Sarah rushed around the tiny apartment, cleaning dust and dirt that only she could see. She knew in her head that the place was spotless, but she had always been a “neat freak” to begin with, and this was just such an important day for her and little Cody. The on-site visit from social services was the last barrier to getting benefits for herself and her 6-month-old. It was also the first time that she would meet the case worker assigned to her.

The knock came at the door just after 3 o’clock. Cody just went to sleep in the bedroom, leaving Sarah with only the living room-dining room-kitchen combination to entertain in. The sound at the door brought her running in an attempt to catch it before it woke the baby.

Standing in the hallway was the largest and, she couldn’t help thinking, ugliest man she had ever met. Well over 6 feet tall with short, unkempt black hair and the remains of teenage acne all over his flat face.

“Miss Collins? I’m Harold Roberts.”

Harold took in the sight of her. Maybe 5 feet 6 inches tall with shoulder-length, curly, red hair. She had apparently not had any trouble getting her figure back after the pregnancy. Since what little he could see of it, through the conservative clothing that made up her wardrobe, was a dream come true.

“I assume that you were expecting someone today?”

“Yes, Mr. Roberts, come in and please call me Sarah.”

After getting coffee for both of them, Sarah joined Harold, sitting in a chair across from him on the couch. The drinks and his briefcase sat on a small coffee table between them.

Harold spread his reports in front of him. “Since I wasn’t present at your interview, let’s go over some of the basics of the case. Is it correct that the father is not involved and isn’t supporting you at all?”

“Yes, when I told Jim I was pregnant, he made the right sounds and then disappeared when I started to show. I was hoping that your office could help me track him down.”

“It also says that you have no family support. Why is that when you have your mother listed as your next of kin?”

“My mother and I haven’t been close since my father died 5 years ago, and it just got worse when she married my stepfather. When I had the baby, it was the last straw. We haven’t spoken since, and my being an only child, there just isn’t anyone else.”

Harold took all this in. Everything she said matched what was on the papers she filled out originally and what he had been able to check out on his own. Time to push a little more.

“It may sound strange, Sarah, but you’re going to have to maintain that silence if you expect to obtain and keep your benefits. Any family contact at all, I’ll have to assume is support, and I’ll have to terminate your benefits. You’ll also be forced to pay back the full monetary amount already given. Do you understand?”

“Yes, believe me, the furthest thing from my mind is talking to them.”

“Now about the question of employment. You know, of course, that some kind of job is required to prove your good faith.”

“I was hoping that I would be able to stay at home with Cody. I’ve checked out all the day-care in the area, and the few that have openings are going to cost more than I can make. There must be a way that I can stay at home until he starts school.”

Sarah didn’t want the desperation she was feeling to show though in her voice, but she was really at the end of her rope. She had allowed her pride to put off applying for welfare until it was too late. She simply had nothing to do.

“Please, you don’t understand. I don’t have any money left. Nothing. It took most of my savings to move here and get into this place. The money I spent yesterday on food and diapers was the last of it. I’m already behind a month on the rent. Please help me.”

Harold was in heaven. This was as good a situation as he had ever stumbled on. This woman was a real little hottie. Time to make it worse.

“Sarah, I talked to your landlord today before I came here. You do know that he is evicting you at the end of the month, don’t you?”

A lie, but it did what it was supposed to do. Sarah crumbled. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Harold watched for a minute and enjoyed it, anticipating the times to come.

“I hope you understand why I can’t grant your benefits. But without any source of income, I simply have no choice. I hope that if you find a job, you will reapply when your penalty time is up.”

Another lie, but again it did its job. Sarah’s head jerked up.

“What do you mean, penalty time?”

“Well, it’s policy that if an applicant is turned down, they cannot be reconsidered for at least 90 days.”

Visions of her and Cody living on the street, the few belongings they owned in paper bags they carried along, filled her head. She didn’t know what to say or do.

“Please, there must be something that you can do. Help me!”

“Sarah, I’ve been doing this a long time. I hear hard luck stories all day long, 5, sometimes 6 days a week. If I bent the rules for all of them, I would be in your shoes in a week.”

“But my baby. There must be something you can do. I’ll go out right now and find a job. I’ll do anything, but I have to take care of my baby!”