Back when she was in prison, she was all alone.
If it weren't for Josephine visiting her often, encouraging her, and running around to help with her problems, she might not have made it out alive.
Those difficult three years were only bearable because Josephine was there to support her.
A lifeline... His eyes flickered.
It seemed like this Josephine held a really special place in her heart.
"But isn't it kind of ridiculous to see someone as your lifeline? What if one day, that lifeline abandons you? Wouldn't you be even more desperate then?"
"Josephine would never do that," she said firmly, her eyes full of unshakable trust.
For some reason, an uncomfortable feeling rose in his chest.
It felt like he didn't want anyone else to deserve that kind of trust from her, like she could give up everything for that person.
In the days that followed, Rachel's workload got heavier because the sanitation department was getting ready for an inspection from higher-ups.
Sometimes she had to stay and work overtime.
Thankfully, when she got home, Jeffrey already had dinner ready and was waiting for her, which really warmed her heart.
She had told him before that if she came home late, he should eat first, but he still insisted on waiting so they could eat together.
Sometimes, she felt like the two of them were just like siblings, living together in a small, simple rental apartment, depending on each other.
Maybe having a brother felt something like this.
In the morning, after she finished cleaning her assigned streets, she went back to the sanitation office, put away her tools, and stood outside in the open area near the entrance.
The inspection team from the city management bureau was coming soon, and the office had asked all the street cleaners to wait there to greet them and make it easier to report their work.
Rachel, with her slender figure, stood out among the middle-aged men and women in their forties and fifties.
"Rachel, is that you?" a woman in her late twenties suddenly called out when she saw her as the inspection team arrived at the sanitation department.
Rachel looked up and saw a woman wearing a light blue business suit, her hair pinned up neatly.
Her face was round, and her eyes were narrow. She wasn't especially pretty, but her makeup was carefully done.
Rachel was stunned for a second before realizing it was her high school classmate, Mackenzie.
"It really is you," Mackenzie said, clearly surprised. "What are you doing here? Are you working as a sanitation worker now?"
"Yeah, I'm working here," Rachel answered, meeting Mackenzie's curious gaze without dodging it.
Life is full of unexpected run-ins with people from the past. Even if it's awkward, there's no avoiding it.
"Mackenzie, you know her?" Mackenzie's coworker asked.
"Yeah, this is Rachel. She was the beauty and top student in our class. She always got perfect scores on exams, and tons of boys liked her, but she never paid attention to any of them," Mackenzie explained, like she was trying to bring up Rachel's past glory.
But the more she said, the more obvious the contrast became between Rachel's past and her current situation.
As expected, her colleague frowned. "Her? A top student and a beauty? You must be kidding."
Mackenzie gave a faint smile, feeling a quiet satisfaction. Back in school, Rachel was admired like a graceful swan, while she was just an ignored, plain duckling.
But now? What's the point of being a swan if you end up sweeping the streets?
Some of Rachel's coworkers overheard the conversation and glanced over. Their looks were a mix of surprise, pity, and mockery.
The next day, after finishing her morning work, Rachel went back to the tool shed to put her equipment away.
A younger girl from the tool group asked curiously, "Rachel, were you really the beauty and top student in your class?"
Before Rachel could say anything, another worker named Gemma sneered,
"Beauty and top student? So what? She's still just a street sweeper. If she was really that amazing, wouldn't she have a better job by now?"
The young girl who had asked the question looked awkwardly at Rachel, but Rachel just lowered her head and signed her name in the tool return log before walking away.
Sister Rivera caught up with Rachel and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't take Gemma's words to heart. She's just upset because she likes Griffin from the motor pool and took it out on you."
Rachel looked confused. She had no idea who Griffin was or what he had to do with her.
"Griffin is the driver for our motor pool. He seems to have a thing for you. Doesn't he often greet you?" Sister Rivera explained, genuinely trying to help Rachel. "Griffin's a good guy. He has a stable job here, and his parents even bought him a house. Maybe you should consider him."
Rachel shook her head. "No, I'm not interested in dating right now."
"You're 27, right? It's going to get harder to find someone as you get older."
"Then I'll just live alone," she replied. In truth, ever since she got out of prison, she had given up on love.
Back then, Ralph had made all these grand promises to her. But what happened?
While she was in prison, she had ten of her nails pulled out, and he didn't even flinch. He just said, "You brought this on yourself."
At that moment, all her feelings from the past were completely crushed.
She still often dreamed about that scene and would wake up in the middle of the night, covered in cold sweat.
And every time her fingers ached, she reminded herself just how cruel love could be.
Now, she didn't want anything to do with love.
Besides, with her criminal record, it was already hard enough just to find a decent job, let alone a partner.
How many people could actually look past her past?
But even as she thought that, Jeffrey's face suddenly popped into her mind.
She started thinking about how she might be able to buy him a phone with her next paycheck.
"Ah, you silly girl…" Sister Rivera sighed and didn't bring it up again.
On payday, Rachel took Jeffrey to the mall to buy a phone.
"It doesn't really matter whether I have a phone or not," Jeffrey said calmly. He honestly hadn't expected her to buy him one.
"Who doesn't have a phone these days? If you're looking for a job, having a phone makes it easier for companies to contact you. Handing out flyers every day isn't a long-term plan," Rachel replied. "Besides, with a phone, we can keep each other updated if something comes up and one of us is running late."
They arrived at a phone store in the mall. There were a ton of brands on display, and Rachel had already done her homework online.
She could afford something around $200. She'd even narrowed it down to a few models already, so she showed them to Jeffrey and asked which one he liked.
"I can only afford these older models right now, but I checked online, and they're really good for the price. The specs are pretty decent too. You can use one of these for now, and when we save up more money…"