Shaileigh
Crash
A tower of boxes fell down in the back room. I had knocked them over by mistake & my manager came rushing in.
"What happened?" he asked panting.
"Oh by mistake I knocked over these boxes," I turned to face him & his eyes went straight to my belly.
"Shaileigh," he began, "when are you due for?"
"I don't know. I haven't been to the doctor this whole time because I don't have enough money to make an appointment," I sighed & put my hand on the small of my back.
"How long have you been pregnant?" he asked.
"It should be eight & a half months by now," I answered.
"Shaileigh!" my manager squeaked, "we should've let you go like a month ago. I'm letting you go. Go home Shai."
"Sir please," I pleaded, "you can't fire me."
"We're not firing you. We're letting you go on maternity leave. That is a thing you know that right?" he asked.
"Oh yeah. But I didn't know it worked before you give birth. I thought it was four months after," I explained.
"No. It's also about two months before," he explained, "what I get for hiring a dropout," he said under his breath. Thinking I couldn't hear but I did.
"Sir please can I just work till the day I give birth. I need the money," I begged.
"No Shaileigh. A lot can be brought upon this franchise if I let a pregnant woman work here. You have to go home," he explained & brought his voice down to a whisper, "look I know you're struggling so I'll see if they can bump up your pay cheques when you return."
"Thank you sir," I sighed.
"Bridget!" he yelled for the girl in the storage room. She appeared, her ginger curls in her face like she just fought a bear, "please take Shaileigh home. I'll ask Mandy to cover for you."
"Alright," Bridget grabbed her keys, "let's go."
We walked out, got into her car & left. She asked me various questions about my pregnancy & I replied openly with a bit of hesitation on some. Then she asked who the father was & I said,
"This baby doesn't have a father."
