New parents

APRIL 1, 2020, DAYTONA BEACH — Baby Wyatt arrives in less than two months.

Inside a one-bedroom apartment on Clyde Morris Boulevard, two anxious parents await him. His father, Skylar Smith, 20, has worked long hours in college kitchens to afford the $825 a month apartment. His mother, Brittany Walker, 21, has often stayed home due to the severe morning sickness and excessive vomiting that left her hospitalized twice.

The engaged couple, who have been together for almost a year, moved into the apartment in October, two months after learning Walker was pregnant. But whether the couple will be able to remain in the apartment through May 9 – the day Baby Wyatt arrives – remains up in the air.

Smith, who has not yet filed for unemployment, has been told he cannot return to work at the Qdoba restaurant on Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s campus until at least August. Although he still works part-time at Steve’s Famous Diner on South Nova Road, his hours have been cut due to the restaurant’s temporary decision to transition to a take-out business that needs fewer employees.

Smith’s sudden loss of employment reflects the disastrous result of the coronavirus outbreak, which has shuttered schools and restaurants across the country. Doubt now looms over the soon-to-be parents, who fear the temporary layoff will leave them and Baby Wyatt homeless.

“How am I supposed to look at my son and say, ‘I love you more than anything and we tried, but we couldn’t do it,’” Walker said. “I don’t want to have to tell my kid that. I don’t want my kid to grow up not having what he needs.”

For five months, the apartment has given Walker and Smith stability. Before moving in, the pair lived with two friends in another one-bedroom apartment. Walker and Smith sought help from their friends after having several disagreements with their previous landlord.

Two weeks after moving in with their friends, Walker discovered she was pregnant. Smith then began working in a kitchen on the bottom floor of an Embry Riddle dorm. After three months, he transferred to the Qdoba in the student union.

He often worked more than 40 hours a week to save enough money to afford the apartment. His labor allowed the couple to search for a new home.

But the endeavor came with its hurdles. The pair had no renter’s history and less than exceptional credit scores. They submitted a $400 application at one apartment complex and were denied because of their credit scores. Smith and Walker received just half of their money back.

Walker attempted to help alleviate some of their financial distress and went to work at the Taco Bell on Beville Road. But fear of contracting the flu led the expectant mother to quit after a few months and remain mostly in their apartment. Smith then picked up a second job at Steve’s Famous Diner.

Smith received a text message alerting him of Qdoba’s temporary closure a few weeks ago, four months after his employment began. He looked at Steve’s Famous Diner to keep him afloat, but the restaurant has not called him into work in more than a week.

When Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered restaurants to close their dining rooms, Steve’s Famous Diner shifted to takeout and cut employee shifts. Before the sudden change, Smith worked at the diner for up to 20 hours a week.

Forced to search for another job, Smith filled out an application at Caribbean Jack’s Restaurant and Bar on Ballough Road. He has been accepted for the position but will not begin work until restaurants are given permission to reopen their dining rooms. Unlike Steve’s Famous Diner, Caribbean Jack’s has decided not to offer takeout.

Skylar Smith and fiancé Brittany Walker, Tuesday March 24, 2020 in front of their Daytona Beach apartment. Smith was temporarily laid off from his job due to the coronavirus outbreak and Walker is expecting their first child in May. [News-Journal/David Tucker] |

That leaves May’s rent and other bills uncertain. But with no work experience outside of restaurants, Smith doesn’t know where else to turn. His situation reflects the challenges many restaurant and other service workers have faced due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 15 years old,” he said. “It’s what I know. I know restaurant work. When I apply to a job, I don’t tell them I’ve been a cook for X amount of time. I tell them I’ve been in restaurants for five years. I tell them I’ve covered different positions. It’s something I’m so used to. I don’t know how I’m supposed to adjust and adapt to another field.”

Smith’s loss of income has made it difficult to prepare for Baby Wyatt’s arrival. Smith and Walker, who are participants in the federal nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children, have not been able to find several food items. It doesn’t help that area grocery stores have faced shortages of bread, milk and canned goods.

“There are specific products you can get with WIC and if those products aren’t there, you are sore out of luck,” Walker said. “You’re going home without anything. If they run out of 1 percent milk and all they have is 2 percent, you can’t just grab 2 percent. You’re not getting milk.”

WIC also does not cover diapers or baby wipes – two necessities the couple has struggled to afford. The few supplies that await Baby Wyatt inside the apartment include a car seat, a baby bath and two packs of newborn diapers.

Smith has taken on the task of scouring empty store shelves for supplies, as concern over the spread of the coronavirus has thrust Walker into self-isolation. Countless hours spent inside the apartment have been used to rearrange the furniture to make it perfect for Baby Wyatt. But Walker can’t stop ruminating over the drawbacks that would prevent the couple from making their May rent payment.

“Whenever you’re home alone for hours, all you can do is sit there and think about everything that could go right and everything that could go wrong,” she said.

There’s also the prospect that, because hospitals are limiting visitors, the couple will face the birth of their first child without the support of their families.

For the first time since moving into the one-bedroom apartment, “Now Leasing” balloons wave outside the apartment complex. Smith interpreted it as a sign of people abandoning their homes due to a sudden loss of income. With restaurant, hotels and other closures affecting thousands in Volusia and Flagler counties, Smith empathizes with his Qdoba coworkers, some of whom were forced to return to their hometowns or file for unemployment.

“You buckle down and work hard, and then something completely out of your control comes in and takes it from you,” Smith said. “There’s not many words you can use to describe that other than helpless.”

If Smith and Walker had to leave their apartment, Walker’s parents would take them in until the pair landed back on their feet. But Walker worries she would disrupt the lives of her parents and her autistic brother in the meantime. Much like her brother, her father – who became dependent on an oxygen tank after suffering collapsed lungs – requires constant care.

For Smith, the mere thought of giving up the apartment he’s worked to have for Walker and Baby Wyatt carries a tremendous weight.

“It would destroy me.”

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