Here are three names: Beth Stephens (Human Resources) 617-856-9899, Michelle Aguiar (Clinical Supervisor) 617-856-9881

and Shannon Bryant (Social Worker) 617-856-9890.

149/727

She said to try them in the order listed above. So, you’ll have to let me know how it goes.

Good luck with everything. Maybe I’ll see you around the diner again.

Best, Cedric

P.S. Sorry you had to work late because ofthe ass clown who left his credit card ;-)Allison Ophelia. I laughed out loud at the last line too, covering my mouth in amazement. Wow. He operates fast. I read the email a few more times…okay, maybe ten…and exited out of the screen, putting my phone back in my purse, even giddier than before. Even though I wanted to respond right away, I decided to wait until I got home because I couldn’t stand to type on the touch screen of my iPhone.

150/727

*** That afternoon, I ran into the apartment, dropped my keys and purse and went straight to my laptop. I opened a blank email screen and began to type and erase over and over again. My lack of focus was made worse by the distraction of looking out the window and noticing that the leaves on the large tree outside had transformed into beautiful fall foliage.

Or was it just that everything in the world seemed brighter today?

I decided to get up and make a cup of jasmine green tea before returning to the laptop. After that first sip of steamy goodness, I finally just bit the dust and typed.

Cedric Othello,

You are so not an ass clown! Thank you somuch for providing me with these contacts 151/727

and please thank your mother too. I look forward to calling them in a few days. I can’t believe Bright Horizons is based right here in Malden. I looked on their website and it’s just a stone’s throw from my apartment. I will definitely keep you posted.

Please do stop into the diner again if you are up in that neck the woods. I’ll save you a slice of coconut cream pie now that I know you like it. Even though I was working nights yesterday, my usual shifts are Monday

through

Friday

6:30am

to

3:00pm. Also, thanks again for the ride home. I really enjoyed talking with you too.

Take care. --Allison

I stared at what I wrote for about five minutes before hitting send. Once I sent the message, I sighed and abruptly closed the laptop and put it away. I was happy that I decided to let him know what shift I worked. I was worried that he would come back when I 152/727

wasn’t there thinking that my normal shift was at night because of yesterday. Not that he was necessarily planning to come back to see me, but I could hope, right?

*** One week later, I received a call from Bright Horizons after leaving one voicemail for each of the contacts Cedric gave me. It was almost 4:00 in the afternoon and I had just returned home from the diner and was resting on the couch watching The Ellen DeGeneres Show when the phone rang.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Yes, I am looking for Allison Abraham?”

“This is she,” I said in my most professional voice, suspecting it might be job-related.

“This is Beth Stephens from Bright Horizons, how are you?” she said in a friendly voice.

153/727

“Great. I have been expecting your call.” I hoped that didn’t sound cocky.

“I got your voicemail and was wondering if you had some time to come into the office this afternoon. I remembered that you said you lived in town and I had a meeting just cancel, so I would have some time to meet with you,” she said.

“That would be great. I could be there in twenty minutes.” I was beaming.

“Excellent. Just give them your name at the front desk and I’ll come out. Please bring a current resume and valid license. I’ll see you then.”

“Thank you, Beth. See you shortly.” I hung up the phone and immediately went to my bedroom to pick out something professional to wear. I wouldn’t have time to shower. I picked out a pink satin sleeveless blouse with a bow on the front and a gray wool pencil skirt. I ripped off my diner uniform and threw on some nude colored 154/727

pantyhose. I changed into the skirt and put on the blouse, sniffing my armpits. I added a short gray cashmere cardigan over the blouse. As I looked in the mirror above my bureau, I decided that my long hair made me look messy, so I twisted it into a bun and secured the sides with two bobbi pins. I dabbed on some concealer, very light eyeliner and some Bonne Bell lip gloss, puckering my lips.

I was ready to roll. I grabbed my coat, left the apartment and walked the three blocks to the Bright Horizon’s office.

*** The small brick building housed three offices, one of which was Bright Horizons. A middle-aged Hispanic woman sat at the front desk and I told her my name.

Beth Stephens, a tall middle-aged blond woman, came out shortly after and we 155/727

shook hands, then made our way to her office down the hall.

“So, tell me about your experience at Simmons, Allison.”

“Well, I had completed almost a year in the special education graduate degree program there. I took classes like child development and psychology. My mother passed away a little over a year ago and I decided to take a leave of absence until I could save enough money to continue. I have been waitressing full-time, but am looking for a way to get some experience working with kids with special needs.”

“Ok, very good. I have to tell you though, while Bright Horizon’s does offer services to kids and adults, the only openings we have right now are in our adult services program, which places employees with adults in their homes and also in group homes. You would be trained initially and after a background check, you would be 156/727

assigned to an adult, mostly likely with autism, helping with things like job assistance and daily living. Would you be interested in working with an adult?”

I hadn’t really expected that. Without thinking, I said, “Absolutely. I believe it would still be good experience and training for me. I think I would be up for the challenge.”

Three weeks later, those words would bite me in the ass, quite literally.

*** I completed the intensive training, which included CPR and restraint classes over three weekends, shadowed two employees after work at the diner, passed the background check and was now a part-time therapist for a twenty-year-old non-verbal autistic man named Lucas. I say Lucas is a man, but he acts more like a boy.

157/727

I was assigned to go to his house in Cambridge three afternoons a week, leaving straight from the diner. He’s chubby with shaggy blonde hair and almost six feet tall, but he seems to have a baby face with rosy red cheeks.

The job requirements were to spend time reading books to him, helping him do chores like taking out the recycling and helping with his dinner and bath. I would then leave right before his bedtime.

Lucas is basically in his own world and loves comic books.

On the first day, Lucas ran from me and hid in his room. His mother, Pat, finally got him to come out by telling him I was Wonder Woman. Apparently, he was obsessed with the character. So much so, that his mom suggested that I dress in costume, because this worked with a previous therapist in getting Lucas to respond. Apparently, he only bought the act when the worker had 158/727

dark hair, so she told me I was lucky. I guess I was the closest match physically so far.

Evidently, there had been many wonder women who came and went in his life. She happened to have a costume lying around.