Seasons

by Bonnie Hopkins

  Ed had already heard about Wynola’s mistreatment of Jaci from Bill Whitmore and two other division managers who happened to be in Wynola’s office when it happened. He also knew that when the Gilmore family, who were personal friends of his, as well as the mayor, heard about it, he would also be hearing from them. J.P. had already jokingly told him Jaci’s days in the department were almost over.

  “Jaci, I understand you’ve been denied some vacation time,” Ed said, while his thoughts ran ahead of him. “Is that true?”

  “Yes, sir, it is.”

  “Do you know why?”

  “No, sir, I don’t. But that’s not surprising since I just learned from Wynola that there have been other complaints made against me by property owners. Evidently, I’m close to losing my job and didn’t even know it.” Her anger erupted despite her trying to control it. “That really blows my mind. I’ve busted my butt in this department all these years and I’m just now learning that my work is below par.” She leveled a hard look at him. “So, why do I have the honor of your presence? Are you here to tell me to clear out my desk?”

  When he heard the anger in her voice, Ed realized the department hadn’t done well by her. Even though management had not supported her, she carried out her responsibilities well. He had convinced Bill Whitmore to transfer into the division when Jaci took over as hearing coordinator, hoping Bill’s support would help turn the tide of resentment caused by Jaci getting the position. And it had to a certain extent. But there continued to be widespread petty jealousy and dislike of her. He had left it alone, hoping it would work itself out. It hadn’t, yet Jaci seemed to handle it okay.

  Now he realized he should have taken the lead in support of Jaci because for some reason, Wynola had turned against her. It was evident that Wynola was out of control, and if he didn’t take action, this situation could escalate and cause repercussions he didn’t want. Why the devil Wynola had suddenly decided to wage this malicious attack against Jaci was beyond him!

  “Absolutely not!” Ed answered Jaci. “I’m just as much in the dark about this as you are. I’ve already heard about what happened in Wynola’s office, and believe me, I’m going to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, I came to personally let you know that your request for time off is approved. I know you don’t abuse your leave benefits and I see no problem with your taking the time. I heard it’s a family emergency. Is that right?”

  “Yes. My grandmother is gravely ill in Arkansas.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Where’s your leave form? I’ll go ahead and sign it.” Jaci handed him the form, which he looked at for a long time before signing his name. “Will you make me a couple of copies of this when you get a chance? Just give them to my secretary,” he said as he handed the form back to her.

  “Yes, sir, I will.”

  “Everything is cleared with Wynola. Go on and see about your grandmother. And don’t worry about your job. You’ll be okay.”

  He heard her softly spoken “Thank you very much, sir.”

  As he walked away, he heard her say, “Thank you, Heavenly Father, for Your delivering, conquering power on my behalf.” He wondered if he was numbered among the ones she had asked Him to conquer. The thought didn’t sit real easy in his mind.

  Ed decided that the mayor was going to hear about this from him first before Big Pat Gilmore got to him. He and the mayor needed to have some serious conversation about employee job performance or the lack thereof. Wynola Dickson held her high-ranking position because of her husband’s political connections. But she had done very little to actually carry out the responsibilities. Ed had inherited the problem and hadn’t rocked the boat because Jaci and other employees in the division made sure the work was done. But now, in his opinion, it was time for Wynola to go because apparently, she had lost the ability for rational behavior.

  Jaci was shocked at her grandmother’s condition. Although very old, her grandmother had been in reasonably good health until recently. Now she was seriously ill and the prognosis for recovery was not good. A nursing facility was recommended to the family; however, her dad and his siblings were reluctant to place their mother in a nursing home, but Jaci and her brothers supported their mother in accepting the doctors’ recommendation. Her grandmother required more care than her parents, up in years themselves, would be able to provide.

  Jaci returned to Houston with a heavy heart. Her grandmother’s condition, the baby, Maxie’s demands, and her job situation made it seem as though trouble was on every side. She struggled not to become perplexed but instead to just jump in with both feet and deal with everything so she could move on.

  “My daddy!” Randi said, amazement and other emotions spreading across her face. “Where has he been all this time? Why does he want to see us now? What’s his game? He has to have one.”

  “Honey, I can’t answer any of your questions. He called me out of the blue a few weeks ago and demanded to see you and the kids. I don’t feel comfortable about it, but he is your daddy and I don’t think he’s going away. The last thing I want to do is stand in the way of your meeting him. You know that I’ve always been honest with you about how things happened with me and your daddy. It was his decision not to be involved in your life. You know I’ve made several efforts to locate him over the years, to give you the opportunity to meet him, but he couldn’t be found. Why all of a sudden he surfaces now—making ridiculous demands—I don’t know. It’s your decision. I can’t make it for you. If you don’t want to see him, it’s fine with me. But I have a feeling he’s going to have to hear it from you. You’ll eventually have to face him yourself. That’s where you’ll get all your answers.”

  “He’s been sick, you said? You think maybe that’s why?”

  Jaci laughed. “Yeah, he could be a sick old man trying to clean up his act while there’s still time. I don’t know. Whether that’s the case or not, you have to do the right thing—the thing that you can live with.”

  “So, you’re telling me to see him, huh? How could you do that after the way he treated you . . . and me? As far as I’m concerned neither one of us owes him anything.”

  “Honey, I’m not telling you to do anything. You are going to have to communicate your desire to him one way or the other. Like I said, he’ll never believe me if I tell him you don’t want to see him. Of course, I’d be happy if you told him to go jump in the deep blue sea. But again, it’s not my decision. Basically, I’m out of it at this point.”

  “Mom, you’re never going to be out of it. It took both of ya’ll to get me here. He ducked out on me, but you ain’t going nowhere. If I do talk to him, I’ll let him know real quick that as far as I’m concerned he’s just a stranger. He’d better not try to disrespect you in any way either. He’ll be laid out on the floor! He won’t get a chance to die from sickness, I’ll kill him.”

  A little choked up, Jaci said, “Okay. I’ll give him your telephone number and tell him to never, ever, call my house again.”

  J.P.

  J.P. left messages for Jaci at every number he had for her. By the time she returned his calls he was fit to be tied. Anger didn’t define what he felt when he learned Jaci had left town without letting him know.

  “Don’t ever do that again!” he spoke softly, but forcefully. “I’m serious, Jaci. I know you realize how much I care for you, and that I would be worried about you. You were wrong not to at least tell me you were going out of town. All I’m going to say is, don’t ever do something like that again. I think you owe me that courtesy.”

  “Wait a minute! I don’t owe you anything, Mr. Gilmore. And working for you doesn’t make you responsible for me. I’m an independent woman and don’t have to answer to you or anyone for my actions.”

  “Believe me. I know you’re an independent woman. And even though I probably don’t have the right to feel responsible for you, I do, because I care about you. What if something had happened? I wouldn’t have even known you were out of the city.” When she didn’t respond,
he continued in a soft voice.

  “Jaci? Are you running scared because of what my dad said to you about marrying me?”

  “No!” she yelled. “I just . . . he just . . . kind of caught me off guard. But no, I’m not running scared.” He knew by her reaction he had come close to the truth.

  “I think you are. I think that’s what prompted you to leave town without letting me know you were going. Honey, I’m not trying to take control of your life or anything, I’m just in lo—” Where had that come from? He had almost told her he loved her. “It’s just time you learned to let someone take some of the pressure off of you. And Jaci, I don’t plan on that being anyone but me.”

  “I don’t want or need you or anyone else for that matter to take pressure off of me. I’ve come this far by myself. And I haven’t gotten to this point letting someone else run my life, J.P.”

  “I’m not trying to run your life, sweetheart. I’m just trying to show you how much I care. And I’m not arguing with you about it anymore. I don’t know what I’m going to do about you. I believe we have something special between us. Something I’m not willing to throw away. You know it, too, but you’re not ready to accept it.”

  He paused, waiting for Jaci to say something. When she remained quiet, he continued. “Anyway. That’s all I have to say on that issue. How about coming to my house for lunch Saturday? You can meet my son. He’s been bugging me about it ever since he talked to my dad. So will you come?”

  “I don’t know. I mean . . . Not that I don’t want to meet your son, it’s just that I don’t want him to get the wrong idea about us.”

  “Well, I’ve met your family and friends. What ideas have they gotten about us?”

  “None. Because the circumstances were different, and you know it.”

  “Well, I had already told him all about you. And then his granddad really laid it on about how beautiful and nice you are, and how he’s already asked when you’re going to marry me. So Patrick is really chomping at the bit, wanting to meet you, check you out, and see what has his old man all shook up.”

  “Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea. He may draw the wrong conclusions.”

  “I do. And whatever conclusions he draws will be his own. Besides, you do owe me, lady, for almost giving me a nervous breakdown. Now here are the directions. Be here around two.”

  Jaci

  The following Saturday, Jaci found herself nervously trying to decipher her hastily written directions to his house, filled with an overwhelming temptation to turn around at any time. She didn’t particularly like social functions, and she had no idea who besides J.P. and his son would be there. Why hadn’t she been firm in her refusal? she asked herself for the hundredth time. He couldn’t force her to come. The worst he could do was fire her, and she could live with that. In fact, that might have been her simplest solution—to just quit. But she had never been a coward. And now wasn’t the time to start. Whatever happened, she would survive it.

  When she pulled into the circular drive of the large two-story home and double-checked the address to make sure she was at the right house, she wasn’t surprised. She knew he would have a beautiful home. She was also extremely relieved that there were no other cars in the driveway. She hoped that meant there would be no other guests.

  Nor was she surprised when she entered the beautiful, professionally decorated house. “Jason, it’s lovely!” she exclaimed when she stepped into the wide foyer.

  “Come on, let me give you the ten-cent tour. It’s just a place to come to for sleep and other necessities, as far as I’m concerned.”

  As they walked from one room to another, Jaci had to keep herself from gasping in admiration. The layout of the rooms and their size led her to ask, “Is this a custom-built home? I mean normally you don’t find houses like this in this area.”

  “Yes, it is custom built. I had an idea of what I wanted, and my brother designed it. I looked all over the area, once I decided this was where I wanted to live, and didn’t find anything I could settle for. So . . . I decided to do my own thing. This is the result. As it was being built, and especially after it was finished, we had so many inquiries about buying it that my brother and I decided to buy and redevelop this entire cul-de-sac. Most of the houses were old and run down and being used as rental property anyway, and the owners were happy to sell them. You know, there’s a big wave of people wanting to move back into this area. It’s close enough to the center of things—downtown, the sports arenas, freeways—that it’s suddenly an attractive area for those tired of the long commutes.”

  “So have you had any problems selling the other houses?”

  “We can’t get them up fast enough. We’ve already sold most of them and have pending contracts on the rest. It was a good decision.”

  “Are you happy with yours?”

  “Like I said, it’s really just a place to crash. It doesn’t have that homey feeling I thought it would have, you know. Goes to show you, a house does not necessarily make a home. But maybe one day that will all change.” He gave her an unexplained long look.

  As they emerged from the second floor and headed into the large family room, a tall, good-looking young man entered from the backyard. He looked so much like J.P. that Jaci didn’t have to guess who he was. When Patrick saw Jaci, he smiled and walked toward them with his hand outstretched.

  “Hi, I’m Patrick,” he said, shaking her hand.

  “Hi, Patrick, how are you? I’m Jaci,” she stated, with an answering smile covering her face.

  “Will you two give me the honor of introducing you?” J.P. asked, a frown marring his handsome face.

  “Jaci, I’d like you to meet my son, Patrick. Patrick, please say hello to my friend, Jaci Winters.”

  Jaci and Patrick looked at each other and burst out laughing, causing a look of dismay to cross J.P.’s face. “Are you guys laughing at me? What’s so funny?” Although he was a little put off at being the butt of their amusement, he was relieved that they seemed to like one another.

  “You are, Pop. Would you please lighten up. Hey, Jaci. I’m happy to finally meet you. I been trying to get Pop to invite you over for a long time. Glad you finally made it.”

  Jaci threw a puzzled look at J.P., but she followed Patrick’s friendly conversation as he told them he had the fire going in the pit and the coals were almost ready. “So, what else are we having?” he asked. “Do we have to eat that sorry potato salad from the deli? Jaci, can you make good potato salad?”

  “Pat!” J.P. yelled. “Watch your manners. I didn’t invite Jaci over here to cook.”

  Jaci was just about to sit on the large sectional couch, but instead walked toward the spacious, well-appointed kitchen.

  “Let’s see what you have. I may be able to throw something together. Ummm.” She said after a cursory look in the refrigerator. “You don’t have the makings for potato salad—not even the potatoes!”

  “That’s because he hasn’t gone to pick up everything else. I do the meat, but everything else comes from the deli,” said J.P.

  “Well, let’s make a list of what you need to buy at the store, and we’ll be in business in a little while.”

  “Why don’t you go to the store with me?” Patrick asked. “I’m a terrible shopper. I’ll probably forget half the stuff I’m going after.”

  “No!” J.P. said irritably. “She’s not going to the store with you, Pat. Now go ahead and make a list of what we need and get going.”

  Jaci looked around for her purse. “I may as well go with him. Otherwise I’ll just be watching you doing your thing with the meat.”

  “That’s the general idea,” J.P. said, frowning.

  Jaci found out quickly that Patrick was a consummate con artist. When they left the grocery store, they had the makings for potato salad, baked beans, green salad, and cheesecake. “Now I’m beginning to understand. I think you had an ulterior motive for wanting me to come over. Namely, a home-cooked meal. That’s all right because you�
�re going to help. Just get your fingers ready to do some potato peeling and onion chopping.”

  As they worked together preparing the food, Jaci realized she had forgotten all about being nervous and was having a good time. Patrick was a love and fun to be around. And J.P. was enjoying his role as head chef.

  They managed to put together a decent meal, with Jaci doing most of the cooking. Patrick was proud of the fact that it had been his idea. “Just think, we could have been dying of food poisoning from that deli food.”

  “And now those dishes are just screaming for your attention,” J.P. reminded him.

  “Aw, Pop. Don’t mess up a good thing. Those dishes are not going nowhere!”

  “Yes they are, son. They’re going into the sink, dishwasher, whatever—and then into the cabinets. Now get to it.”

  “Aw, man!” Patrick grumbled, but headed into the kitchen. Pretty soon, running water and the noise of banging pots and clinking china were accompanied by blasting music as Pat busily attacked the dirty dishes.

  “I like your son,” Jaci told J.P. as they sat close together on the sofa. “He’s a bit of a con artist, but he’s a lovable one.”

  J.P. gave a loud laugh. “Wow, you are sharp. It usually takes a little longer to discover that fact. Yeah. He learned at a young age how to get his way. And he does it in such a way that it’s hard to say no or get angry. If I didn’t know him so well, he would run all over me.”

  “And who did he learn these particular skills from?” Jaci asked with a smile. “I mean, you don’t just pick up those skills, you have to be taught.”