*Late Night Talk

Intro: My husband and I have been watching a cute show called USAGI DROP (BUNNY DROP). It is a cute story about a 30-year-old bachelor taking in his 6-year-old aunt. I have read stories like this before but this has been my favorite because of the relationship between Daikichi and Rin.

I walked to my car, smelling of French fries. My hair and face was covered in grease. Four weeks into the job and I was already looking for something new, though I knew it was probably helpless. It had taken two months for me to find my current job and it suited my needs, to a point. Two of my coworkers walked by laughing and joking with one another. They were both in high school.

“Tony, can you give us a lift?”

I pulled the key from my door and looked at them. “I thought you got your license, Bill.”

Winston punched Bill’s shoulder. “Having a license doesn’t mean his parents trust him with a car.”

“Get in,” I said as I leaned across the seat and unlocked the door.

The two climbed in, bouncing on the seats a little.

“I don’t get it,” Bill said.

“You don’t get what?” I asked, already regretting the question.

“You have a college degree in something important—”

“Public Relations,” I added.

“Right, you’re old—”

“Thirty-two.”

“Why do you work at a fast food restaurant and drive a crappy car?”

I ran my hand along the worn and patchy steering wheel cover, staring at the dark streets. I should be getting home immediately, not driving these two. That is what their parents should be doing.

“It was work sixty hours a week, or leave. I left my job. It wasn’t worth the time.”

“How much money were you making?” Winston asked.

“What we make in a month I was making in a week.”

“Why did you leave? That’s just stupid.”

I shrug, not really wanting to talk about it but knowing they wouldn’t leave me alone otherwise.

“There are more important things than money. The money wasn’t worth what I would have to give up.”

“Like this car?” Winston slapped my shoulder.

“I like this car. It’s reliable and easy to fix.”

I stopped in front of the house I drove to at least three times a week. Winston hopped out of the back and waved as he ran up the stairs and into the house. Bill lived four blocks away. He didn’t get out of the car when I pulled up.

“Can I ask you something, personal?” Bill asked.

“Sure.” I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. It was almost two in the morning. I hated getting home late.

“What would you do if your girlfriend was pregnant?”

The tapping stopped. I stared at the dark house.

“Do you think she is?”

Bill shrugged. “I think she might be.”

“So” I cleared my throat. “You’ve had sex?”

Bill nodded.

I turned towards him. “Do you think your parents will mind if you come with me for the night?”

Bill hunched down in his seat and motioned to the black house. “They’re not home. If one of them was home the light would be on.”

When I made it home I paid the baby-sitter and made sure she drove away. I led Bill into the apartment.

“You have a kid?” Bill asked. He was standing at the mantel.

I pulled off the greasy shirt and tossed it on the washer to clean in the morning.

“That’s Steph, my daughter.”

“How old is she?”

I pulled a sweatshirt on and sat on the couch. “She’s seventeen.”

Bill turned to stare at me. “That’s my age. You’re not old enough to have a kid my age.”

“You asked me why I took the lower paying job, it was that, or lose my daughter. I needed a job fast, and this is the one that worked. I only work nights once a week. The rest of the time I get to work while she’s at school. Her mother, my ex-wife, has turned to alcohol and is unable to be a guardian, let alone a mother. I could have kept my job, but I wouldn’t have known my daughter because I would be working long hours. I had already wasted too much time on unimportant things. I have enough saved up that with my income from this job, we can live fairly comfortably. We’ve both sacrificed, but she wanted to know me. So let me tell you what your options are, if your girlfriend is pregnant.”

Bill sat down on the chair, and I stared at what I had once been. I tried to think through what would have helped me at that age. The only thing that came to mind was how scared I had been. Life was never going to be the same, whether Bill made the same choices I had at his age. Being a father at sixteen would make his life difficult. I only hoped he could end up as happy as I was living in a two bedroom apartment with my daughter.