Little Packages Ch. 06

It finally got dark enough that Michelle was no longer comfortable travelling at warp speed. She settled into something only slightly over the speed limit.

"Aren't you worried about getting a speeding ticket? You were going 90 mp/h there for a bit," I said.

"Do you know how many speeding tickets I've talked my way out of?" she said. "Don't worry about it."

"Fair point," I said, then yawned and stretched. I considered napping so I'd have some extra energy when I got home, but Michelle seemed like she wanted to talk a bit.

"So, we actually made money at that thing, believe it or not," she said, keeping her eyes on the road. "Even after gas, the hotel room, meals, your salary, expenses, we made money. We sold the costumes we brought, the designs, the cosplay supplies, my photos, all of it. And that doesn't even count all the orders we took. You're going to be flat out for the next few weeks getting them all done before you head back to school."

I groaned. "Tell me about it. I have a lot of time hunched over sewing machines in my future."

She paused, and I could tell she was weighing her words. "You could...stay on, if you wanted. I mean, keep working for us after the summer."

I laughed. "No offence, Michelle, but after this summer the next wedding I go to is my own."

The con, if nothing else, meant this weekend and next weekend I didn't have to go to any weddings. I was grateful for that. I had almost reached Michelle levels of exhaustion with them.

"No, no. No more weddings. I talked about it with Ahmed before coming to this con. This was a test. If we did well, we'd offer you something permanent. No more weddings. You'd just be making costumes and working comic cons. We'd have you dealing with the online stuff as well," she said.

I was stunned. I knew they were happy with my work, but never dreamed they were going to offer me a full-time job.

"I....I don't think I can, Michelle. I mean, it's kind, but...."

"Oh come on. You spent all weekend fidgeting with your ring, and you've spent weeks complaining about not wanting to go back to school and just stay with Ben. Well now I'm offering you the chance to do just that. Stay here, be with your man, work with us, and get paid. What do you say?" she asked.

There was no way I could make this leap without talking to Daddy first. I suspect he wouldn't be happy with me dropping out of school, but I could be with him all the time, and maybe take the next steps in our relationship. And if his mom wasn't doing well, I mean, she wanted grandchildren and I wanted Daddy's children eventually....

Maybe it would be ok. Maybe it would work.

"I...I need to talk to Ben first," I said. God that sounded sad even to my ears.

Michelle kept her eyes on the road. I had the feeling she was disappointed, but not surprised.

"Not too long, ok Kitten?" she said.

I nodded.

Oh God, what was Daddy going to think?