"I need you"

Jenny wasn't sure where to go from there. She was completely alone now that she had outcast herself from her entire family to be with Scotty. She was depressed and afraid, so she sent a message to the one person she knew would come running that read, "I need you. I need you right now please".

Deanna called as soon as she got the message. "What's wrong baby girl? What happened?", she knew it was important. Jenny explained everything to her dear friend and cried her eyes out holding her belly with one hand. "Deanna, I just don't know what I'm going to do! I need a job to take care of this baby, but I have no way to pay for child care. I have no one to talk to about any of this because everyone I know hates me for believing his bullshit. I have nothing but my kids, and I won't have them for long if I have no money to give them what they need. I just need you to come home now please." That's all she needed to hear and Deanna was moving back in with her best friend that week.

The girls got dressed and did their hair and make-up. They put the kids in the car, and together they went job hunting. Deanna waited in the car with the kids while Jenny went in to fill out an application. They took turns at each restaurant, gas station, and store they saw in a 3 town radius. One way or the other, the pair were determined to make it work. They planned that if only one of them got jobs, the other would babysit, and if both got jobs, one would request day shifts and the other vice versa. Nothing was going to stop them.

Of course, with Deanna back home, that meant Derek was back around. It only took one time of him coming by before she got a call from him about his breakup with his girlfriend. He showed up riding his best friend's motorcycle and took her to pick up some lunch. By the time they got home with the food, they were a happy couple again.

He moved his bedroom furniture and a few boxes of his belongings in. He helped her clean the house and took her to meet all his friends. They cooked dinner together and ate at the table like a real family. Things seemed to be going great.

Things only stayed that way for a week or so before Derek informed the girls of his decision. He needed his girlfriend to take him to Ashcombe, a small town abour 5 and a half hours away, to where their dad lived. He made a plan to move in with his dad and get his CDL license to be a truck driver. "When I get this done I'll be able to buy us a nice house up north and we'll have the life we want, I promise." he assured Jenny this was the best option for the both of them.

Who was she to argue? It wasn't like she had proven to make the best decisions lately, so maybe Derek was right, this was the best way to go. She kept telling herself that on the drive north. Derek drove and she rode passenger. Poor Deanna was stuck in the backseat with both Zach and Gracie throwing toys and sippy cups most of the way there. The girls sang their hearts out along with the radio to some old country songs that reminded them all of simpler days.

After they arrived, Derek introduced Jenny as her girlfriend, and told his entire family that the unborn child was his. They welcomed her with open arms and Jenny was just happy to not be alone anymore. Jenny's phone rang, but she didn't know the number although she knew it was a Carbondale number. "Hello?" she answered. "Hi, is this Virginia?" the man on the other end replied. "Can you be here for a job interview at 2 o'clock tomorrow?" he asked her. Uh oh. It was already 10 pm. Could they leave early enough in the morning to make it on time? Derek told her he would make sure she was on the road in time and she'd make it there. "Yes, I'll be there!" After she hung the phone up, she turned to Derek and asked "Sooo,did he say Hardee's or Arby's??" He reminded her there wasn't a Hardee's in that town, so it had to be Arby's. Deanna, Jenny, and their kids loaded back into the car early the next morning and left Derek there. Maybe a long distance relationship would actually work.

She had just enough time to drop everyone off at home and make herself look presentable. She was so nervous she was shaking. "Don't mess this up, don't mess this up" she kept thinking. The woman doing her interview was nice and she seemed like she liked Jenny. "Hi, Virginia?, I'm Sarah, Nice to meet you." Jenny couldn't stop fidgeting with her fingernails the whole time she was so scared that she would say something wrong, or maybe she would smile to much showing she was missing half her teeth, or maybe they wouldn't hire her because she wore a tight form fitting shirt, and she had quite the 5 month baby bump that was hard to miss. Somehow Sarah didn't care about any of that and she offered her the job.

"I got a job... I got a job.... I got a J-O-B!!!!!!!!!!" Jenny sang at the top of her lungs as soon as she got home! Deanna danced around the living room with her and the girls finally felt like things were going to work out. Their kids emerged from Zachary's room, leaving the toys behind to see what all the noise was about, and as a family, Deanna, Jenny, and the kids, cuddled on the couch to watch a movie, and forget about everything they had been worrying about.