The Flashbacks

Chapter Five: Girls Night

Steph's POV

Jax and Luna sat on the kitchen counter, putting their toppings on their pizzas. Elyse had gotten four little crusts for the four of us with a bunch of different toppings.

"I try?" Jax asked me, a piece of bell pepper in his hand. Luna was eating a piece of bell pepper and I think he wanted to do what she was doing.

"Just a piece, baby. If you don't like it, you don't have to finish it." I watched him take a little bite. It took him a few moments before he decided if he liked it or not. "What do you think?" I took a sip of my lemonade. We decided not to have any alcohol tonight since I was going to be driving home. Jax just shook his head and I held out my hand to take the rest of the bell pepper from him, popping it in my mouth.

"So, I have a job for you if you want it. The receptionist at my office is leaving for another job opportunity. It's yours if you want it. It would be more steady hours, an 8 to 4 job. Sarah also told me that you mentioned to her that you're interested in going back to school for nursing. I know for sure the hospital would be willing to work with you on that." Elyse popped the pizza pans into the oven once they were ready.

"You're kidding. You have to be messing with me." I felt like I could cry. There was no way that this lady I met a few days ago was just so willing to help me change my whole life.

"Nope, not kidding. So, what do you think?" She asked me with a small smile. She put Luna down on the floor and she waited for me to put Jax down so that they could go run and play.

"Of course, I'll take the job. Thank you so much!" I couldn't help it, I hugged her, tears streaming down my face.

"We'll give you time to put your two weeks in at your old job. Our receptionist just put hers in so we have the time to wait for you. She's also going to stick around for a few days once you start to get trained and show you the ropes." Elyse used the scrunchie around her wrist to pull her hair back into a bun.

"That sounds great, thank you so much, Elyse. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. I owe you." I wiped my eyes again.

"Mommy!" I looked down at Jax and he was holding an empty cup from Luna's play kitchen up to me. "Juice, Mommy." He told me and I smiled.

"Thank you, baby." I took the cup and pretended to drink from it. He grinned back up at me and then ran back to the little playroom.

"Also, Ethan asked me for your number today. I don't like just giving out people's numbers without their permission so I wanted to wait until I could ask you if it was okay." Ethan wanted my number. I could feel my pulse pick up just at the mention of his name. "I said if you were okay with it, I could give you his number and then you could just call or text him if you want."

"Sure, that'd be fine with me." I tried to keep myself calm and collected. I didn't want Elyse to know I was screaming like a teenage girl on the inside. Elyse pulled a post-it pad out from the kitchen drawer. She wrote a phone number down on a sheet of paper and then gave it to me.

"Have you seen the Barbie movie yet?" Elyse asked while letting the dogs in from the backyard.

"I haven't," I told her while putting Ethan's number into my contacts. We walked into the living room and sat on the couch. I froze when Spike jumped up next to me and put his head on my lap.

"I can tell him to get down if you want. He'll move if I tell him." Elyse told me as she grabbed the remote control.

"No, no. He's fine." I pet his head and scratch him behind his ears. Ethan's dog liked me and that meant a lot to me.