Chapter Five: Practice makes survival
1289 Words
The living room smelled like a mix of stale air, old paper, and the faint lingering scent of Lily’s dinner from earlier. Papers were scattered across the carpet interview questions printed from the internet, notebooks with answers scrawled in different colored pens, and pens themselves rolling haphazardly under the sofa cushions.
Thirty year old Rose sat cross-legged in the middle, her fingers tapping nervously on the edge of a notebook. Brittany, at thirteen, sat opposite her on the couch, legs tucked under her, holding her phone like a quizmaster. Lily perched on the arm of the couch, arms crossed, observing.
“Alright,” Brittany said, clearing her throat dramatically. “Question one: Why do you want to work as a nanny?” She asked as she held her phone as a microphone to her mother.
Rose exhaled, trying to calm her racing heart. “I—because I enjoy taking care of children, and I…” She hesitated, unsure if it sounded professional enough.
“Stop sounding like a robot,” Lily snapped. “Talk like a real person. Not some boring textbook. Try it again.”
Rose swallowed, trying to ignore Brittany’s expectant stare. “I love children. I know what responsibility means, and I want to help a family like theirs.”
“Better,” Lily said, nodding. “But make it warmer. Show them you’re human. Smile while you say it.”
Brittany giggled. “It’s like acting class.”
“Exactly,” Lily said, raising her eyebrows. “You’re auditioning for their trust, not a grade in school.”
They spent hours going through questions what to do if a child misbehaves, how to handle disagreements with parents, past experience, emergency scenarios. Rose stumbled over words at times, her voice breaking when Brittany made faces, and Lily rolled her eyes dramatically every time she read aloud a particularly awkward phrasing.
By the time the clock hit eight in the evening, Rose’s stomach ached from nerves and tension. Her back was stiff, and her fingers were sore from tapping pens. She rubbed her temples and looked at Brittany and Lily.
“You two are relentless,” she said. “You’ll thank us later,” Lily said.
“Yeah,” Brittany added, bouncing slightly on the couch. “You’re going to crush it.”
Rose smiled faintly but didn’t speak. Her mind wandered to memories she hadn’t thought about in years—when the five of them were a family before life had cracked it into pieces. Laughter around the dinner table, Rose’s mother,Nina,singing badly but joyfully while cooking, Julius setting the table,Brittany picking flowers from the garden,even Lily’s stubborn teasing that used to make her laugh instead of grind her nerves down. Her brother visited once in a while,he said he was busy with work but now she hadn't seen him in years. She sighed quietly, wishing things could go back to that simplicity for even a day.
The front door slammed open.
The stench hit first cheap alcohol, perfume, and cigarettes. Then the sound: staggering footsteps, broken words slurred across the hallway, the heavy clatter of something being thrown.
“Oh, look,” Nina Montez’s voice drawled from the doorway. “Family gathering without me?”
Lily jumped to her feet immediately. “Lower your voice.”
Nina laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. “Or what? You gonna make me?”
Rose didn’t move. She just watched as Nina kicked off her heels, sending one flying across the hallway and hitting the wall with a loud thud. Her lipstick was smeared, her hair wild, and her clothes rumpled.
How did everything fall apart so quick? Rose asked herself.
“What is all this?” Nina demanded, gesturing to the papers on the floor.
“Interview prep,” Lily said firmly. “Rose has a chance at a job. A real one.”
Nina snorted. “Oh, of course. Another opportunity. How convenient.”
Brittany’s jaw tightened. She stood slowly, letting her fourteen-year-old height give her a small advantage. “Grandma,” she said evenly. “Stop.”
Nina’s head snapped toward Brittany. “Excuse me?”
“You always do this,” Brittany said, her voice stronger than she felt. “You come home drunk, yelling, throwing things, belittling mum and aunt Lily and acting like the world owes you an explanation.” Rose's eyes widened,she hadn't expected this from her daughter,neither did Lily or Nina.
Nina’s eyes flashed, half anger, half amusement. “If you don’t like it, girl, go to your father’s house.”
Brittany’s hands clenched into fists, but she didn’t move. The words hurt worse than any slap and her eyes began welling up with tears. Everyone knew the truth behind her father and no one mentioned in no matter what, it was an unspoken rule. "Enough!" Rose yelled,she had heard enough,"I will not have your nonsense tonight so you either go back to where you're coming from or you be quiet." She added,Lily was holding Brittany and heading her to a different couch. "Blah blah,get a life." Her mother retorted. Nina turned and walked down the hallway without another word.
Lily exhaled slowly, dropping to the couch beside Brittany. “Ice cream?” she asked, holding out her keys.
Brittany’s eyes lit up immediately. “Yes!”
Rose stayed on the floor, staring at the scattered papers. The hope she had felt earlier that day felt fragile, almost breakable. She thought of the Ford House, the children she could care for, the opportunity to provide for Brittany properly and yet, the weight of her own family’s chaos pressed down on her chest.
Her mind wandered back to earlier days, the few times they had been truly happy. She remembered their mother, singing in the kitchen while the kids ran around, their father laughing at some inside joke only he understood, the way Brittany had fallen asleep on her shoulder when she was small. Those moments seemed like they belonged to another lifetime, a lifetime before grief and disappointment had hollowed out the corners of their home.
A tear slid down Rose’s cheek, but she brushed it quickly. She couldn’t afford to cry now, not in front of Brittany, not in front of Lily. She had to be strong. She had to believe that life could be better.
The phone buzzed in her pocket. A message from Lily: “We’ll get through this. You’re ready. We’ll make sure of it.”
Rose typed back a quick reply, her fingers shaking slightly. “Thank you.”
Brittany leaned forward, nudging her mother. “Come on, Mom. Let’s go get ice cream. You can think about the Ford House later.”
Rose nodded slowly, standing up. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror by the door tired, worried, but determined. For Brittany. For Lily. For herself.
As they walked out into the cool evening, the smell of asphalt and blooming flowers mixed with the promise of something better. Ice cream felt like a small rebellion against the weight of their lives, a brief moment of sweetness before reality returned.
Rose looked down at Brittany, and the girl’s bright, hopeful eyes reminded her that this was all worth it. That even if their present life is filled with pain, they could still carve out a future.
And somewhere deep inside, Rose felt the first flicker of hope she had dared to feel in a long time.
A future where Brittany could feel safe. Where she could provide. Where they could finally have a sense of normalcy even if only for a little while.
It wasn’t the whole world healed. Not yet. But it was a start.
And sometimes, a start was everything.
- Writer
