Free Small Change by Sheila Roberts

that. It hadn't done a thing to encourage her. But then Rachel wasn't a model.
    â€œI still wish I didn't have to get them, but I guess it will be okay,” said Claire, helping herself to a cookie.
    All right. She still hated Misty, but she could at least be glad that Claire had come home, not simply resigned to her fate, but feeling better about it. “It will be okay,” Rachel said, and gave Claire a one-armed hug. “It always is. Isn't it?” she added, rumpling David's hair.
    â€œYep,” he said, and took two more cookies.
    â€œThat is enough cookies for you,” she told him, deciding she needed to get back in mother mode. “You'll spoil your appetite for dinner.”
    â€œI'm not hungry,” said Claire. “We went to Pizza Heaven.”
    Oh, well, Rachel told herself. Misty couldn't bake. So there.
    Still, the possession of baking skills didn't seem like much of an upper hand when compared to trips to the mall and Pizza Heaven and looking gorgeous enough to inspire a preteen to accept the necessity of getting braces. Children didn't care how long you were in labor with them or how much you sacrificed to keep them in the same house they'd always lived in. They didn't tell themselves that someday they'd thank you for making them eat their vegetables, do their homework, and practice good hygiene. Children, when faced with a choice between boring old Mom and the Pied Piper in drag, always chose the Pied Piper. Her mother was wrong. Children could be bought.
    Where was she going with all this? How much negativity could a woman pack in one brain? No more already, she told herself, and tried hard for the rest of the evening to be upbeat and positive. And in the process of being upbeat and positive she consumed six peanut butter cookies. Maybe she really did need therapy. Or another romance novel. She decided on the romance novel.

    The next morning Rachel woke up determined to be optimistic. She was tough and resilient. She would be fine. She'd gotten kicked, but she wasn't down. She and her children still had a roof over their heads and she had a steady paycheck for a little while longer. If she couldn't find a full-time teaching position for fall she'd sub. Or she'd clean houses. Or she'd sneak over to Aaron's, steal Misty's lingerie, and sell them on eBay. Snort.
    â€œWhat are you laughing about?”
    Rachel turned from where she stood toasting bagels to find her daughter looking at her like she was crazy.
    â€œNothing. I just thought of something funny, that's all.”
    Claire shrugged. She helped herself to a bagel and started slathering jam on it. “Can I hang out downtown after school with Bethany?”
    â€œI know that Coffee Stop gift card is burning a hole in your pocket,” Rachel teased. “I guess, for a couple of hours.”
    â€œUmmm, can I have some money?”
    â€œYou spent all your allowance?”
    â€œPleeease?” Claire begged, dodging the question.
    Rachel noticed her daughter was wearing the new necklace and earrings she'd gotten at the mall with Misty. The woman poured money on Claire like it was water and Rachel was bickeringover a few dollars? “I have a ten in my wallet. You can have that.”
    â€œThank you, Mommy! You're the best mom in the world.” All smiles, Claire gave Rachel a kiss on the cheek and bounded out of the kitchen.
    Ten dollars was a small price to pay for being the best mom in the world. Or was it? What was she teaching her daughter about money? Her head suddenly hurt.

    Jess had called in to A-Plus Office Services first thing in the morning and learned that they had nothing for her. Michael was right; she had to cast her net further. So, back to the city she went and signed up with Solutions, Inc.
    â€œYou don't have a lot of experience,” said Ms. Solutions Inc., offering an empathetic expression to soften the harsh reality.
    â€œYou're right, I don't,” Jess agreed. But how hard