When the waitress with the lovely smile returns with my cup of coffee and a slice of cake, and a small note with the Wi-Fi password, I smile brightly.
“Thank you.”
I take a bite of the red velvet cake and feel as if I’m in heaven. It’s a rare treat for me because I try to eat healthily and stay away from things that will add to the weight. Not that I’m fat or anything, I just don’t want to be more voluptuous than I already am. I like being curvy. At five feet three inches tall, I’d like to believe that I carry my weight pretty well.
But that didn’t stop Terrance from leaving you.
My heart falls at the mocking voice.
“It doesn’t matter,” I tell myself. “One day, I’ll meet a fantastic man who will truly love me and never leave me.”
I retrieve my mini laptop from my bag. I had to pawn my best laptop when things became tight. I was able to get this small one for my online applications, though.
I log into my mailbox and my heart flips when I see an email from one of the firms I applied to.
Dear Miss Grady, we’re sorry that…
I don’t bother reading the rest of it. It’s no use. I have received so many of such messages I wonder why I’m disappointed.
“Looks as if no one is hiring in the entire country,” I murmur with heartfelt disappointment.
I applied for jobs in other states, not just Georgia, but they all appear fruitless. I love Georgia with all my heart, but if it doesn’t have a job for me, I have to leave it.
After going through my emails and spam messages, yet not seeing anything promising, I let out a frustrated sigh. Snapping my laptop shut, I place my head in my hands and will my tears not to fall. The last time I was this teary-eyed was when Terrance left me. I’m thinking now that this is worse than him leaving me. I can’t remember the last time I felt despair so great that it’s as if nothing will ever be all right again.
I lift my head and look around the café, wondering if there’s anyone there I can meet for a job. I’m past caring about how I look. Anxiety is gnawing at my heart.
There aren’t many diners in the place, save an old couple and a man with his wife. My eyes move to the waitresses. I really don’t mind being a waitress at this point.
Even though I lost my appetite, I still force the cake and coffee down my throat. I’m going to pay for it after all. Rising with my purse and laptop, I walk swiftly to the counter and pay for the meal.
“Erm… I…” I tug at my earlobe. “Do you by any chance need a waitress?”
Offering me a small smile, the old man who apparently owns the café shakes his head.
“I’m sorry, I don’t need one at the moment.”
Shamefaced, even though I don’t know why since I didn’t have a choice, I give him a stiff smile and walk out of the café.
What am I going to do?
Crestfallen, I walk down the street. I’m determined to find a job, no matter how meager. I’m ready to forget about my graduate status and look for any paying job.
Hours later, I return home with a heavy disappointment in my chest. I walked the length of the entire block and some, yet no one was hiring. Feeling as if the entire world has fallen on my shoulders, I drop on the couch and wonder for the umpteenth time what I’m going to do.
I barely sit down when the door to the small apartment opens and Alice comes in with a tall and skinny looking girl. Her brown eyes roam the small space while she flips back hair from her shoulders.
Alice, with a bright smile across her face, looks at me and says, “Hope, meet our— my new roommate, Becky.”
My jaw drops. “What?”
Shrugging, she replies, “I figured that you wouldn’t be able to come up with your share of the rent. So, I made alternative arrangements. I met Becky here at the gym and she’s looking for an apartment. She has cash up front. So…”
If the floor could open up and swallow me whole, I would be mighty glad at this moment. Despondency clings to me like a tight sheath. How can Alice do this to me after all we’ve been through together? When the apartment was burgled, I replaced most of the things, even hers because she blamed me for it. She said it was because Terrance and his friends came over one night. She didn’t like the look of one of his friends.
My heart drops to my feet when Becky strides forward and, with a haughty expression on her face, asks, “When are you moving out?”
I watch my life becoming a hot mess. Alice and her newfound friend Becky making my life a living hell. Even though I sleep on the couch, they complain about every little thing that I do or don’t do. I have to wake up very early to take a shower, before any of them wake up, because if they find me there, I will receive nasty words.
Becky complains about my belongings in her room, making me place them in the living room. Alice complains that it is making the place look crowded, making me sell off most of my belongings. I try getting another accommodation, but everyone has one excuse or the other to give me why I can’t come and stay with them. Since I have nowhere else to go, I have to stay here and search for a job.
Whenever Alice and Becky have guests, I am told to leave the living room. Frustrated, I have to ask Alice what I ever did to her to deserve this.
Snarling, she tells me, “Now you know how it feels to have nothing. When you were moving about with your fancy clothes, good-paying job, and handsome hunk of a boyfriend, did you think of me? You should be grateful I allow you to crash on the couch because you bought it.”
I weep myself to sleep on the couch. Jealousy is the reason Alice treats me like dirt. She does not understand that it is because I lived frugally that I could get most of the stuff I have. And didn’t Terrance dump me? How she must have laughed inwardly the night I cried in her arms, lamenting Terrance’s betrayal.
When all my efforts to get a job prove futile, I swallow my pride and decide to call my sister for help. I have to do it quickly before Alice or Becky returns. If they find me using the phone, I’m afraid they might kick me out. They already warned me not to touch anything that wasn’t mine in the apartment.
Tears roll down my eyes as the call connects. I never thought I’d be in this situation.
“Hello, Deb.” Emotion clogs my throat, preventing me from saying more.
“Hope? What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
Hearing her sweet voice feels as if a dam broke in my heart. Tears flow down my cheeks.
“Hope? You’re scaring me. Please tell me what’s wrong.”
Hearing the anxiety in her voice, I try to pull myself together.
“I lost my job a month ago.”
“Oh, love. I’m so sorry to hear that. Are you all right?”
I want to lie that everything is fine so as not to worry her. But, I can’t, because I’m badly in need of help.
I shake my head. “I’m not all right, Deb. Things have been pretty rough lately.”
“I’m sorry. Why don’t you come home for the holidays, Hope? We haven’t seen you in ages.”
I draw in a stiff breath. Go home to Cedar Crest, Colorado? I don’t think I’m up for it. I mean, I left there for a reason. I don’t particularly like the cold temperature, mainly at this time of the year.
“I don’t think—”
“No, Hope. I insist you come home. Please. Ray and I will help you figure things out.”
Scratching the back of my neck, I weigh my sister’s words. What does Cedar Crest have to offer? The small community I grew up in featured mountains, trees, and few businesses. What can I do there? Set up a business? A computer firm? Where do I stay? Surely I can’t encroach on Debra and her family.
More questions race through my mind.
“Look, Hope, I know you love Georgia, but please come home. I miss you. If you’re worried about getting a job, Ray told me that his boss might need an assistant at Clause Enterprises.”
A job! The words are like music to my ears.
“And you know you don’t have to worry about where to
stay, don’t you? Staying with us is not up for debate. You can stay here until you’re back on your feet again.”
“Deb, I don’t know. I wouldn’t like to be an inconvenience to you, Ray and Aria.”
Laughter rumbles from Debra’s throat. “Are you serious? Aria has missed you, so have I. Ray would be delighted to have you stay with us.”
Silence descends between the two of us. I don’t want to be a burden to her and her family. I miss my four-year-old niece, too. But after living with Alice and Becky, I long for my own space. Not that Debra will ever treat me like an unwanted pet.
“Hope, don’t forget this is your home, too. Mom and Dad left it for us, but you let Ray and I have it,” Debra reminds me in a soft tone.
That was because I thought I had a life in Georgia and only holidays would get me back to Colorado.
Debra quietly adds. “I will never forget your generosity.”
I sniff. Debra and Ray had been having a tough time. It was the only thing I could do to help them at that time as Debra had refused to take money from me.
“It would delight Aria to see you. She talks about you all the time and asks when you will come visiting again.”
A soft gurgle of laughter bursts from my throat. “Emotional blackmail, too, huh?”
Debra giggles. “You know it. Oh, come on, Hope. If you don’t like it here, then you can always go back there or somewhere else. Just give it a try.”
Tears wet my eyes again. When I called her to inform her of what I was going through, I hadn’t expected her to suggest I come home with the promise of a job.
Feeling vulnerable at that moment, I agree. I tell her all that I’ve been going through. It shocks Debra that Terrance left me.
“I thought it was a match made in heaven.”
I can’t help laughing and crying at the same time because I had thought so too.
Debra and I talk for a while. I no longer mind if Alice or Becky comes home. I have some money from pawning my things. I’ll pay them for the call, even if they don’t walk in on me.
“Please don’t give up, Hope. Dad used to say when one door closes, another opens. You’ve got to believe that, girl. Those words have got me through tough times.”
I nod as more tears spill down my cheeks.
“And you’re better off without Terrance. You don’t need a disloyal man in your life, anyway. Don’t you worry; I bet your Prince Charming is right here in Cedar Crest, waiting for your return.”
Laughter bursts from my throat. Memories of when Debra and I used to play with dolls and create imaginary characters flood my mind. She’s lucky that she found her own Prince Charming. I don’t know if I’ll ever find mine, but that’s the least of my worries at the moment.
I feel infinitely better after my phone call to my sister. I’ll go home for Thanksgiving. I don’t know yet if I’ll apply for the job. But then, what do I have to lose after weeks of searching for a job?
Perchance I get it, I’ll definitely stay in Cedar Crest and build a life there.
Home sweet home, here I come.
Chapter Three
Hope
Tears glisten in my eyes when I see Debra waiting for me at the airport. All the fatigue from the flight flees from my body the instant she smiles at me.
Hurrying forward, I reach her and she throws her arms around me. My bags hit the ground as I return the hug. Suddenly, tears pour down my face. Hugging my sister reminds me of the time I used to come home into my mom’s embrace. It feels as if she’s the one I’m hugging.
You don’t come home often enough, my mom used to say.
Sniffling, I pull back from Debra's arms. Tears also run down her face. We smile through our tears.
“I needed that,” I tell her.
“Me, too,” she replies with a small laugh.
Trying to contain my emotions, I say, “I’ve missed you.”
She flips back her weave and says, “Yeah. I have that effect on people.”
A soft gurgle of laughter bursts from my throat. Gosh, how I have missed her.
She lifts my hands and takes a step back to look at me.
“Girl, I swear every time I see you, you always look better than the last time.”
Warmth spreads through me at her words. Debra always knew how to make me feel special. I know that I look a wreck with all I went through in Georgia, but my sister will never tell me that. Instead, she’ll make me feel like a beauty queen.
I laugh again. “Thank you. You’re not looking bad yourself.”
She gives me an incredulous look and says, “Girl, please don’t get me started. Between Ray and Aria, I don’t know who drives me crazy more.”
It feels so good to see her again; all I can do is laugh. She dips a little to carry my bag while I carry the other. Holding hands, we walk out of the airport to where she parked the sedan.
A chill runs through me and I’m not surprised. It’s Colorado, after all, in winter. Debra and I place my bags in the car's boot and we get into the car. My sister pauses for a moment to give me a fond smile.
“I still can’t believe you’re here.”
Returning her smile, I say, “Me neither.”
She starts the car and drives into the busy traffic. The car eats up the distance as we drive away from the small airport. My eyes roam hungrily all over the place.
Over the years, from being a small picturesque town with a few inhabitants, Cedar Crest has grown into a big town. When I was growing up here, we used to go to Colorado Springs for things that we couldn’t find in Cedar Crest. But as Debra drives down the interstate towards home, I see that things have changed even more. The town has developed even more since the last time I visited years ago.
I can see that they have extended the shopping mall. More buildings house spas, cafes, small businesses, and even a bigger amusement park for kids. I have to say that I’m quite impressed and pleased. Even though it’s just two days to Thanksgiving, houses and shops are decorated with Christmas lights and decorations. Christmas carols blare from loudspeakers.
Seeing children playing around in the snow in front of their houses as Debra turns into our street brings back nostalgic memories. Cedar Crest always started celebrating Christmas early. I’m glad to see that tradition hasn’t changed. Sometimes, I like to think it’s because the snow falls there abundantly throughout the fall and winter months. I recall my childhood with a wistful smile and how Christmas used to be my favorite time of the year. Gigantic mountains surround the town, which serves as some sort of cocoon.
“A lot has changed, I must say,” I mention as my eyes roam the streets.
Unlike the busy streets of Atlanta, Cedar Crest is a peaceful place to live in. Although I don’t like the weather because it’s mostly cold with a paltry amount of sunshine, I like the serenity that the town offers.
“It sure has,” Debra replies as she pulls up in front of the house.
A thick knot forms in my throat as I stare at the house I grew up in. I wait for my mom to come out of the house with arms outstretched, with my dad standing behind her with a loving smile. When they don’t, tears sting my eyes.
I miss you, Mom and Dad.
As if Debra knows what’s going through my mind, she reaches out and clasps my hand with a warm smile on her face.
“They’re in a better place,” she says and opens the car door.
I nod and let myself out of the car into the snow-covered driveway. I gaze at the one-storied structure with a fond smile. Memories flood my mind as my eyes shift to my bedroom window. I remember sneaking out of the window to go to a party. It wasn’t surprising that I fell and sprained my ankle. I ended up not going to the party, had a sprained ankle, and was also grounded by my mom.
Carrying my bags from the boot, Debra teases, “Come on, don’t be a stranger. Let’s go in.”
I laugh and follow her into the house. I sigh at the warm interior of the house and the smell of good cooking. Debra’s fortunate that Ray is an excell
ent cook.
Debra takes my bags to my room. Even before I remove my coat in the hallway, my darling little niece runs out of the kitchen.
“Aunt Hope!” she cries with joy.
I go down on my knees and wrap my arms around her. Emotion tugs at my heart as I ensconce her small body in my embrace. I last saw her when she was three years old.
Oh, how I missed her and her cute smiles.
She pulls away from me and I see how much she has grown. Her round face inherited from Debra is still as cute as ever. Her big black eyes are still full of curiosity. I kiss her dimpled cheeks and ruffle her curls.
Rising, I lift her and she giggles as I tickle her. “How’s my favorite niece?”
She giggles again. “I’m your only niece.”
I laugh heartily as we make our way to the kitchen.
“Something smells nice.”
Ray turns from the stove where he’s grilling several steaks. His wide smile, so like his daughter’s, makes me realize how much I miss him, too.
Ray’s a great guy whom I’m so glad Debra married. The level of understanding between the two of them never fails to amaze me. Although he can’t be described as handsome, he’s tall, broad-shouldered, bald, with an angular face and a ready smile.
“Hey, stranger,” he says as he strides forward to hug me with his daughter still in my arms. “How was your flight?”
Smiling as he pulls away, I say, “I’m fine but a little tired, though.”
“Is dinner ready?” Debra asks as she comes into the kitchen.
She places a kiss on Aria's cheek and kisses her husband.
My heart swells at the sight. I wish I could find a man to love me and treat me right the way Ray does my sister. Pushing away the thought, my eyes travel around the kitchen, noting the changes that were made.
Discussing Ray’s work and how his folks back in Denver are doing, I help to make a salad despite his and Debra’s protests.
Christian Clause: A BWWM Holiday Romance Page 2
