*Author's Note: Everwood was a TV series that lasted four seasons. It was set in a fictitious town in Colorado where a world-renown neurosurgeon moved his two children after the death of his wife.
His 18-year old son fell in love with a beautiful 24-year woman who worked as a nanny for his younger sister. There were many other love interests and sub-plots; too many to weave into a short story like this.
*****
"What are you going to do?"
"After tonight? I don't know. I really needed this job. My GI Bill is all used up and I doubt I can get another student loan so close to graduation. My tuition is paid for the rest of the school year, I just can't pay rent or my other bills without a job. I know things are tight at the restaurant, and I know I was the last one hired, but being let go is really hard."
"Tell me about it. Without a degree, you can't get the kind of full-time job you really want so you take whatever crappy, part-time job you can find to make ends meet and hope you don't lose it. And if you do, there are hundreds of other college students or even high-school kids around here looking for work so losing a decent job like that sucks."
"I guess waiting tables is 'decent' for a college town." She sighed then said, "I'm even thinking about working in a nightclub, you know?"
"Well, unlike me, you have the body—and the face for it. I couldn't even get hired waiting tables at strip joint. But you? Yeah, you could probably make a boat load of money dancing topless."
"Maybe," she replied with a chuckle. "But that's a last resort for me. I'm no prude or moralist, but I have no desire to twirl around a pole while a bunch of drunk, horny guys ogle my tits."
"Well, at least you've got the kind of tits guys would pay to see." Her roommate looked down at the tiny bumps where her boobs should be and said, "I guess if there was a place where anorexic-looking girls with thick glasses like me were valued, I could make a fortune."
Both of them laughed, not so much because it was all that funny, but because it was either laugh or cry and neither of them felt like crying.
Shania Lancaster was a 26-year old college senior who'd spent four years in the US Air Force before going to school. When she was discharged she decided not to go home to Lincoln, Nebraska, where she'd grown up, but rather chose to stay in the town of Everwood, Colorado, after her discharge almost four years ago. She'd saved up close to $10,000 while on active duty, and had a fairly new car when she got out. She'd used the GI Bill to pay for her tuition and books, and she'd used the money she'd saved to rent and maintain an apartment not too far from campus.
The timing had been almost perfect as she'd gotten out in August and been able to start school a month later. That money, along with her GI Bill, was now gone, and she depended on part-time jobs to pay her living expenses. Her parents weren't in any position to help out financially, so money had always been tight. If she didn't find another job quickly, she couldn't pay rent, buy groceries, or put gas in her car.
She'd been a medic on while on active duty and had thoroughly enjoyed it. After working so closely with so many professional doctors and nurses, she decided to pursue a degree in nursing herself. She'd worked any and all odd jobs that came her way while working very hard in class. Now she was just under four months from graduating, and the issue of money was once again rearing it's ugly head.
Her GPA was holding steady at 3.42 which wasn't setting any records, but for someone who'd barely passed chemistry in high school many years before, she was proud of her achievements. She just had to power her way through this last semester. Once she had her BS in hand, finding a job would be easy as RNs were always in high demand everywhere in the country. But before she could power through, she had to find a way to pay her bills.
Her parents or more specifically, her father, had named her after the famous country singer Shania Twain, a woman on whom he'd once had an enormous crush.
"That was before I met your mom, of course," he'd quickly added when it came up the one and only time. She'd done the math and knew that didn't add up, but she'd never challenged him on it as her dad was the man who'd instilled in her a strong work ethic and a love of country. She, in turn, loved him dearly, so if he'd had a kind of thing for a celebrity even after marrying her mom, so be it.
Growing up, Shania had been blessed with the same good looks as the popular singer as well as those of her own very attractive parents. She had soft, silky, naturally blonde hair which she wore to her shoulders and which played beautifully off of her emerald-green eyes and perfect, white teeth. Her body was every bit as sexy as her beautiful face and when added to her pleasant, cheerful personality, she was what some called a 'complete package'.
Mainly because of her stunningly good looks, many people were beyond surprised when she announced she was enlisting in the Air Force right after high school graduation. Most people had been very supportive, but more than a few also told her, "But you're so smart and so beautiful! Why would you waste four years of your life on...that?"
She'd politely answered each such query with something along the lines of, "I was raised to believe in giving back. It doesn't have to be the military, but I feel like I can best do that by spending four years on active duty." She also wanted to go to college and this was her best chance at doing so without bankrupting her parents who had always struggled financially. It was an understatement to say that her mother and father had been proud of their daughter in blue. She'd not only served honorably, she'd done quite well for herself during those four years.
Shania learned very quickly that because of her looks she was a highly sought-after 'commodity' anywhere she went. Women in general were very popular as they made up less than 20% of the Air Force. Being one of the most attractive women in that 20% was both a curse and a blessing.
She realized early on she could use her looks to her advantage as it was very easy to manipulate most men and that included the senior enlisted and officers for whom she worked—even those who were married. However, her desire to make it on her own merits was extremely important to her but not always easy. Offers for special treatment were constantly coming her way along with implications for just what was needed to receive such special consideration.
She'd also soon learned that saying 'no' too many times to the wrong person had a 'funny' way of catching up with her. And lastly, she figured out from the 'get go' that were she to report every incident of unwanted attention from the men with whom she worked, she'd have done nothing but file complaints day in and day out.
Therefore, she did her best to find a happy medium between being a pushover and a bitch. She smiled politely, stayed friendly, but stood her ground when lines were crossed. She worked hard to be as good as she could be at her job, and that gave her credibility. That credibility, in turn, made it easier to stand her ground. Problem solved. Well, mostly.
Not being a saint, she'd had several discreet affairs while on active duty. The one line she wouldn't cross however, was dating a married man. Other than that, she only cared about whether or not she liked someone and liking them depended on several things. She dated people of all ranks, although the more senior the guy was the more discretion was required. As long as she was respected and treated well, she was open to dating pretty much anyone if she found them attractive, and she'd had no difficulty finding all kinds of attractive men from between 21-45. That said, she'd only slept with a four of them as taking it to that level required something more. There had to a kind of chemistry, and if it wasn't there then nothing else could bridge that gap.
Shania liked guys who were: At least reasonably attractive to her, intellectually stimulating, genuinely caring, polite, and they couldn't be arrogant. Arrogant men never got to first base let alone a second date.
But the cute, smart, shy type? Oh, yeah. That was her thing. They didn't need to lift weights or have great bodies. They just needed a face she found cute enough and a mind that could captivate her interest. Throw in a healthy dose of 'nice' and she could show her appreciation in a very special way after a respectable second date.
Finding cute guys was easy. Finding the kind of cute guys who 'did it' for her was a lot harder than it looked, but she'd gotten very adept at doing so and could now cull them out in short order. She could tell the wheat from the chaff almost as soon as they met and the chaff got quickly and permanently separated while the wheat got a closer, more careful examination. And sometimes, the wheat got lucky.
"So anyway, tonight's my last night then I've gotta find another job ASAP." She said the abbreviation as one word rather than saying each individual letter.
"ASAP. I love it when you talk all military," her roommate, Daria, said teasing her. "I still can't believe you were in the Air Force. You just don't fit the model." Daria laughed then said, "That's probably because you look like a model."
"Well, thanks for the compliment, but believe it, roomy. I loved the Air Force. Just not enough to stay for 20 years," she told her. "And believe me when say I need another job—ASAP."
"I'll keep an eye out, but you know how tough it is around here. I've been freaking about losing mine for a month or so. I'm almost afraid to go home during a break because it might not be there when I get back, you know?"
"Yeah, I do. It is tough, but there's always a place for good people," Shania said repeating something her father had told her many times growing up.
She got to work just before six and threw on her blue smock, tied the bow in back, and made sure her name tag was on straight. She checked the schedule and found out what section she had then went to work.
"Please let the tips be big," she said to herself as she headed toward her section. Because of her looks, the tips were often quite good, so she used those looks to her advantage as much as possible.
It was almost 9 o'clock, and as she was dropping off an order she heard a nice-looking older man at the table to her back say, "I can't keep staying at home with you, sweetheart, and that means I'm going to have to find a nanny."
