Jessica's Love Triangle

Jess woke up the next day with a smile on her face. She had a feeling that today would be a good day. She got into the shower and freshened up then got dressed. As she headed downstairs, she wondered why the sun was shining so brightly so early in the morning. As she opened the fridge to get some things to prepare breakfast, she caught a glimpse of the wall clock. It was quarter past seven am. She exclaimed with horror when she realized just how late she was. Her first shift should have begun at 7am and yet here she was at home. She would have to drive to work if she was to save at least some of this shift. She took out some of her savings from her room and painfully put the money in her purse. This would seriously dent her budget for this month and she would have to find a way to make up for this. She quickly wrote her dad a text message and then grabbed her car keys and left. The hotel she worked for was only ten minutes away. Jess usually managed a bus ride when she had plenty of

Jess coffee sat in the staff lounge drinking a cup that she had just bought from the vending machine. She was tired after a long day of double work. As she sat replaying the activities of her day, she could not help but marvel at her poor sense of judgement. She had agreed to work for a stranger just because she desperately needed the money. This business made no sense and she was sure that it had some element of illegal activity. Which adult in their right mind would hand over envelopes of money to perfect strangers who she had never met? What if something went wrong and the cash ended up in the wrong hands? What if someone denied that that they had received their package? What would she reply if the police asked her what she was doing? Why did this man pick her and not anybody else for this job? Jess could feel her head spinning from the endless possibilities of disaster that she had just exposed herself to. She tossed the empty disposable cup into the dustbin when she finished he

The restaurant shifts went really well and Jess was kept occupied for a good chunk of the day. On certain days of the week, the restaurant has a two for one offer on selected menu items. Those days were the busiest time in the week, and all the staff avoided the shifts on this day. Jess liked the work on these days because the tips were generous. She went through the day with the energy that was required. She was forced to cover the shift that she had cancelled because of the extra workload. The manager had requested for her assistance, while promising her two shifts off the next day. She finally got to take a break at about six when the evening shift was about to begin. Her phone rang just as she was rubbing her feet from exhaustion. It was Leslie on the line.“Hey. Where are you,” Leslie was shouting because she seemed to be in a noisy place.&ldq

 It was a chilly Monday morning in the city and everyone was bustling around getting ready for work. Jess was headed to her morning shift after making some soup and porridge for her father. His breathing was becoming more strained and she tried to keep him as warm as possible all the time. She had also paid all the utility bills in time for the first time in a long time. Before her father’s medical condition became worse, he had taken the car for some much needed servicing and some minor repairs. She was then able to drive to work in less time and consume a lower amount of fuel. She had hoped that Pete would give her more work but he had been very quiet. He had sent her last pay through a gift box that was filed with all sorts of candy and underwear. Jess remembered how she had blushed when she opened the box accompanied by fresh flowers. She had called him immediately to thank him for the generous bonus but he had not responded. Her phone

 Saturday morning seemed like an ordinary day. It was warm and sunny like most weekends but Jess seemed particularly happy. Her father even noticed that she was humming to some music when she was making breakfast. This was unlike her usual behavior. They ate breakfast together and she cleaned up the house quickly. When she started preparing ingredients for lunch, her father decided to find out why she was so happy. “Are you ready to start work tomorrow?” he asked tactfully. He did not want to seem like he was prying into her life. She replied with a long explanation of how ready she was and then she detailed her itinerary for the next morning. Her father laughed in amusement because Jess’s excitement was visible. “You need to fuel the car full tank today so that you don’t have to worry about that in the mor