“I'm tired!” Doris tossed her black tote bag on the closest sofa she could find and then dumped herself next to it. She was going to say something else when she noticed that Laurel had AirPods plugged into her ears. She sighed and tossed one of her shoes at her.
Source
“What?” When Laurel took one of the Airpods from her ear, Doris shook her head.
“You should really stop plugging your ears all the time. I said I was tired. Anything for dinner?” Laurel shook her head.
“I was hoping you would return with some cash so I could get sausages. It's payday today.”
“I don't make enough money for extravagance. You know every dime I earned has been calculated. Sausages are not in the budget.”
Laurel scoffed and rose to pick up the stray foot of Doris’s shoe.
“You make a little above minimum wage, but you go on every time about not earning enough. Just how much more should it be before you would be satisfied?”
“Don't you dare speak to me like that young lady. I'm doing this for you, for us”
Laurel walked up to her till their eyes met, towering above her twin sister by just a few inches.
“That's what you say, but you're too worried about not having money in your purse that you fail to live like an actual person. How much are sausages?”
“Then get them!” Laurel looked like she had been slapped across the face. “I'm sorry,” Doris said almost immediately but Laurel already had tears in her eyes. They seeped down her cheeks when she began to speak.
“I know I do not have a job anymore, and this is your house, but you don't have to rub it in my face” Doris walked behind her trying to get her to accept the apology she kept rendering but Laurel wouldn't budge. Laurel was going to slam the room door in her face when she squeezed herself in between the door and its frame.
“Laurel. I said I'm sorry”
“Why do you make me beg for everything simply because you make the money? I used to do everything you wanted when I still had my job!”
Doris rubbed hard at her temples.
“I don't earn as much money, Laurel. We barely have enough to get by. Besides, you're really expensive to maintain,”
Laurel hissed and let go of the don't handle.
“I wish the minimum wage could be increased, then that Martin I work for would consider paying me more than he does currently.”
“The minimum wage cannot be increased now. A lot is going to get affected!”
Doris headed over to sit on the king-sized bed they shared, taking her earrings off.
“What could be affected? We need the minimum wage increased so the quality of living can be improved, or else it would be difficult for folks like you and I to get by.”
Laurel dropped herself into their father's old, swivel chair. They had both agreed it had to be in their room. It reminded Laurel of the time he used to carry her on it, rocking her to sleep while he read one of his interesting fantasy novels, while it equally reminded Doris of the first time their dad got them a pet.
He had been sitting in their chair and after giving them a long lecture on how to look after their possessions, brought a carton from beneath the table which contained two small, white rabbits.
“Look D, there are a lot of small businesses out there that cannot afford to pay more than minimum wage. Funny enough, most of them may be struggling to pay rent. If the minimum wage is increased, these businesses may close down or let go of a lot of people.”
Laurel was the business-savvy one of the two. She used to work as a financial adviser for a respectable institution until the director died in a fatal accident, causing the institution to shut down indefinitely.
“But it would also stimulate consumer spending which should boost the economy. Isn't that so?”
“You're correct. However, you must also note that increasing the minimum wage leads to inflation as companies would pass on higher labor costs to those same consumers through increased prices.”
“So what do we do?” Doris rose to pace the room. “I need to earn more than I do now. At least till you get back on your feet.”
“I'm sure we'll figure it out. I've applied to one of the well-paying companies in the state, hopefully, I should get a response soon”. Doris nodded and went over to the swivel chair.
“I just hope we figure it out soon….,”
“We will. You just don't worry” Laurel said, rising to walk into the warmness of her sister's wide-spread arms.
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