It's 0900 on a Tuesday at your W-2. Your quarterly review starts at 0930. You've got your wins on a sticky note under your monitor, because last quarter your boss said you "seemed checked out" and you've been on thin ice ever since. Your phone buzzes. It's Maria, lead teacher at the daycare you bought in Houston. "Kayla and Destiny both called out. I'm alone with 9 toddlers. Ratio is 4. What do you want me to do?" You know what the rules say she has to do. Call parents and send kids home. Every one of those parents has a job too. Some of them will pull their kid by Friday. You sneak to the bathroom so you can text the sub list again. Two numbers are disconnected. One says she found a full-time job. One answers: "$35/hr, can be there at 11." That’s $15 an hour more than what the old owner paid. You say yes. What the fuck else are you going to do? At 9:08 the front desk texts a photo. A little boy's forearm with a ring of purple teeth marks. "Mom is here. She says this happened yesterday and nobody told her. She's asking for the owner and won’t leave until she talks to you ." You text Maria. Maria is alone with nine toddlers. At 9:14 the mom emails you directly. She's polite. She asks which child bit her son, whether it's happened before, and how she contacts licensing. You can't tell her which child. You don't know if it's happened before. You know exactly how she contacts licensing, and so does she. You think about the savings you put down. The personally guaranteed debt. You think about the night you showed your wife the listing and said "trained staff in place, it basically runs itself." That was the last real conversation you two had; now you pass each other in the kitchen like roommates, and you can't remember the last time you asked about her day. If she doesn’t start taking more hours at work A- you’re going to need to move in with her parents. At 9:24 Maria texts again. "Destiny says she's not coming back. She got an offer at Primrose." At 9:28 your boss pings. "Ready when you are." You look at the sticky note. You look at your phone. The bite mark photo is still open. You join the call and smile.