The school day passed uneventfully for Amy and soon the final bell of the day was ringing. Amy gathered her books from her locker and made her way outside to wait for her mom. She spotted her mother's car in the queue of waiting parents and headed over. When she was buckled in Anne carefully pulled out of the queue and headed to the middle school to pick up Ashley.
"How was school today?" Anne asked.
"Fine."
"Any problems?" She didn't say it but Amy knew her mother was really asking if Ricky had approached her at all.
"Nope. All good." Anne nodded her approval and continued making her way to the middle school. Once she'd picked up Ashley and they arrived back home, the girls started to head upstairs.
"Hang on girls." They stopped and turned to look at their mother. "Amy, you're pregnant so you need to have small snacks multiple times a day and Ashley, a healthy snack can help improve mental function," Anne informed them. She opened the fridge and removed two saran-covered plates that each contained cut up fruits and vegetables with a ranch dip. Anne unwrapped them and handed one to each of her girls. She retrieved two bottles of water from the fridge and handed them to them as well. "Make sure you snack on that while you work on your homework." The girls nodded and headed up to their rooms to complete their homework.
Amy finished hers in an hour and a half and then started browsing the web for information on babies, pregnancy, and motherhood in general. Realizing just how expensive raising a baby could be, Amy decided she should probably start looking at part-time afterschool jobs. Amy had been browsing job postings for a solid hour when she found what she thought might be the perfect first job. The local church had a daycare center that was looking for someone on a part-time basis to help answer phones and file paperwork while they were in the process of expanding the facility, and no experience was required. She also looked at the information provided about the daycare center as a way to start figuring out how much child care could cost. As Amy couldn't drive yet and Robbie wasn't home, she'd need her mom to drive her to the nursery so she could get some more information. Amy went in search of her mother and found her in the living room straightening up.
"Mom?"
"Hmmm?"
"I need you to drive me somewhere."
"Oh? Where?" Amy looked down at the directions she'd printed off and opted instead to just hand her mother the sheet of paper. Anne took the paper Amy held out and scanned it. "A daycare center?" Amy nodded.
"They have a part-time job opening for someone willing to answer phones and file paper and since I've never had a job before and you don't need any experience, I figured it's a good place to start." Anne was suddenly very proud of her daughter for taking some initiative and hugged her.
"Let me just grab my purse and tell Ashley where we're going." Amy went to her room to grab her purse while Anne informed Ashley she was taking Amy to inquire about a part-time job. Anne was able to easily follow the directions and they arrived only twenty-three minutes after leaving the house. The exterior of the daycare center looked very friendly and inviting and suddenly Amy could see her son or daughter enjoying themselves here while she was at school. The two women walked inside and were greeted by a woman with kind eyes and a smile sitting behind the welcome desk.
"Good afternoon, ladies. How may I help you?" Anne motioned for Amy to go ahead and speak for herself.
"I found your advertisement for a part-time helper online and I was wondering if the position is still available." The woman brightened significantly.
"Oh yes! We've been trying for weeks to find someone but it just seems that no one's interested in part-time work at the moment. It never occurred to us that teenagers would be interested in the position but I'm glad you stopped by. One moment. The woman got up and walked quickly down the hall and knocked on an office door. Amy saw her stick her head inside and speak briefly to the room's occupant before she smiled at Amy and motioned for her to come on over. Anne took a seat in the small waiting area as Amy walked down the short hallway and into the office. The receptionist closed the door and Amy stood facing another woman with kind eyes, although a little older than the receptionist. She extended her hand as she smiled at Amy.
"I'm Caroline." Amy shook the woman's hand.
"I'm Amy." The woman released her hand and motioned for Amy to have a seat. Once both women were seated Caroline gave her another smile.
"So you're interested in our part-time helper position." Amy nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Have you ever done this type of work before?"
"No, ma'am. The advertisement online said there was no experience required."
"Oh there's not," Caroline assured her, "It's just helpful to know how much training we'll need to do if we hire you. So tell me, Amy, why do you want this job?" The question was asked gently but Amy still felt a little unsettled. This would be the first time she'd be telling a complete stranger that she was a pregnant teenager and, the daycare center being run by the local church, suddenly Amy wasn't so sure she'd be hired. She cleared her throat and decided to just dive right in and be honest.
"I found out yesterday I'm six weeks pregnant and in order to provide for my baby I need a job." Caroline was only momentarily taken aback but her surprise was quickly replaced with admiration. She didn't need to think it over; she was hiring this young woman.
"When would you like to start?" Her question startled Amy.
"Excuse me?" Caroline smiled at her.
"You heard me correctly, dear. The job is yours if you want it. Not every woman who finds out she's expectantly pregnant has the courage or frame of mind to step up to their responsibility and for that woman to be so young says a lot about her character. It's the kind of character we like to see in the people who play a role in helping us care for the little cherubs we take care of." Amy started to tear up.
"Thank you." Caroline chuckled.
"You're very welcome, my dear. Now," Caroline opened a drawer and pulled out several forms and clicked an ink pen. "This job is part-time so can I presume that you would prefer to work after school?" Amy nodded and Caroline pulled out another piece of paper that contained a schedule. "We can schedule you for shifts from 3:30 to 6:30. Would that work for you?" Amy paused for a moment.
"Would you mind if I double checked with my mother? She's in the waiting area." Caroline shook her head.
"Not at all. In fact, why don't you bring her back here." Amy quickly went to the waiting area and told her mother her presence was requested in the office. Caroline rose to greet Anne as she walked in while Amy shut the door behind them and reclaimed her seat. "Hello. My name is Caroline." Anne shook the woman's hand.
"Anne Juergens."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Juergens. Now I've offered your daughter the part-time position and when we began discussing what time frame would work best for her, she wanted to double check with you."
"Alright. What is the timeframe?"
"3:30 to 6:30, and that would be Monday through Friday." Amy looked at her mother expectantly.
"That's fine. Your father or I can be here to pick you up until you learn how to drive," Anne informed her daughter. Caroline marked Amy's shift down on the forms in front of her.
"Alright. I need to check on some things in the back so I'll leave you to fill out the rest of the forms and then I'll come back to finish things up." Amy and Anne nodded and Caroline left the office, closing the door behind her. Anne helped Amy fill out the forms and excitement seemed to radiate from Amy, causing Anne to chuckle.
"What?"
"You're getting excited about all this aren't you?"
"I don't know. It's like piece by piece the puzzle's coming together. If I have a job that only expects me to work after school then I can stay in school and if I have a paycheck then I can buy the things my baby will need and if I start working now hopefully I'll have enough saved up to afford childcare too. All that's left is to wait for Ricky to sign the form." Anne was once again filled with pride for her daughter's willingness to take the initiative and take control of her unexpected situation. Caroline came back a little while later. She checked Amy's form for omissions or errors, had Anne sign a work release form, since Amy was still a minor, and then placed the forms in her outbox. She stood from her chair and extended her hand to Amy with a smile.
"We'll get this paperwork processed in the next couple of days and we'll see you this Saturday for your orientation. After that, we'll see you Monday at 3:30." Amy shook Caroline's hand, a smile on her own face as well. Amy was still happy as she and Anne made their way to the car and got in.
"You realize this means you're after school routine's gonna change?" Anne informed her daughter as she started the car. Amy just nodded.
"It's gonna change anyway after I have the baby so I might as well get a head start on it." Anne laughed a little as she drove them home.