“Did everyone sign in? Good.” Sandy stood in the living room of Capable Living’s headquarters. The employees sat on the furniture or the floor depending on who arrived before whom.
Sandy stared at her clipboard for several minutes before she began, “Capable Living has changed hands. The parent company Sunny View sold Capable Living to an HMO out of Wausau. The new owners are bringing in their own caregivers for the second shift.”
There was a general outcry.
Lily raised her hand, “Sandy you are telling us we are all, all of us, out of a job?”
“Including me. Effective immediately. I have a letter of recommendation for each of you. Thank you for your hard work. Your final check will be mailed to you on the first. If you haven’t gotten it by the fifth, call my apartment and the new manager will take care of it.”
“Sandy, you have to move?”
“By the end of the week. I only found out Friday, but I wasn’t allowed to say anything till today.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do?”
“Tune up your resume.”
“This isn’t right!”
“No. But it’s done.”
Darlene stood up and shouted, “What the hell am I supposed to do? I need this job.”
“We all need this job. Would we seriously be here with the piss and the crap and the drool if we didn’t need it?” Mike shouted her down. “This place is a joke. I’m outta here!” He held out his hand for his letter and slammed the door on his way out. Lily quietly picked up her purse, kissed Sandy and Darlene on the cheek, and without a word, she drove home.