A Profitable Day

With thoughts of my impending motherhood twirling in my head, I came to the stark realization that I only had $188 left in the bank and no job. I had to come up with a plan. The summer festival was in town, and I’d heard they had a claw machine where I might win free toys for the baby. They had me at “free”. I rode my bike over to the park, which wasn’t far from the house. I tried the claw machine a bunch of times and scored three toys for the baby, plus a gem – a Moon Cut Citrine. What luck!

As I walked around the park, I noticed lots of wildflowers. They’d look pretty in a vase on my kitchen table, I thought, so I picked up whatever I could find. I also noticed porcini mushrooms growing wild and picked them, too. Before heading home, I stopped by Aleister’s Elixirs and Sundries to see if I could consign any of the items I’d found. They took the Moon Cut Citrine and porcini mushrooms on consignment and said they’d send me a check when the items were sold. The clerk estimated the value of the Citrine at $220, and three porcinis were worth another $33. Not too shabby. It was more than I had in the bank, and I’d just been hoping to win a toy or two.

I walked out of the shop and was about to head home when I saw a red-eared slider turtle, then a shrew and, finally, a common firefly. I grabbed them all and sold them immediately for $223. Ch-ching! This was turning out to be quite a profitable trip. By now it was lunchtime, and I was hungry, so I went straight home. I made mac and cheese for lunch and then watched some Kidzone on TV to relax.

A check came in the mail from Aleister’s Elixirs later that day, with a note saying my items had sold at a premium. The Citrine alone sold for $374. I was quite pleased. I was thinking, “This must be my lucky day!” But, I’d spoken too soon. Things went downhill … and fast. The TV went on the fritz, and the toilet got clogged. A single mom has to be a jack of all trades, so I put on my big girl panties and got to work. First, I unclogged the toilet.

Then I repaired the TV. Hiring a plumber and an electrician would’ve cost me $100. I was mighty proud about handling the repairs on my own … and not electrocuting myself in the process.

I felt accomplished, but lonely. I decided to try taking things to the next level with Marco and wrote him a love letter. We had hit it off earlier today, but I was really putting myself out there now. It seemed strange since I clearly still had feelings for Chase. But, I had to line up my next Baby Daddy.

I gave Chase a call, and we chatted for a while. I told him I had quite a baby bump now, and he told me that twins run in his family, which might explain it.

Chase said he’d love to see me and asked if he could come over, but it was getting late. I told him I’d won a teddy bear and a couple other toys at the summer festival. He was happy about that.

I was pretty tired, but the baby was due any time now. I had to get the baby’s room set up. First, I researched how much those wildflowers I’d picked at the festival were worth. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be a huge understatement! They were worth a grand total of $1,166 – Cosmos ($360), Indian Blanket (3 @ $240 each), Azalea ($47), Sulfur (3 @ $11 each) and Daisy (2 @ $3 each). Apparently, picking wildflowers can be quite profitable! When I bought the house, the largest bedroom had a double bed, dresser, nightstand and lamp. I kept the dresser but sold the rest.

Then I bought two basic cribs because I remembered Chase’s comment that I might be carrying twins. There. I had the basics now. My nesting instincts satisfied for the moment, I went straight to bed. As I drifted asleep, I started dreaming about redecorating and making the house look more like a home. It definitely didn’t show my personal style, but I had to focus on my priority – the baby(ies).