"Nothing."
"No one expects nothing."
"Then I expect your daughter to go to school, get enough sleep, and have something to eat. If that's too much to ask, we can negotiate."
The woman almost laughed, but the sound caught in another cough. "Lily shouldn't have taken your sandwich. I made that clear to her."
"I know. She told me you would."
"She says she was trying to feed me."
"She was."
"And you believe that?"
Ray glanced across the shop, where a bag of bread sat beside a work order. "She hadn't taken a bite. That's all I needed to see."
Another silence settled on the line, this one less guarded. Lily's mother asked whether she could come to the shop in person because she did not like discussing personal problems over a telephone. Ray agreed and suggested the office rather than the garage, where there were heavy tools, moving vehicles, and open work bays. He offered to pay for a taxi if the weather became bad. She declined the ride but agreed to meet the following afternoon.
Ray spent the rest of Saturday working through a clutch assembly while his thoughts returned to the telephone conversation. The woman's voice had not sounded helpless. It sounded like someone trying to remain responsible under circumstances that had become larger than her ability to control. He recognized the difference because he had heard it from his brother, from customers who could not afford a repair, and sometimes in his own voice during the years when the shop nearly closed. Pride did not make people foolish. It often kept them moving long after they should have stopped to rest.
Sunday afternoon arrived with low clouds but no rain. The woman came to the shop with Lily, carrying a worn canvas purse and wearing a plain blue jacket over a clean blouse. She appeared to be in her thirties, with tired eyes, hair tied back neatly, and the carefully composed posture of someone who had rehearsed this meeting several times. Lily walked beside her, no longer soaked or frightened, although she watched Ray carefully for any sign that he might say something embarrassing. He greeted both of them and led them to the office, leaving the door open at the woman's request.
"I appreciate the food," she began, before Ray could offer coffee. "But I want to be clear. I am looking for work. I am not looking for someone to take over my family."
"Understood."
"I lost my job at the hotel laundry two weeks ago. They reduced staff when the building changed owners. I wasn't the only one. I've made applications, and I have an interview coming up."
"All right."
She seemed unsettled that he did not interrupt her. "I know how to manage a household, Mr. Mercer. I was doing it before all of this happened."
"I'm sure you were."
"Then you understand why I can't have Lily accepting things from strangers without my knowing."
"Yes. That's why I wanted you here."