Love is Elementary

Tiffani smiled, looking like she might tear up. "Thank you," she murmured. "You really are too kind."

Melissa saw her mom look like she was gonna cry and left her friends. She went up to her mom and hugged her. "Don't cry, mama. We're gonna go bowling," she grinned up at her happily. Tiffani chuckled and pulled her daughter up into her lap and hugged her. "Thank you, sunshine. I love you." "I love you, too, Mama," she smiled happily, hugging her mom's neck.
 
Jesse smiled at the two; it was obvious they had a great bond. She stood and clapped for the children's attention. "All right, five minutes!" she called out so that they would start cleaning up.

Turning to Tiffani, she added, "Could I give you my phone number? You can call anytime you need something, and I'll help in any way I can." She grinned at Melissa. "It might make it easier if you've got someone you can turn to for help." Her eyes met Tiffani's. "I'm more than willing to help you."
 
Melissa looked at Miss Jesse curiously, and looked at her mom. "Mama, what is she gonna help with," she asked curiously. Tiffani smiled and put her daughter down. "Go clean up, sweetheart." The little girl frowned, dissatisfied that she wasn't getting an answer. "But Mama..." Her mother shook her head, the red waves turning with her head. "I asked you to go do something," she told her gently. The strawberry-blond frowned and pouted but did as she was told, going back over to her seat to clean up her spot.

"I don't know how you'd be able to help," she told Jesse quietly, watching her daughter. "Unless you guys are hiring." She looked at her. "Would I be able to work here if my daughter came here? Is that allowed?" She hoped it was, she hoped they were hiring. Hell, she hoped a lot of things. That didn't mean they came true.
 
Jesse frowned and thought it over.

"Well, I know one of the younger kids is about to have one their teachers go on maternity leave," she said thoughtfully. "I can see what I can do, if you'd like to work with the younger ones. Their mostly under 2, and there's only about a dozen of them. It'd be you and a student volunteer or two, if you were placed there."

She shrugged. "As for what else I can help with, it could be nothing more than taking you to dinner or driving you around town. I'll do what I can to help you in any case."
 
"That would be perfect," Tiffani smiled. "I love little ones. Even if it's temporarily, it will help a lot." She looked at her; she could hug her right now. "You have no idea how grateful I'd be for that. I'll repay you somehow," she promised. She wouldn't let Jesse refuse her paying her back.

"We're all done cleaning up, Miss Jesse," Melissa chirped, climbing up into her mom's lap. Tiffani chuckled and kissed her daughter's cheek and pulled one of her pigtails out to fix her hair. With it fixed, Melly jumped down and went to line up.
 
"There really isn't any need to repay me," Jesse told her with a smile. "But we can discuss it later, if you'd prefer."

Seeing that the kids were ready again, Jesse clapped her hands. "All right! Let's head back to class!" The kids giggled as they marched forward, and as they neared it Jesse looked at Tiffani. "As soon as we get back to the classroom, you can leave if you'd like. And I will definitely look into that job for you."
 
Tiffani sighed with a smile. "We'll talk later," she said, refusing to give up on repaying her for the help she'd already planned to give. As they reached the classroom, she nodded. "Melly, would you like to come home with me now, or stay for the rest of the day like normal," she asked her daughter as the little girl bounced around.

"Ooooh, can I stay, Mama? It's fun here," she giggled. Tiffani laughed. "Of course, sweetie. I'll be back later to pick you up." "Okay, Mama," Melissa said happily and hugged her mom before going to her seat.

The young mother chuckled and thanked Jesse once again before she went to leave, walking down the street to their home as she tried to plan how she was going to convince her landlord to let her stay just a little longer.
 
Jesse managed the rest of the afternoon without any mishaps. She called over one of the volunteers to look after the kids as their parents came and then hurried to the office where the Day Care Administrator worked. Knocking on the door, she waited patiently to be allowed inside.

"Ah, Jesse. What can I do for you?" an elderly woman on the other side of the desk asked with a smile. Anna had been the administrator for as long as Jesse had been working here, and they got along really well. It wasn't often the teacher had to ask for a favor.

"I've got a friend, the mother of one of my kids," Jesse started, hesitating a moment. She saw an encouraging nod and pressed on. "She's out of a job right now. I remembered that the infant care teacher was going on maternity leave soon, and wanted to ask if she could step in for a while."

Anna was silent for a moment, and then nodded. "When you see her next, direct her here, all right? We'll have a chat."

Jesse beamed and nodded. "Thank you, Anna."

"You don't ask for much, Jesse," she said softly. "She must be very special."

Jesse blushed but didn't say anything, slipping back out so that she could rush to the classroom in hopes of seeing Tiffani, both to give her the good news and just to see her again.
 
Tiffani came by the normal time she would pick up Melissa, who was bouncy and happy as ever. Tiffani laughed, enjoying her daughter's hyper company, as loud as it was. "Sshh, babydoll. Inside voice," she chuckled as her daughter danced around her. The young mom spotted Jesse and smiled at her, not looking tired at all. She'd taken a nice nap at home and was re-energized.
 
Seeing Tiffani brought out a bright smile from Jesse, and she quickly made her way over.

"You look a little less exhausted," Jesse commented with a teasing lilt as she approached her. "You still look just as pretty, though." Her cheeks flushed at her words, having been unable to filter them from escape. "Anyway, I talked to the administrator and she's happy to see you when you drop Melissa off in the morning."
 
Tiffani blushed a little at the pretty comment, but smiled nonetheless. "Thanks," she chuckled. "Oh, really? That's wonderful!" Melissa looked up at them curiously. "Does that mean Mama gets to work here," she asked them, not caring who answered. Tiff smiled. "Hopefully, I can." The little girl grinned widely. "That'd be so much fun, Mama!" She was obviously excited about the idea. "Can she work here, Miss Jesse, pleeeeeeeeease," Melissa begged, holding onto her hand.
 
Jesse laughed at Melissa and shrugged. "We'll have to see if the administrator agrees." She glanced at Tiffani. "And if she does, then you really have to let me pay for everything tomorrow night when we go bowling. You should celebrate and have fun." She grinned and rubbed her neck. "I think you deserve to be treated to something like that."
 
Tiffani laughed at her daughter as well and smiled at Jesse, though she blushed a bit. "Alright, alright. You win," she said, chuckling. "Let's get home before it gets too dark," she advised her daughter. "Okay," Melly chimed and told Miss Jesse goodbye before she took her mom's hand and lead her outside. "We'll see you tomorrow, Jesse," Tiffani smiled back at her before she turned her attention back to her daughter for their walk home.
 
It was nearly six in the evening before Jesse walked into her small apartment with a bag of groceries. She put everything away but a TV dinner before putting the dinner in the microwave.

"She was really cute," Jesse mumbled with a smile, thinking about Tiffani. The dinging of the microwave pulled her attention back for a moment. Taking her dinner and sitting on the couch, she flipped on the TV for the news. But she didn't hear most of what was said. Her mind was back on Tiffani and seeing her tomorrow. "I hope she gets the position. And that she has fun at the bowling practice."

Eating was accomplished more by habit than anything else. Finished, she threw everything away, turned off the TV and crawled into bed with her planner. The next day's activities weren't planned out yet, and she really needed to put something together before she fell asleep. Buckling down, she came up with some things for the kids and then curled up to sleep. She would see Tiffani in the morning. As she slipped away, she ignored the thought that the woman wouldn't even be interested.
 
Tiffani and her daughter did their morning routine - get showers, dressed, breakfast, teeth and hair brushed, gather everything they needed and out the door they went. Tiffani held onto her daughter's hand the whole way there, listening to her daughter rattle off about whatever was on the girl's mind. Tiffani wasn't really paying attention to the words, her thoughts were focused on getting the job, and how nice Jesse had been.

"Mama, are you listening," Melissa complained, stopping on the corner. "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, baby," Tiffani patted her head. "I guess I'm just nervous to talk to Miss Jesse's boss."

"But why," she asked, "You need a job, and they need somebody to cover for the pregnant lady. Why can't they just give the job to you," she frowned.

Tiffani chuckled. "I guess they'd have to do a background check and everything, sweetpea," she said, coming to the door of the daycare. "To make sure I'm not a bad person who will hurt all the kids."

"But you're not a bad person," she said. "Miss Jesse knows that."

"Yes, sweetie, I'm sure she does. But her boss doesn't know me. That's why I'm talking to her today," she said, trying to satisfy her daughter's stubborn curiosity.
 
Jesse was nervous, even if she wasn't the one about to meet with a potential boss. She wanted Tiffani to get the job, but she worried about how it would be working with each other. And then she would wonder if Tiffani was interested and trying to find some sign and... Well, it was starting to get ridiculous, following her scattered thoughts.

Finally, she caught sight of Tiffani and Melissa, and her face split into a wide grin.

"Hey! Good morning!" she called out as they approached. "The administrator is waiting on you. If you'd like, I can walk you there once I've got all the kids settled."
 
Melissa finally gave up on asking her "why" questions and walked silently alongside her mom. She ran inside and told Miss Jesse good morning, as bouncy as ever. Tiffani chuckled and smiled cheerfully at Jesse. "Good morning," she said. "That'd be great," she said, trying to settle her nerves. She gave her daughter a big hug and waited patiently while the kids kept filing in with their mothers to drop them off. "I'm so glad she agreed to meet with me," she said, making sure her hair wasn't too messed up. "You have no idea how grateful I am, Jesse," she told the woman wholeheartedly.
 
Jesse shrugged, her cheeks warming. "It's really no problem, honest," she said, motioning inside. After a few more kids were dropped off and the classroom was seated, Jesse handed out color by number pages. "I'm going to write the instructions on the board, and then I'm going to take Miss Tiffani down the hall for a moment." A younger woman walked in and nodded at Jesse. "Miss Claire here will be able to help you if you need anything, all right?"

Turning, she quickly wrote down the instructions on the board and stepped out into the hall with Tiffani.

"You'll do well," she said, leading the mother down the hall. "Anna is a really wonderful person. I'm sure she'll see that you are too."
 
Tiffani waited patiently, if not a little nervously. She glanced over at her daughter, who gave her a thumbs-up and a toothy smile. She couldn't help but smile back at her daughter before she followed Jesse down the hallway. "Thank you," she said, like she hadn't thanked Jesse enough. "Honestly, thank you," she said seriously, saying it as she looked into Jesse's eyes.
 
"It really is nothing," Jesse said, keeping her eyes on Tiffani's, her voice a little softer. "Good luck in there, yeah?" She reached over and gave Tiffani's shoulder a quick squeeze before turning and heading back to the classroom before she decided to go into the office with her. Focusing on the kids for a while, until Tiffani returned, would be a very good distraction.

"All right, how are all my minions doing!" she called as she walked into the classroom.
 
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