Thinking back on it
Dearest Overthinker… You know that feeling when something doesn’t sit right — but you can’t quite prove why? I think I’ve found the beginning. Before B and her elaborate stories, there was S. At the time, I didn’t connect them. Now, looking back, I can’t unsee it. S came to her interview trembling — like a chihuahua staring up at a Great Dane. A and I softened the room for her. We told her funny stories, reassured her that we were a team, that we looked after our own. We made it feel safe. She relaxed. She impressed us. She got the job. We thought we’d found someone grateful. Someone gentle. Instead, we found chaos — wrapped in vulnerability. From her very first shift, there was always a reason. Not excuses. Reasons. “I was late because my aunties made me scrub the house before I left.” “I can’t come in. I think I’ve got what A had.” That one stopped me. Only I knew A was pregnant. For S to “have what A had” would have required immaculate conception — especially considering she’d told ...