Shattered Diamonds

4. Josie

4

Josie

I couldn’t believe I spilled an entire glass of water on a customer––this customer, of all people––right in front of my aunt. She had to be seriously regretting her decision to hire me.

When Aunt Mimi scooted over in the booth and patted the red pleather seat beside her, I tried not to let my apprehension outwardly show––even though I knew in my gut that she was going to fire me. What other choice did she have? I was utterly useless as a waitress, despite my best efforts to the contrary.

“Josephine,” Mimi started out, and I instantly knew this was going somewhere dark. She never used my full name––ever. “You know I love you as much as if you were my own daughter, right?”

“Of course,” I nodded, knowing there was bound to be a ‘but’ coming next.

“And you are as graceful as a mermaid in the water. I could watch you swim for hours on end.”

I gave her a sad smile, still waiting for that ‘but’ to come.

She patted my knee to soften the blow. “But you are a truly terrible waitress, honey.”

Even though I knew it was true, it still hurt to hear the harsh words said out loud. Surprisingly, the suspected killer, who I had just doused with cold water, came to my defense. “It was just a glass of water, Mimi. It’s really no big deal.”

“Oh, it’s not just that.” Mimi shook her head, looking utterly amused by my ineptitude. “She’s a walking disaster as a server.” As if suddenly hearing how cutting her words sounded, Mimi turned to look at me, “But she’s wonderful at many other things… including entertaining children.”

I scrunched up my face, wondering where she was going with this. It had to be the most convoluted firing ever.

Seeming to be in on the secret, Alex held up his palms, “Oh, I don’t know…”

Perturbed that he knew what she was talking about when it obviously had to do with my future, I gave my aunt a pointed look. “Care to fill me in on what you’re hinting at?”

“Well, it turns out that Alex needs a nanny to watch his adorable little girl this summer, and, Jo-Jo, I hate to break it to you in front of someone else, but you need a job.”

I’d seen Hannah Biggs both on the local news and walking by her father’s side several times since her mother’s disappearance. She was an adorable cherub of a little girl with long, dark-blonde hair and enormous, sad blue eyes. Spending time with her would be a dream job––especially when compared with messing up people’s orders here––but I wasn’t sure about working for her father.

Obviously sensing where my thoughts had gone, Aunt Mimi looked at Alex. “You have my word that this young woman will take excellent care of your daughter.” Shaking her bent pointer finger, she gave him a stern warning. “Jo-Jo means the world to me, and I’d be trusting her with you. If anything happens to her, the police will be the least of your worries.”

Alex nodded his understanding of her dire, thinly-veiled threat before turning his hopeful gaze in my direction. “If you aren’t comfortable with this, I understand, but it would be a huge relief for both me and Hannah. It would help me be able to get some work done, and it would keep her from being stuck inside with her boring father all summer.”

I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear that had fallen out of my ponytail. There was no denying I wanted this job. I just had major concerns about working for this particular man. I trusted Mimi’s judgment, and she seemed to have faith in him, but nearly everyone else in town believed him to be a murderer. Would I jump every time he came near me?

I found myself staring at Alex. He didn’t have the eyes of a killer. I’d watched a documentary on Ted Bundy, so I knew you couldn’t judge a person based on his looks, but something in Alex’s warm blue eyes inspired confidence. I really didn’t think he hurt his wife––or at least, I didn’t want to think he did.

In either case, my options for employment were severely limited by my lack of a college degree or viable job skills. I wasn’t mentally ready to teach or coach swimming to others, and those were really the only vocations for which I was qualified.

I had only a tiny sliver of doubt that I might actually be in physical danger from this man. Even if he did what he was accused of doing to his wife, hurting me would make it certain that he would be caught and punished. Besides, we all knew that my aunt didn’t make idle threats. She would go after Alex like a rabid banshee if anything happened to me.

Suddenly feeling more inspired than I’d been since before my shoulder surgery, I looked directly at Alex and said, “I would love to take care of your daughter this summer.”