WHO WILL PICK UP JAY?
The story continues...
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After Bre's* aunt left that day, I found myself really wishing I hadn't cracked under pressure. It was one of those moments that became real only after the facts. I had committed myself to something I hadn't even gotten prepared for. Jay's* Mom hadn't even left me a contact number and hadn't asked for mine either. She had only taken my name to add it to the school list.
Now, would you give your child over to a stranger for a couple of hours a day, yet not bother to exchange numbers in case of any sort of emergency, or even just to check on the state of the child? What makes people think that's okay? I would never give that much trust to a stranger even if they had "TRUSTWORTHY" written all over their forehead.
Nevertheless, this new arrangement meant that every day this school year, I couldn't go anywhere from 2 to 4PM. I now had to get Jay from the bus stop and spend some time with him until the arrival of his cousin Bre. Bye bye nap time!
The first time I met Jay at the bus stop was a Wednesday. When Bre came to pick him up that Wednesday and the following Thursday, I waited for her to hand me some cash or at least say something about money. She didn't.
There was no way I was going to do this for free --- nah uh.
On Friday, I had to go for it.
"Did your aunt leave anything for me?" I asked Bre.
"Hum, no."
"Well, did she say anything about money and how much she'd pay me?"
"Oh there's something I almost forgot!" Bre exclaimed. "My mom wants to talk to you."
Great. I guessed she had been ready to discuss wages too.
Bre dialed her mother's number and handed me the phone. The woman thanked me incessantly for agreeing to take care of her nephew. I reminded her each time that it wasn’t a problem. The short conversation ended without any reference to money.
Ok, not good.
The following week, Bre informed me that her mother and her aunt would discuss my wages among themselves before addressing the issue with me. Ok, fine, whatever. (In the meantime, I continued to care for Jay). I didn't want to push or put pressure on anyone. I was trying to be patient here, which I'm usually not.
The week after that (this was the 3rd week since I had entered the agreement), Bre's mother set aside time to meet me on Friday.
Finally! Halleluiah!
Well, not so fast: she didn't show up at my door as scheduled. No show, no cancellation, nothing. Frustration was starting to rise within me.
On Monday (4th week), I gave a note to Bre for her mother. It looked like meeting together was going to take a while, and with the way things were going I was unwilling to hand over my phone number. We were already on the 4th week of school and I wanted my money.
On the note to the mother, I had marked my price: $75/week, payable cash on Mondays.
When Bre came the next day to get Jay, she reported that her mom had found the price too high. Her offer?
"$20-30/week."
(¬_¬)
I was pissed.
(to be continued)
*Names have been changed to protect identity and avoid retaliation. Any resemblance to you, anyone you know or think you know is purely coincidental. Or not.
I don't blame you, I will be pissed too:)
ReplyDeleteOh no, no, no! This is a bad situation. If a child wasn't evolved, I would say get out of this fast. That just goes to show you that are trying to get something for nothing. I would kindly tell her that if she cannot meet with you in the middle for a decent weekly wage, then she is going to have to make other arrangements for her son, which I know would be more than $75 a week. Let's keep in mind that you are doing her a favor, a favor you were pressured into doing at the last min. I know you don't want to be mean, but you should stay firm and follow through with your request.
ReplyDelete