Sunkissed Serendipity

Chapter 17

Isla

The next day, I wake up with a message on my phone saying that my services yesterday were appreciated. I was sent 100 dollars in Venmo from Jack's mother, who also happens to be Julian's. It's crazy that I have met his family now, unbeknownst to me. Now that I knew that the kind lady I met with yesterday was his mother, I knew it would feel more weird to go about messaging him for some reason. I mean, this wasn't just someone's mom; this was someone I knew in my grade, and...

I'm thinking too much, but that much is always true. When I got home yesterday, I started to think about my interactions once I met with Julian again. I thought about everything, including the way we spoke and how we interacted with each other. I had thought about his inclination toward being sweet and how much that truly meant to me. To have someone be kind to you while getting nothing in return was kind of new to me. I mean, I've never been in this situation.

I open my phone and get into the messages I've received from her.

Isla, thank you for taking care of my son yesterday. I'm sorry for the delay in my older coming home, and I hoped that change wasn't an inconvenience for you. I really appreciated your services. Thank you again.

I smile at the text, finding it rather sweet for someone to take the time out of their day to personally thank me even though I was getting paid for this. I didn't do it for free, and yet someone was thanking me.

Good morning, I start replying without even realizing it, but I go for it. It was an honor to watch over your son; he is a really good boy. Also, it was not an inconvenience to watch over Jack for that extra hour. You're welcome. Also, am I getting paid more than I'm supposed to?

Jack's mother responds back as soon as I send the message by loving it first. Then she responds: Thank you again. And no, you're not getting paid extra; I'm just paying you how much I think you deserve.

I'm shocked to find her answer that way, so I respond back with: Thank you so much.

Her text message comes after a minute, and in the meantime, I have been rereading the messages. I hoped that I was sounding as sincere as I felt.

You're welcome.
I was wondering if, I know this is short notice, in case you have other plans, you'd like to watch over my son this morning. I have to go to work earlier than I asked my boss, and coincidentally, my older son has work at the same time as well. I don't have a sitter for Jack, and I really do need to go to work. Do you think you can watch over him from 11 to 5? I'll try to come back home right after.

My eyes widen at the fact that there is another opportunity for me to watch over Jack so soon. I hadn't known that looking after him would be a thing I did often, but with my schedule free, I guess I couldn't turn down the offer. Also because his mom sounded short on options.

Okay, I respond with: I can come in as early as 10:50, and my schedule is free the entire day, so you can take as long as you need. I'd be happy to watch Jack again.

Her reply comes back so quick that I know how much being able to watch over him meant to her.

Thank you, honey. I'll see you then.

With that, I jump out of bed and head into my bathroom to get dressed for the day. I take out an outfit I had planned earlier in the week and put it on. I settled on a white tank top with some denim shorts. I also throw on a larger button on top of that and then head into my room to do my hair. I didn't have much time today, so I settled on keeping it down but added a clip to the back of my hair to keep some of it up. Once I'm sure my curly hair will cooperate, I move on to makeup. I'm done getting dressed ten minutes later and run downstairs to see if I can eat anything for breakfast.