Paying for pizza-1

She looked at the seat of his pants.

“Dust off your pants.” She said softly, trying to walk back her imperious tone.

He raised his brow. Dusting himself halfheartedly, he said he’d rather stand, then ignored the couch and remained in the middle of the room gazing at the paintings on the walls. Marley carted the pizza into the backyard. She set up the boys for lunch, glared at the landscape guy, and then got her wallet from her bedroom. She had a nagging awareness that maybe she had gone too far with the pizza guy, too. She resolved to give him a generous tip to set things right.

Opening her wallet, Marley felt her stomach sink. She had only five dollars.

She frantically searched her wallet, but there was nothing more. Marley could feel hot tears welling, but she knew she didn’t have time for a good cry. Joey and his friends were out back eating pizza, the landscape guy was stewing in this truck, and the pizza guy was waiting in the den for money. Something needed to be figured out. She couldn’t turn to her father for help. Her stepmother was halfway across the Atlantic Ocean. It was all up to her.