Cha-Ching! by Ali Liebegott Page A

about saying, “You can come too,” but she stopped herself.
    â€œYou’ll have to come down and spend the night some time,” she said, but she didn’t know how Randy would fit into her new life.
    â€œBut I work every day,” he whined.
    Theo could see she’d hurt him.
    â€œWell, on your next day off.” She wanted to change the subject. “Do you have any empty boxes I could use to pack my room?”
    He nodded. “They’re next to the dumpster out back.”
    She was anxious to get away from his sad-sack energy.
    â€œWhen do you move into your new place?” Randy asked.
    â€œFriday.”
    â€œWill you come see me before you go?”
    â€œOf course,” Theo said, “but let me hug you now just in case.”
    She leaned forward to hug Randy’s thin body and as she did, she knew this would be their good-bye, because she couldn’t bear to see his disappointed face again.
    It was cold outside as she scooped up the flattened boxes and put them in the back of her truck. Theo still hadn’t bought herself a winter coat or warm shoes, though she’d bought a gray-and-lavender argyle turtleneck dog sweater that made Cary Grant look even more dapper, if that was possible.
    When Theo got home from work Doralina and Megan were lying on Megan’s bed playing with one of the rabbits. Theo stopped in the doorway with the cardboard boxes folded under her arm.
    â€œI found a place to live in Brooklyn,” she burst out, eyeing the rabbit.
    Doralina looked stunned.
    â€œWhen?”
    â€œFriday.”
    â€œWell, I need thirty days’ notice.”
    Theo hadn’t signed a lease, and now that she had a new plan for life she didn’t care what Doralina thought.
    â€œSo let’s count from now,” she said. “Today is day one.”
    Theo went into her room with the boxes and could hear them whispering for a long time. She had no plan to pay rent for the next thirty days, so she figured she could kiss her deposit good-bye.
    â€¢
    Theo got up early Friday morning to shuttle all her possessions into her truck. She wanted to drive directly to the new apartment after work.
    She arrived earlier than normal to the data entry office and went straight to the lounge to start a pot of coffee; her stomach was a mix of nervousness and excitement. Her whole life she’d been afraid when it was time to quit a job—even those she hated.
    â€œYou don’t have to do that,” Mimi said, seeing Theo fill the coffeepot with water. She leaned down and gave Cary Grant a scritch.
    â€œOh, this sweater is too much!” Mimi said, fiddling with the dog’s turtleneck collar.
    â€œI’m quitting today,” Theo blurted out, not wanting to hold onto a secret.
    â€œWhat?” Mimi’s face tightened and she looked like she was about to get mean.
    With all of Theo’s fuck-ups, she’d still always given two weeks’ notice. But Yonkers felt like some kind of infection that she had to get rid of.
    â€œI don’t really want to get into it, but I have a family emergency,” Theo lied. “I’m moving to Brooklyn today after work.”
    â€œI didn’t know you had family in Brooklyn.”
    Theo nodded, giving the “exasperated family look” and then changed the subject.
    â€œWhen should I tell Joseph? At the beginning or end of the day?”
    â€œEither way he’s going to be pissed. I mean we just finally got you trained,” Mimi said, walking away.
    Theo felt a sense of shame wash over her, like she’d disappointed her family. Am I fucking up my life by quitting this job before I have another one? Her head was muddled. When the coffee was done she went into her office to pretend to work. The tiny window that connected her office to Joseph’s was dim. He wasn’t in yet. She collected some faxes, arranged them on her desk neatly, lit a cigarette and dialed Sammy’s