AMELIA'S CHOICE

Amelia's Point of View

"Kelly, you need to be fast unless you want to be late for school" I told my five years old daughter

"Mommy, I can do it myself. Get dressed for work so that you won't be late too" she said in her small voice

"Really? Okay, I will get dressed for work. Food is on the table already, so you can eat once you're done. We will go to school together as soon as I come out of my room" I said and went to my room to take my bath

I did everything in a hurry and returned to the sitting room. Fortunately, Kelly was done so I took her to school and left for work afterwards.

My name is Amelia Williams and I'm divorced. I got married to my ex-husband, Sean Roger six years ago and thought I was going to live happily with him forever.

Things were going quite well between us until he started seeing a model. He wasn't faithful in our marriage from the start because he was a playboy and I always let it slide.

After he started seeing a top model, he felt I wasn't good enough for him so he divorced me. I was already pregnant with Kelly then but he didn't know because the pregnancy was just three months.

On the day I was planning to tell him about the baby, he gave me the divorce papers. If I still told him about the pregnancy, maybe he wouldn't have let me go, but I don't want my child to stay with someone like him.

It hasn't been easy taking care of myself and my daughter for the past five years. When I left Sean's house, he didn't give me a penny and just asked me to leave like that.

I had to work my ass off even though I was pregnant and it has been from one part-time job to another in the last five years.

I thought of working in an office too but I feel I won't have enough time for my daughter. She's five years old now so maybe I will consider it again.

I arrived at my place of work and went in. It was a coffee shop and I'm only going to work for the first three hours because I have another part-time job then.

"Good morning sir" I greeted my boss with a smile

"You are late once again and I really don't like it. If you don't want to get fired, then start coming early. There are so many people that want to take your job" he said in a harsh tone

"I'm sorry sir, I will try to come earlier" I smiled again

I've gotten used to his attitude after working here for over six months now and it's like a normal thing to me.

He knows I have a child but he's never lenient with me. I guess that's how to run a business properly so that it won't collapse.

Customers started coming and I attended to them with smiles on my face as usual for the next three hours.

I got my pay after I was done and headed to my next part-time job. It was a five star restaurant and it wasn't easy to get a job there but the customers seem to like me and that's why I haven't been fired yet.

I greeted my colleagues and started taking orders immediately. My stomach was rumbling but there were too many customers to attend to so I couldn't think of eating.

There was a short break in the afternoon but instead of eating, I went to pick up my daughter from school. The boss here is still quite nice to me since she lets Kelly stay here until it's time for us to go home.

It was after I brought Kelly to the restaurant that I rushed to eat a little before resuming my work. After work, I got my pay and also took part of the leftover food to eat with Kelly when we get home.

After showering, Kelly and I were in bed when she suddenly stood up and started massaging me.

"Awwn you're so sweet" I smiled

"Mommy, I think your job is too stressful. It would be better for you to work in a company" Kelly said

"Company work is not as easy as you think and the pay from this job is more than the company work too unless they pay hourly. Anyway, I will think about it" I said

I made sure to go early to work the next day but surprisingly, my boss told me that I was no longer needed.

"What are you talking about?" I asked

"Someone else came for the job yesterday and since she's very beautiful and punctual, I believe she will help my business grow well" the manager said

"But still, how can you just fire me like that without giving me any heads up?" I asked

"I can fire you without giving you heads up because it's my company. You are disturbing my customers so please leave" he concluded and walked away

I sighed dejectedly and left the café, heading to my second part-time job.

"Good morning ma! I know I arrived earlier today and I won't ask you to include it in my pay" I said to my boss with a smile on my face

"Meet me in my office" she said and left

I should meet her in her office? Why would she suddenly say that? I dropped my bag and went to her office like she said.

"You can work today but you don't need to come from tomorrow. I'm really sorry about this but there's nothing I can do. You know I'm only a manager here. The CEO called and asked me to fire some workers even though I don't know what happened and your name was included in the list" she explained

"Why will he suddenly ask you to fire us when we didn’t do anything wrong?" I asked

"I also am not sure about that but you can work today and still get paid. Besides, he asked me to give you guys severance pay to make up for what he did" she concluded

"Thank you so much ma'am, I really appreciate" I said and walked out of her office

Why does the path of my life seem really rough and thorny? I can't believe I lost my two jobs in just one day. I must be the most unlucky person on earth.

I managed to work till the end of the day and returned home with Kelly.

"Kelly, mommy has decided to look for a job in a company" I said to Kelly after we wore our pajamas that night.

"Really? I'm so proud of you mommy and I'm going to show off to all my friends in school" Kelly squealed

"I've not even gotten the job yet so don't start showing off. I hope you know that I won't have enough time for you anymore once I get the job. Are you okay with that?" I asked her

"Of course mommy. I'm no longer a kid since I clocked five this year. I can definitely take care of myself and I even know how to make simple meals" she bragged

"Awwn! I'm so proud of my cutie pie and I'm really glad to have given birth to you even though your dad is a...." I couldn't say what I wanted to say because she's still a child

"I've been meaning to ask mom, where is my dad? He's supposed to pay my school fees and drive me to school every day like other kids but I've not even seen him before" she asked

"You are a very smart kid so I think it's time you know the truth. Your dad left us for another woman and he didn't even know I was pregnant then so it's safe to say he doesn't know about you" I explained briefly

"My dad is a bad man then. But it doesn't matter mommy, since I have you" she said with her beautiful gummy smile

"Alright sweetie. Time to go to bed" I smiled back at her and put her to sleep

*Next morning*

After taking Kelly to school, I returned home and started applying for jobs online.

I graduated from school as one of the top students but I never got to use my certificate, thanks to my ex-husband who made me a housewife because of his wealth.

I applied for a job on all the sites I came across and I was about going offline when I saw an ad. I clicked on it and saw that it was an advertisement about a vacancy in Wayne Group.

Wayne Group is probably the biggest company in the United States and I was surprised to see a vacancy. I checked the number of applicants and saw that they were over 100 already.

I wanted to ignore it but I just decided to apply. I can just include it in my number of applications so that I can be hopeful that I'll get at least one of the jobs.

I was at home all day until it was time to pick up Kelly from school. We went home immediately and I started preparing dinner.

Two days went by and I always made sure to check my emails every day but there was nothing.

"You still haven't gotten a job mom?" Kelly asked jolting me out of my thoughts

I've actually been staring at my laptop ever since I brought her from school and I guess she noticed it.

"Yes baby. Company jobs are not easy to get so I will exercise a little more patience" I smiled at her

"I believe in you mummy. There must be someone out there that will be able to see just how awesome and hardworking you are" she said

I can't believe my five years old daughter is the one cheering me up. Sean might be the biggest jerk in the world but he gave me the sweetest thing that has kept me going until now.

The next day was weekend so we just went out and had fun with the little money we had. Kelly is too understanding and although I like it, I'm scared that it might affect her later on. I feel she’s maturing too quickly because she grew up without a dad.

I decided to just check my email on Sunday night before going to bed when I saw a new email. I clicked on it anxiously and slowly read through it.

Wayne Group was inviting me for their interview which was to take place tomorrow. Oh my goodness! I can't believe this!

I was expecting an email from every other company I applied to except Wayne Group. This is really shocking!

I made sure to wake up very early the next morning and prepared breakfast for Kelly. I can't afford to go late for my interview because first impression lasts longer.

I applied a little bit of makeup and took Kelly to school first.

"Good luck on your interview mummy! You will definitely get hired" Kelly said just as I was about leaving

"Thank you honey bunny" I smiled and left

I don't know how Kelly knew exactly what I needed. I was feeling very anxious and nervous before but after she said that, I suddenly feel confident.

I'm not bragging but I'm really really beautiful and if I decide to work as a model, I doubt if there will be anyone more beautiful than me.

I have the looks, I'm really smart and my certificate is good too so I see no reason why I shouldn't get the job. I just need to show confidence.

I was really surprised when I got to the hall and saw about 150 applicants.

What the hell! How are they going to interview so many people in just one day? And how will I be chosen among so many people?

"Miss Amelia?" I heard my name behind me

"Yes?" I answered the lady with a smile

She gave me my name tag and I saw that my tag number was 101. There really is no hope for me.

"The interview will be starting now so please take your seat and listen carefully to the numbers. We will try to make things snappy because you are many" the lady that called me earlier announced

We all sat down and the interview was about starting when we heard a voice.

"Wait!" the manly voice said

The voice was clear, powerful, sexy.... I don't even know how to explain it. The ladies gasped as soon as they saw who the voice belonged to and some were even drooling. Is he that handsome?

I turned my head to the door and my jaw dropped as soon as I saw him. What the hell!

To be continued.......

© Tricia