"Dreams" - Her Story: Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

         She remembered his embrace and the sound of his voice. She thought about sleeping forever just so she could be with him forever. Yet, she knew it was not possible. She wondered why he had come to her now when her life was finally becoming normal again. Why hadn’t he come to her when she was lost in the despair of losing her husband? Why hadn’t he come to her when she had thought about ending her life? Instead, he came to her when the despair had turned into a will to fight for better and more. He came when the troubles with her daughters weren’t so terrible.

         The sound of the phone ringing tore her from her thoughts. Clutching the locket in her hand, she answered the phone. “Hello.”

          “I need you. I have a ton of things that have to be done and I have to have them for a meeting with Corporate on Wednesday.” Her bosses voice boomed through the phone.

          “Mr. Ledford, slow down before you give yourself a heart attack.” She leaned against her pillow and closed her eyes. “What happened to Frank working on the reports for you?”

          “That shit head screwed up. I have several meetings all day Wednesday through Friday. I need these reports. I have already sent them to you, they should be there shortly.” Mr. Ledford sounded strained and under pressure and angry.

          “Relax, I will get them done. You will have them on your desk by the time you walk into your office Wednesday morning.” She sat up and hung up the phone.

         Dressing in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she tucked the locket beneath her shirt, not wanting to explain where it came from. How could she when even she didn’t know? She didn’t want to share her dreams with anyone. No one would understand the connection she felt with her dreams or the hope she felt every morning. No one needed to know every morning she held tight to the promise of forever that only one man could keep.

         She could smell the coffee brewing before she reached the kitchen and was thankful she had remembered to set the timer. She picked up a coffee mug from the dishwasher and filled the mug. She leaned her hip against the counter and sipped from the steaming mug. She thought about what life would be like with a man around again and smiled.

          “Mom, door.” Her oldest daughter’s voice brought her from her thoughts.

         She found her daughter standing at the front door glaring at the deliveryman. She set her coffee mug on the small table beside the door. “I guess I’ve got some major work to do.” She frowned at the six large boxes stacked on a dolly and the three thick brown envelopes on top. The deliveryman held out his clipboard for her signature.

         She signed her name and had him drop off the boxes in her office by her table. She followed him back out to the front door where she found her oldest daughter leaning against the railing of the staircase. She thanked the deliveryman and handed him the reports to return to Mr. Ledford and closed the door behind him. She picked up her coffee mug and headed back to her office to start work on the reports.

          “I take it the rest of the weekend is shot.” Her oldest daughter snapped at her mother. “When daddy was alive, he always had time for us.”

         She slammed her coffee mug down on the table and turned towards her oldest daughter. “I have had enough. I have listened to you for the past two years and I’ve had enough. I am sorry I have to work and I’m not home enough. I am sorry your father died. But I had nothing to do with it. I miss your father too and wish to hell that he were still here. I would love to be able to make everything all right. But I can’t. I can’t make everyone happy. I am doing what I have to do so that you can have clothes on your back, food on the table and a roof over your head.” She threw up her hands and went to her office and slammed the door.

         She stared at the stack of boxes and the envelopes sitting on top. “So much work.” She shook her head and snatched the packets from the top and sat down behind her desk. She pulled out the papers and looked through them shaking her head. She couldn’t believe the mess Frank had made of the reports. She picked up the phone and dialed her boss’s number.

          “Mr. Ledford I have received the files and I have started looking them over.” She told him as she put a floppy disk into the computer and turned on her monitor. “I would recommend firing him. I can’t believe the mess he’s made of this.”

          “I already fired him. He’s an idiot and I won’t stand for someone as worthless as him on my payroll.” Mr. Ledford sounded calmer than he had been earlier when she had talked to him. His voice softened when he asked, “Do you think you can have those reports ready for this weeks meetings?”

          “I don’t know. I am basically working from scratch. I am going to get what I can and if need be I can get most of it done and if you need I can go to the meetings with you and go over the information with one copy.” She sighed wanting to help, it was her job and she knew she was the one who could do it right.

          “All right, let me know how you’re doing. I am going to send over someone to help with the work. If nothing else, you can use the help with sorting out the mess you have there.” He was trying to make things easier for her.

          “That would be great.” She smiled at the softness in his voice. “I will keep in touch.”

         His voice was gruff with appreciation. “You’ve earned it and more. I will owe you so much if you pull this off.”

          “The only thing I truly want is appreciation and the recognition I deserve.” She smiled at the softness in the man she thought didn’t know the meaning of the word.

          “You have it and more.” He hung up the phone and left her to her work.

         She smiled at the thought of Byron Ledford having a soft spot for anyone or anything. It was almost unbelievable. She could see the gruff, always yelling man in another light. He just worried about doing a good job and making sure his employees did the job right. Smiling, she started inputting the information into its correct format. The job had begun with no end in sight.


""Dreams" - Her Story: Chapter 10"  [18+]