Tasha watched her children scatter about the farm they investigated her latest work prospect. It had seemed like a long-shot... a teaching position. She didn't have any piece of flyppaper which said she could teach the children of others. The man had assured her that he didn't need a registered teacher, just someone who could teach -- and what better than an experienced homeschooling mother?
Losing her husband to Decima the previous season had pushed her to the edge of reason and to the edge of her finances. The family home was to be sold at the end of the week and she wasn't sure where she would go then. Perhaps if this job worked out, it would be enough to keep the lights on and the taxes paid.
A man came out of a barn and approached her. "Are you Tasha?" he asked, looking her up and down.
"Yes."
"Do you think you can teach my children? I have everything you could want to help you do the job well."
"Y..yes, I think I could do that -- at least as well as I teach my own." Her gaze wandered to Adria, her eldest, who seemed to be watching the dabblers in the water below.
"How old is she?"
"18. She's had to grow up quickly."
"Gabe is 19. They're bound to become good friends. Your others?"
"Charlie is 15 and Iliana is 13."
"Just the three?"
"Yes. My husband felt it best that we stop while we could still afford them," Tasha said, not meeting his eyes.
"You're married then."
"Was. He died of Decima."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Let me show you our farm. You may, of course, live on the property if that would be of use to you," he said.
She nodded, not wanting to express her worries and heartache. "I'm sorry, I missed your name."
"Zeke! How silly of me to forget!"
Tasha walked with him, ignoring the silly tingle she felt in her crotch. He was just a handsome man and she was a newly single woman with problems.
He showed her each of the animals they kept, the crops he grew, the equipment he owned. He was a wealthy man, she could tell. "Where is Mrs. Zeke?"
