Wanda Part 3

The application is long and some of the questions don’t make sense. She’s never worked except hoeing cotton and helping move irrigation pipe for her daddy and occasionally babysitting for the family that lived down the road. Jake tells her to make up some jobs but she knows she’s not that good at lying. It makes her voice get shaky. She forgets how to spell the name of the town she’s supposed to be from and she doesn’t know how to describe work she’s never done. She doesn’t really want to get a job and be around strangers all day but he says they’ve got to have more money or they’ll never be able to rent a house.

Some nights she knows Jake’s stopping at the bar on the way home cause his breath smells tired and salty. He says it’s his boss that makes him but he’s getting home later and later. “Why can’t you come home and get me,” she asks one night. The look on his face makes her turn away and wish she’d just have forgot about it.

“No fuckin’ chance I’m gonna take you in there with me and have those assholes think you’re my daughter. What the hell are you thinkin’?” Jake takes off his belt and throws it across the room. The heavy buckle clunks on heater. He sits on the bed and looks up, shaking his head, then motions Wanda to come lay down. For just a second, she thinks about saying no, but of course she doesn’t.