Sydney wondered what she was going to do with her life. Her husband had left her for another woman and she had gotten a lousy settlement in the divorce. She knew he had hidden his assets, but she had no way to prove it. Thanks to her crappy lawyer she was almost penniless.
Her thick dark hair tumbled down her shoulders and she tucked a strand behind her ear as she pored over the classified ads looking for a job that would keep a roof over her head and food in her belly. She restlessly chewed on a pencil as she stared at the sparse choices in the classified ads.
She was sitting in a little cafe within walking distance of her cramped apartment when her childhood friend Anna walked in the door and plopped herself down at the table. Anna glanced at the papers before her and at the pained look on Sydney's face. "Oh, I know that look. Searching for a job is just as stressful as a divorce. I wish you would have let me lend you the money for a decent attorney".
"I couldn't take your money," Sydney replied, "I already owe so much and I would feel guilty taking a hand out from a friend." She laid her head in her hands and moaned, "What am I going to do? There's nothing here I would be right for. I'm so screwed."
Anna patted her hand and said, "I think I can help you. It's not much but I have a little job for you. Darren and I are going to be traveling over the summer and it would be great if you could housesit for us while we're away. I'd pay you, you'd have a roof over your head for a while and pay some bills. And you can enjoy the pool."
Sydney lifted her head up and felt immensely grateful, but a bit apprehensive at the same time. "I really appreciate the thought but I couldn't do that. You're my friend, you don't need to pay me to do anything."
With a wave of her hand, Anna dismissed her misgivings, "Oh honey, you would be doing me a favor. Darren wants his cousin to housesit and I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. Plus you can use the summer to find a job and a new apartment. I worry about you living in that dump."
Sydney sat for a minute and thought about her prospects. It was late May and the weather was getting warmer by the day. She could stay in a nice house with a pool or swelter in her cramped apartment? It was a no brainer.
She shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "Well, all right, as long as you're sure. I could use a vacation and a change of scenery would be great."
"Fantastic!" Anna exclaimed. "Come on over tomorrow with your things. I'll give you the keys and the lay of the land."
After the horrible year, maybe things were looking up. Sydney breathed an internal sigh of relief. She thought her summer would be a time of introspection, finding out what she really wanted out of life. Find a fantastic job and change her life. Organize, read every book she had been putting off, lose those pesky last 10 pounds, and maybe even learn to knit. Ok, maybe not, but she could take those first steps to taking back her life.
———-
The next morning Sydney woke to the sounds of a leaky toilet and her upstairs neighbors yelling at the garbage man outside. She dragged herself out of bed and into the shower, hoping she wouldn't have to see the cracked tile of the bathroom floor until the fall at least. Sydney's rent had been paid up for another few months, thanks to her mom, who preferred she not move back home.
She pulled a blue V-neck T-Shirt over her full bosom and she tried to look as presentable as possible before she headed over to Anna's upscale neighborhood— or at least more upscale than her own.
As Sydney pulled into the driveway she was impressed by the manicured lawn and beautiful house and thought her apartment was a shoebox by comparison. Sydney knocked on the door and Anna answered the door in a flurry amid a mound of suitcases by the door.
Anna engulfed her in a big hug. "Oh good you're here! I made up the guest bedroom for you. The fridge is stocked, so you should be set on food for a while."
"Anything in particular I need to know?" She watched as Anna's husband Darren lugged the mountain of suitcases to the car.
"Oh no, just make yourself at home and enjoy yourself. We have a guy coming by once a week to take care of the pool and the yard so you don't need to worry about that." Anna picked up her purse and carry on and walked to the door, "I left the number for maintenance if the toilet breaks or anything like that. Oh, and here's a check for your housesitting services."
