Seasons

by Bonnie Hopkins

“You can call, but I probably won’t be home.”

  He looked at her hard. “Where will you be? At the hospital? Maybe I can come by there.”

  “No, I won’t be at the hospital. Look, I have to go. Nice meeting you, Mr. Gilmore.” She was so rattled she didn’t notice that the older J.P. didn’t respond but was studying them intently.

  J.P. leaned down and kissed her lips softly. “I’ll call you anyway.”

  Jaci left the office almost running, not wanting to even contemplate what the senior J.P. had said about marrying his son. “He’s crazy,” she said to herself, walking rapidly down the corridor.

  “Boy, you’re in big trouble,” Big Pat said, laughing as he watched his son running his hands over his head in a continuous gesture of frustration. “That woman’s all up under your skin.” He laughed harder at J.P.’s frustrated response.

  “She runs hot, then cold. I never know what to expect. But dang! I’m so crazy about her I can’t see straight.” He paced around the office in agitation.

  Big Pat continued to laugh. “That’s obvious. But if you have to go down, it may as well be for a woman like her. She’s beautiful and seems very nice too. I like her. You got your hands full though, because I think she’s got a mind of her own. We still have a tee-off date? Somehow I don’t think you’ll be much good on the course today. What’s this about Jaci going to the hospital?”

  J.P. explained a little about the baby and all that Jaci had been through over the past few months. “I’m trying to be patient since she’s dealing with so much right now. I almost fired Linda this morning for making her wait in reception for no reason. If I hadn’t seen Jaci on her way in, there’s no telling how long Linda would have had her waiting. I don’t know what’s wrong with that crazy woman.”

  Big Pat rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I do. She’s set her cap for you, and she’s trying to run the competition off. I heard her on the phone when I came through reception. She was talking about how she was going to get rid of somebody. I’ll bet anything she was talking about Jaci. She bears watching, son. Something about her I ain’t never liked. Better yet, get rid of her!”

  Jaci

  As Jaci passed through the reception area, her mind spinning over what had just happened, she almost didn’t realize that Linda’s quiet but viciously spoken words were directed toward her. “You think you’re smart, don’t you. Playing up to J.P. like you are. Well, let me just tell you in case you are suffering any misconceptions. J.P. is spoken for—he’s mine, and you don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell with him. So move on, honey, and stay away from him, or I will move you myself. I mean every word I’m saying. And don’t tempt me because I’ll be glad to show you.”

  Jaci stared at her for a moment before shaking her head and escaping through the door. She really didn’t need anymore drama in her life.

  After reaching her truck, she got in and sat there for a minute, trying to process what she had just experienced. She shook her head again. Lord, it’s amazing how much trouble I get into just minding my own business. As she drove out of the parking lot, she pushed her troubling thoughts to the back of her mind and decided to stop by her office.

  She called the hospital to check on Jasmine as soon as she arrived at her office, and, after being told that the baby was stable, Jaci decided to go through her in-box to clear it before checking her messages. She wasn’t anxious to retrieve the troublesome messages that were inevitably waiting on her voice mail. Since this was Saturday, hopefully she would get through a lot of work without interruption and take some pressure off of next week.

  Of its own accord, her mind went back to J.P., and she cringed in embarrassment when she remembered what had transpired between them last night. What in the world had gotten into her? Thank God, once again J.P. had acted with some restraint because she certainly hadn’t. It seemed she had none where he was concerned. And this morning, his father’s ridiculous remarks about her marrying him made her realize she had to get things under control between J.P. and herself. No way was she going to put her emotions in the hands of a man until she was ready to deal with the repercussions.

  Her desk phone rang, causing her to jump in surprise. Now who would be calling here on a Saturday? she wondered. Curiosity made her pick up the phone. “Hello,” she said in a cautious voice.

  “Girl, what are you doing at that darn office today?” her friend Lena yelled into the phone. “You still haven’t gotten it have you? Newsflash—you ain’t a superwoman! Everybody needs to rest sometimes, Jaci. Now what could have been so important that you had to go to that pit today?”

  Jaci began to laugh. “Girl, how you doing? And I know I ain’t a superwoman. I just decided to come by here and clear my desk a little because next week is going to be hectic. But guess what I’m doing? I’m sitting here thinking about stuff best forgotten. Figure that.”

  It was good to talk to Lena, one of the few true friends she had made over the years. Lena was an attorney with the city, and they occasionally collaborated on cases where owners filed suits against the city for demolishing their dilapidated houses. They got together often to lament over the lack of men in their lives and supported each other through the ups and downs of failed relationships and the ongoing survival struggle.

  Jaci told her about the trip to Corpus Christi, gave her an update on the baby’s condition, and then told her about the call from Maxie. Lena couldn’t believe it.

  “Just how did that bastard fix his mouth to even speak to you after all these years? And did you curse his tail out and hang up?”

  Jaci told her about the conversation with Maxie, and J.P.’s subsequent kindness, without going into too much detail.

  “And you won’t believe this! I went by J.P.’s office this morning to give him my report, and guess what? His father came in while I was there, and, girl, he had the nerve to ask me when I was going to put J.P. out of his misery and marry him. Can you believe that? I was so embarrassed.”

  Lena was quiet for long minutes. Jaci was about to ask if she was still there when Lena finally took a deep breath and said, “Wellllll, I think Pops has the right idea. I mean . . . J.P. has been leaning over backwards to show you he’s interested in more than a roll in the sack. You need to open up and give him a chance. You never know, Jace, he could be the one.”

  It was Jaci’s turn to be quiet as she remembered just how close she had actually come to rolling in the sack with him, and at her invitation. “You may be right,” she said finally. “We are very attracted to each other. But the thing is, I don’t know where I want it to go. I have some serious fears about getting hurt again. I don’t know if I could handle that. Oh, and let me tell you about Linda, J.P.’s receptionist.” Jaci felt it was a good time to change the subject.

  “Oh yeah, the old witch who always makes you wait so long to see J.P.?”

  “Yep. That’s her. And you nailed it when you called her a witch. This morning J.P. caught on somehow to what she was doing and called her in. Whatever he told her, it must not have been good, because when she came out, she gave me a real dirty look before telling me I could go on in. Then, when I passed her desk on the way out, she threatened me.”

  “She what!? Jaci, exactly what did she say?”

  Jaci repeated what Linda said, ending with, “You know I need that kind of drama like I need a hole in my head.”

  “You need to tell J.P. what she said. Let him deal with her. And then you need to give this thing with J.P. a chance, girl. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Listen, I’m not going to keep you. But don’t stay there too long, Jaci. I cooked up a lot of food, so come by and eat before you go home!” She stressed the word “home” because she knew Jaci was most likely not going home before stopping by the hospital to check on the baby. She was right.

  Arriving home later that evening, Jaci felt more hopeful about the baby than she had ever dared. Jasmine was showing definite signs of improvement since the surgery, and the doctors were guardedly optimistic. Her goo
d feelings didn’t last long.

  There were two disturbing messages on her answering machine. One from Maxie demanding to know whether she had talked to Randi yet. And the other from her mother, advising that her paternal grandmother was not doing well and wanting to know when Jaci could come to Riverwood to see her. Jaci had deliberately kept the seriousness of the baby’s condition from her parents, so they had no idea what was currently going on. They were under a heavy burden themselves, taking care of her grandmother and dealing with their own old-age troubles.

  “Oh, Lord!” Jaci said to the empty house. “This couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

  She had still not talked to Randi who was already dealing with so much that Jaci was reluctant to dump the sudden appearance of her long-lost daddy on her. She had hoped, somewhere in the back of her mind, that Maxie would just go away. But apparently he was not going to do that. She was going to have to do something real soon.

  She called her mother and got the full scope of her grandmother’s condition. She conceded that, yes, from the sound of things, she did need to go right away. She hung up and began making travel plans.

  Monday, as she prepared for Thursday’s hearing, something else happened to put even more pressure on Jaci. She was summoned to Wynola Dickson’s office and reprimanded for being discourteous to a citizen. Jaci searched her mind, but for the life of her couldn’t recall doing anything even remotely like that. She always put herself in the other person’s shoes and tried to treat them as she would like to be treated. She knew she hadn’t deliberately done or said anything objectionable to anyone, but with so much going on, maybe she had done so unconsciously.

  “If I did something like that, it wasn’t done deliberately, and I’ll gladly apologize,” Jaci said. But when she asked for the name of the citizen she needed to make the apology to, Wynola refused to supply it.

  “I have the right to confront my accuser,” Jaci insisted. “It could be that someone has either lied on me, or at the least misunderstood something I said.”

  “You don’t have the right to anything,” Wynola stated coldly. “And there’s never any excuse for that kind of conduct. I’ve received many complaints about you over the years, but since you’ve done a reasonably fair job, I’ve chosen to overlook them. But this time you’ve gone too far. If it happens again, I’ll start disciplinary actions toward removing you from your position.”

  Jaci was dumbfounded. Never had she received less than an acceptable performance review in all the years she had worked for the city.

  “I’ve never heard about any complaints before,” she told Wynola. “And I don’t recall my performance reviews ever showing that my work was below par in any way.” Jaci got angry. “I don’t know what’s going on, but something’s not adding up. I’ve worked too long and hard in this department to be dealing with something like this. And I certainly don’t like the idea of walking around with this kind of cloud hanging over me.” Jaci made a mental note to request prayer from her church.

  Wynola felt a little sliver of concern run through her. She knew Jaci’s past performance reviews would show the truth of Jaci’s statement, but she refused to back off.

  She smiled nervously. “As long as you understand that I won’t put up with any further misconduct, you’ll be all right. I don’t have anymore time to waste on you today, I’m late for a meeting.”

  Jaci left Wynola’s office with an unsettled feeling. For some reason she felt an overwhelming desire to talk to J.P., but she quickly quashed it. He was already much too involved in her affairs.

  She told her staff what had happened, asking if anyone knew anything about it. They were all shocked and angered by the accusation.

  Bill Whitmore had the most volatile reaction. He had been around long enough to know everything about everyone in the department. It was a well-known fact that Wynola had gotten her position because of political connections and that she was basically an airhead without basic knowledge of what the job entailed, with no interest in learning. He also knew what Jaci had gone through to get where she was and despite what was going on in her life currently, she was still one of the most valuable employees in the department.

  “What in the world is wrong with that crazy woman?” Bill shouted. “After all these years, she should know that’s not your style. She’d better realize what side her bread is buttered on. Without your hard work, she probably would have been out of here a long time ago. Naw. Something else is going on, and I’ma find out what.”

  Bill decided he would call the department director. The two men had been hired around the same time, and although it was not widely known, they had maintained a close friendship over the years. Bill had cheered and helped his friend on his way to the administrator job, while he happily chose to stick to inspection work. He had never infringed on their friendship with personal requests, but he was going to do so now.

  Jaci tried to concentrate on preparations for the hearing and for the trip out of town. She dreaded the six-hour drive to Riverwood, but knew she had to go. She put in her request for time off and was shocked when it came back from Wynola unsigned with the word DENIED written across the top in red.

  Normally she didn’t take a lot of time off work. She had grown into that habit when her child had been young and prone to childhood sicknesses. Jaci had gone to work many times so sick she could barely stand, reluctant to use her sick or vacation leave on herself. Even during her daughter’s illness with the baby, she had seldom missed any whole days. She would use only as many hours as necessary, and spend the rest of the day on the job.

  She took the form and headed to Wynola’s office, praying for help from the Lord as she went. “I need to see Wynola,” she said walking pass the secretary without stopping.

  “Wait! She’s busy right now,” the secretary called as Jaci walked through the open door to Wynola’s office.

  “Tough,” Jaci replied.

  She walked across the large office to Wynola’s desk and asked, “What is the reason for this, Wynola?” She threw the form on the desk and stood, waiting for the woman to get off the phone.

  Wynola looked at her with distaste and took her time ending what was obviously a personal call. She then turned to Jaci. “What do you mean barging into my office like this? You really are tired of working here, aren’t you? It means just what it says, ‘denied,’ or can’t you read?”

  Jaci couldn’t believe the viciousness of the woman. “Lord help me,” Jaci whispered before responding. “Yes, I can read. I asked you for the reason it was denied. I have the time and there’s nothing that my staff can’t handle if I’m out of the office a few days. So why?”

  Wynola looked at Jaci with a smirk. “Because I felt like it. Now get out of my office.”

  Jaci picked up the form and walked slowly toward the door. It occurred to her that she had been wrong in her approach. She turned around and found the woman staring at her with open dislike. “Wynola, the reason I need this time off is because my grandmother is very ill, and I have to travel out of town to see her. I’m asking again. May I have this time off?”

  “I’m sick of you with all your personal problems. You’ve been working below par for the last several months now, with one problem after the other. I’m not putting up with it anymore. If you can’t handle the job, get out! I know somebody who can.” She stood up behind her desk and literally screamed the last sentence.

  It was clear the woman was not going to change her mind, so Jaci turned and left the office. She vaguely registered the presence of other people on her way out, but her eyes were so full of tears of anger that she couldn’t see who they were. She went back to her office, still not believing what had happened. That she should have to be dealing with something like this, after so many years on the job and what she had thought was an excellent record, was beyond her comprehension. She started talking to the Lord.

  “Father, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I know You do. Whatever it is I know You’re
able to handle it. I ask that You will do that right now. I thank You, Lord, for the victory in this situation. And Father, I pray for Wynola. I know You’re able to minister to her in whatever way she needs You. Have mercy on her, Lord, and bless her. And above all else, save her and let her experience Your love and peace.”

  In her spirit she heard the Word of God whisper, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”

  Again, she told the staff what was going on. They had worked together too long for her to be anything but honest with them. If Wynola was gunning for her, she would probably go after them next. “It seems I can’t do anything right around here all of a sudden. First, I’m reprimanded for being rude to a citizen. And now, my vacation request is being denied. Wynola told me she’s tired of my personal problems and my working below par. I do know I’m going to see my grandmother. If that means I’ll lose my job, then so be it, but I have to go.”

  Her staff was unusually quiet this time. And before long, Bill had disappeared out of the office.

  Jaci may have been reluctant to go over Wynola’s head, but others were not. The next day when someone knocked at her open door to get her attention, she was surprised to see Ed Shannon, the department director standing in her door.

  “Oh Lord, what now?” she asked, not bothering to hide her agitation.

  Ed Shannon rarely interfered with day-to-day personnel matters in the department, leaving that to the divisional managers. He encouraged employees and managers to work together to solve personnel problems without his involvement. But he was too troubled by what was happening to take that approach this time.

  He looked at the woman sitting behind the desk, observing her frustration and the tiredness in her eyes and spirit. He had never known her to act in any way other than with cordial professionalism and graciousness. That was missing today and he knew she was definitely a woman at the end of her rope. He was aware of what had been going on in her family and knew that in spite of everything, she had still managed to do her job in an exemplary manner. He thought about all the commendations that the department had received because of her hard work and creativity. He had never heard anything of a negative nature about her from a citizen. Even when citizens complained about their properties being condemned, they were always complimentary of Jaci’s sensitive assistance.