightstand. Because of that, it didn't take her long to get everthing organized and put all her belongings away.
Her mom lived on the other side of town. She had a job there, working as a secretary for her mom's office. She had learned a lot about computers and was a fast typer. Now she lived closer to the Camden's and the pizza place. She couldn't go work back there. But she had four job interviews before her observation - two as a secretary, one as an aide in a daycare center, and then another one at a clothing store. She was pretty sure she would get at least one of them.
Once she was sure everything was put up, she wrote in her journal - something the Rev. suggested for her to do. Then she called her mom to let her know how she was doing.
The next day, she had to go grocery shopping, and she had an interview - a receptionist for an dentist. She wanted to call Mary and see her and have her come see her apartment, but she had made a pact with herself. She would wait from seeing the Camdens, with the exception of the Rev., until the nine months were over. That way, if she got Mercy back, Mary would be able to see how well she had done.
The next day, she had two job interviews. The first one was for the daycare center. It involved an interview and then she had to spend some time with the kids. They had to see her in action. For two hours, she watched over 10 kids, ages a year to five years. The lady seemed pleased with Frankie's work. She left with optimism. But, her next interview was the clothing store, and there were lots of people - people with better taste in clothes than her - who were there as well. She left a little dejected. At least she had one good interview that day.
The next day was her free day. She got more food and went to the bookstore. She spent her day being lazy.
Her next interview was at 11am the next day. It was another secretary job at a law firm. Again, she didn't feel good about the interview. The people there were so proper and rich. She doubted they wanted a single mother on probation working for them. But, her spirits lifted when she got home and she found she got the job at the daycare center and the dentist's office. She called back immedietly to both and accepted both. She would work at the daycare from 9-5 on weekdays and be in charge of the 4-6 year olds. She would work at the dentist's office Saturdays and evenings Monday and Wednesday. She knew it was a lot to take on, but the pay was good and she needed to brighten up her apartment a little and have enough money in four months to support both her and Mercy. She would begin the daycare job the next Monday and the dentist's the following Saturday. She had to go through training for both jobs, but she thought they would be a breeze.
Saturday her apartment was inspected. The workers found nothing wrong with it, were happy to see the refrigerator and the pantry nearly filled with food and even happier to find she had two jobs. Needless to say, when they left, Frankie was very proud of herself.