NOTE: This series chronicles the wishes Tina writes in the Wish Journal she received from her aunt when she turned 13. To better understand Tina's character, be sure to read her other wishes in chronological order. Tina was sitting at the kitchen counter with Gemma. Though her daughter was only five, her long blonde hair nearly reached her lower back and Tina liked to keep it in pigtails to keep it out of her daughter's face. They were practicing how to write Gemma's name using both upper and lower case letters even though Gemma was partial to using all capital letters; she liked to be noticed. They could hear the garage door open from where they sat and Tina prayed silently for positive news as she smiled and told Gemma what a good job she was doing. This was Mitch's third interview at the boxing plant and it was only forty minutes from the house. As a family, they really needed good news. They needed a win. It seemed to take forever for the door to the attached garage to open and Tina could feel the cold grasp of anxiety take hold of her heart. Finally the door opened and Mitch appeared. There was a darkness in his eyes when Tina caught his gaze. He only shook his head slightly and the corner of his mouth dipped into a frown until Gemma ran into his arms. Tina's shoulders slumped. It was bad enough that they were running low on their savings, but seeing Mitch getting beat up by job interviews that went nowhere was a punch to the gut. That night, when Mitch was sleeping restlessly in bed, Tina pulled out the Wish Journal that she kept tenderly tucked away in her sock drawer. Wish #16: I wish Mitch could find work. We had it all planned. Everything was set. We got married and paid off the wedding. We saved and bought a house. We saved and put money into a high-interest savings account for a rainy day. We budgeted. We didn't use credit cards. We did everything we were supposed to do. Mitch was laid off when the plant closed and that was two years ago.
Sure, I still have my job which is getting us by, but our savings is nearly drained. Mitch has been looking. Bless his heart because he has tried. He has tried so hard. He's gone as far as Bozeman and Tacoma, but no one is hiring. Please. I wish Mitch could get work. Perhaps a stable job with benefits, if it's not too much to ask. I wish my family wouldn't go through hard times like mine did as a kid.
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