TENNESSEE WHISKEY -corpse husband-

MAKING IT WORK (1)

"What do you mean I didn't pay? I gave you guys a check last week."

"Miss Fields, because it's during the Winter Break, if you wanted to bring Killian to childcare, you would've had to transfer your registration from part-time to full-time. So even though you paid the $65 for the week, since we're watching them full time and they're not going to school, you should've paid $165 for him to come here."

Weston sighed, glancing down at her son who was starting to get anxious just standing there, watching his friends eat breakfast at the cafeteria tables. "So what do I need to do to get him in today?"

"Well," the woman explained, "you have to sign this paper for the transfer to full-time care, and you have an outstanding fee of $100 for this week. The $165 covers childcare for the two week Winter Break, aside from Christmas day and New Years day but you've only paid $65."

Weston closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to cry.

Killian attended the childcare program offered at his elementary school for before and after school care. Usually during the school year, they would watch him from 6:30am until he went to school, and take him after school until 6:00pm when Weston was able to pick him up on her way home from work. It was $65 a week, but it was convenient for Weston's schedule. Because the children were on Winter Break, the school was still offering childcare but they would be staying with the program full time in the school cafeteria instead of attending class, making it cost more. Except, Weston didn't have the money to pay for that, not the week before Christmas.

"Listen," she said quietly, not wanting to Killian to hear. "I don't... I don't have $100 right now. Can I pay you half today, and half tomorrow or something?"

"No, you have to pay in full, I'm sorry," the woman didn't seem apologetic but Weston ignored it.

"You... you don't understand. If he can't be here, I have no where to take him. I'll lose my job.. please," Weston begged, tears nearly spilling.

The woman sighed at her, looked down at her paperwork, and for a second Weston thought she had budged. "No, its against policy. I'm sorry, Miss Fields. Maybe try again tomorrow," the woman said, keeping her head down.

Weston knew she felt guilty, but wouldn't change her mind. She nodded, and took Killian's hand gently. "Come on, sweetie," she said quietly, leading him out the door.

"Mommy? Why are we leaving?" Killian asked, his voice still sounding tired since it was only 6:45 in the morning. "I wanna play with my friends..."

"Baby, Mommy, um," she hesitated. She would never admit she couldn't afford it to her child. Weston tried hard to hide those things from Killian. He deserved the world, and she tried to provide that for him. Being a single mother was the hardest thing she's ever been through. Breaking his heart was her worst nightmare. "Mommy has to figure something else out for the day, okay? We're going to go back home for a minute," she said, as she buckled him into his car seat.

She played the radio for Killian while she drove back to the apartment, racking her brain for another option. She worked at the front desk of a large corporation in San Diego. Her boss would kill her if she brought her kid into work with her so that wasn't an option. She had 45 minutes before she was supposed to be at work, and she needed to figure it out fast.

It was embarrassing that she had no one. After Nathan had left, she didn't have time for friends or a social life, not with her trying to save money for a child on her own. The closest thing she had to friends was her coworkers at the restaurant she worked at, and even they never really spoke to her. She only knew one person in San Diego: her neighbor. He was a mysterious guy, and didn't leave his place much, but they had been neighbors for years. Corpse had known Killian since he was born, only because they had been neighbors since then, but Corpse wasn't necessarily part of his life in any way.

Unfortunately, as she pulled into her complex, it seemed like the only option, so she unbuckled Killian, and helped him get out of the car as quickly as she could.

"Killy, baby, we're going to see if you can spend the day with Mr. C, okay?" She wasn't too keen on Killian calling anyone Corpse, even if that was his name.

Killian seemed quiet about it, but Weston didn't have time to worry too much. Killian was shy, and often didn't take well to new people. Weston knew he would get over it; Corpse was a nice guy, he just seemed scary on the outside.

"Mommy, I wanna go to school," Killian said.

"I know, baby, but listen, you're going to have so much fun with Mr. C, right?"

Weston tried not to lie, but in this case, she was speaking out of her ass. She had no idea if Corpse was even home, or if he was going to be willing to watch Killian for her, but it was worth a shot. She glanced down at her watch, seeing it was nearing 7:10. If she couldn't get this done fast, she was going to be late, and she was going to lose her job, and this would've all been for nothing.

She carried Killian up the stairs to their floor, trying to hurry. She used the smartlock keycode to let Killian into their own apartment next door. "Baby, go find a few snacks and pack a change of clothes into your backpack, okay?" she instructed, leaving the door wide open as she knocked on Corpse's door, hoping he was awake this early.

He opened the door, curly hair messy, and only in a pair of sweats. "Uh... Weston?"

His voice was raspy and deeper than usual; he had just woken up.

"Hi, Corpse, I'm really sorry for waking you, but can Killian please stay with you for the day?"  She rushed out, talking fast. "I thought I could take him to childcare, but it was more expensive than I thought and I don't have the money right now, but I have work in 20 minutes and I can't leave him alone."

She watched his facial expressions carefully. Corpse had never been with Killian alone before, let alone any other child. He didn't know what to do or how they worked.

"I promise, he's an easy and well-behaved kid. He has this tablet thing, and he'll just watch videos all day. And he can eat his own snacks, and he doesn't need help using the bathroom or anything. I just can't leave him alone.... I'll even pay you, alright, but I promise he won't even bother you. If you have to work or anything, he'll be quiet if you just tell him to." she said desperately, hoping he would just say yes. "After my shift at the restaurant, I'll give you all my tips-"

"Yeah, I'll watch him, I guess," Corpse cut her off.

"Holy shit, thank you so much, Corpse, I owe you one!"

She peaked her head into her apartment. "Killian, come on, baby! Mr. C is going to watch you today," She said into the small apartment. Killian came out of his room with his backpack and lunch box, smiling shyly. She closed and locked the door, making sure he had everything he needed.

Weston bent down onto her knees, using the hair-tie on her wrist to tie up Killian's curly blonde hair into a little bun. "Killian, be good for Mr. C, okay? I'll be back to pick you up when the little hand is at the 6, okay?" She tapped his watch on his wrist to remind him and kissed his forehead, adjusting with his messy bun a little. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too, Mommy."

Weston turned to Corpse, then. "Please call me if anything happens, okay? Thank you so much," she rushed back down the stairs, leaving Killian and Corpse at the door of Corpses apartment.