by Laura Domino
“It’s nothing really. I’m just having trouble deciding whether to ask the doctors to tell me his medical updates.” He wasn’t telling a lie. He wanted to ask the doctors, but they probably couldn’t tell anyone but family. There was probably a rule about that. But now that he knew he was his son, he could ask. Benita and Charlie couldn’t know about all that yet.
Charlie popped up from her chair. “You can’t ask the doctors. They only tell the family. Now, it’s my turn.” She fanned herself for a moment and took off her cardigan, and then she continued. “First, let me say how sorry I am that your friend is dying. I will pray for you and him. Second, I shouldn’t even say this, but I’m frustrated. I’m frustrated about the fact that I’m too busy to pick up my contacts. How silly is that? I just need to pick them up, and I don’t have time to do that. Isn’t that crazy? Did you two even know that I wear glasses?”
“No.” Adam responded and kept listening.
Benita looked confused. “Stop being weird and go pick up your contacts.”
Charlie laughed. “You don’t understand. Every second of my life is full. If I taught kindergarten, I’d be on the floor, passed out during nap time. I don’t have a spare minute to pick them up. This is my life.”
Benita straightened in her seat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t sound very caring, did I? I do care, but I’m really tired.”
“Do you know what I do besides work here?” Charlie eyed both of them.
Unsure of himself, Adam spoke quietly. “Crossing guard?”
“Crossing guard? NO! I am a teacher. A full-time fifth grade teacher. I have lessons to plan, tests to grade, parents to call sometimes if necessary, and I help kids cross the road. You may not have noticed from your house Adam, because it would be too creepy for you to be watching kids get out of school every day unless you have some coming home, but the teachers alternate. I only work that corner—great, now I sound like a prostitute—every other week. Come rain or come shine.” She took a breath. “And I work here. And I’m a mother.”
Benita’s eyes widened. “You have kids too?”
“My sister, Joan, feeds them and helps with homework when I’m working here. She knows I can’t afford to put my girls through college. Not surprisingly, there are kids worse off than mine or smarter than mine who will get most of the scholarships. My youngest is smart enough to get lots of scholarship money, but my oldest is bound and determined to do things the hard way.”
Benita shook her head. “I am so sorry about what I said earlier.”
Charlie kept going. “I have a high school daughter, a middle school daughter, and an elementary school daughter. I have an apartment that’s just barely big enough to keep four females from tearing each other apart while sharing a bathroom. We have a car that is more expensive to maintain than necessary. And I’m determined to save as much money as possible. I make enough to keep food on our plates, but we’re a one-income family.”
Benita shook her head. “Wait. So your job here is about saving college money for your oldest?” Benita touched her chin, thinking.
Charlie paused, and then continued, “She’ll probably get small scholarships, but not enough to cover a whole semester. And I don’t want to have overwhelming debt in order to get her a degree. I don’t know if maybe I’ll send her to work in restaurant kitchens because that girl can cook. She’s good at it too.” She scratched her head. “See what I mean? I have enough to think about to keep me up all night worrying, but I fall asleep so easily because I’m always exhausted.”
The more things began to change in Adam’s life, the more he depended on God. Here was an opportunity to work with God on a solution for Charlie. He prayed quickly and silently and then spoke. “I have an idea, but I don’t know the details of how this plan will work. What if I came to one of your classes and gave a lesson? I could be a guest speaker while you took off to go to the eye doctor and came back.” Adam raised his eyebrows at Charlie, waiting for her to process the offer.
“That is actually possible. Can you come tomorrow at one o’clock? It’s my Advanced English class. They need a little shaking up, the little nerds.” She laughed.
“I’m great at English. You should see my SAT score. I wrote some of the best college essays you’d ever want to read.”
“Fine. I’ll let the front desk know. Check in there at about ten minutes before one. And now, I’ve got to go to work.”
“Not a problem.” Adam nodded.
“And thanks, Adam. You don’t know how much I appreciate you. You’re amazing. In fact, if you didn’t have it bad for this girl, I’d be dressing up a little better for our meetings.” She smiled at Benita.
Chapter 23
Seated at his desk, Robert listened for his name. Mr. Casey was loud in the hallway. Not talking about work. Talking with two secretaries about musicians. Robert couldn’t get anything done if his boss was going to stand outside his door, probably leaning on the wall, sipping coffee. Talking to the ladies.
Robert checked his teeth, just a quick smile in the mirror before he left for the presentation. If only he hadn’t had that donut. Probably still some chocolate in his smile. But he couldn’t with his boss standing there. He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a package of gum. This would at least freshen his breath. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth and imagined himself greeting the others in the conference room, showing confidence, looking impressive.
A loud burst of laughter came from the hallway. Almost jumped out of his skin. Better look busy. He found a folder on his desk that could be filed. If Casey came inside now, he’d find him working. Not working hard, but busy. He rose from his chair, annoyed by the squeak once again, and put his hands on the file. He slowly moved to the file cabinet, listening for movement by the door so he could be ready to speak if the boss stuck his head in the office.
More laughter in the hallway made Robert sigh. Those people needed to get back to work.
Robert opened the file to make sure which drawer he should be putting it in.
“Come on, Robert.” Casey’s ferocious, scolding voice made him sound like he was standing right behind him.
Robert turned to look, file folder still in his hands. “Yes?”
“Quit dawdling. You wanna skip the presentation and stand here pretending to work?”
“Uh. No.” Robert put the folder on top of the cabinet and headed for the door.
“Suit coat, boy. Come on.” His frown of disappointment and impatience made the big man’s demeanor seem even meaner.
“Yes. It’s right here.” Robert took quick steps to retrieve the coat from the back of his chair. He slipped it on as he walked to his door.
“And get that chair fixed. These girls are tired of listening to it.” He turned to them. “Right, girls?” He smiled as they agreed.
Robert strode down the hallway for the presentation, following Casey toward the conference room. Or, as he liked to think of it, the dungeon. It wasn’t the most cheerful room. Add to that the pressure of the sell. He thought yesterday he would finally be allowed to give the presentation. He’d been through so much grooming for the next level of his career. There was a lot of potential in him. Robert knew it. Casey could see it. He assumed Casey thought he was ready. When he changed his mind and decided to do the presentation himself, Robert felt like staggering back. He wanted to check his spine for the blade of a knife.
They turned the corner and headed into the room. The conference room was already filled except for two chairs in the back and one at the front table. Casey took the one at the front table, and Robert headed to the back. Even though the room was dimly lit in order to shine the light on the information being presented on the screen at the front, he could see glasses, bottles of water, stacks of notepads and scattered pens on every table.
Then he saw her.
Bright red dress, not the usual grim-looking gray suit. Bright red lips to match. And the neckline. A deep V to show off the fact that she had an interesting chest, and
he did not. So not fair. Benita! She shouldn’t even be here. And where did that dress come from?
Robert was going to stab himself in the eye with one of those pens. No one would notice even if he did. She was at his presentation. Why? This was his time to shine.
XOXO
Benita didn’t have enough energy to smile when Adam waved at her from the table where they usually sat. He motioned for the waitress assigned to the table tonight. Hunger was not one of Benita’s main concerns. Presentation days had always been good days for her, but not today. Today, she needed to recover from her longest day ever.
Usually sitting tall, she allowed her lack of energy to overwhelm her posture. When the waitress came over with her water, Benita couldn’t even utter a thank-you.
Adam sat quietly. Maybe watching her. She couldn’t look at him. Sitting with elbows on the table, she put her head in her hands.
“This isn’t like you, Benita. What’s wrong?”
Nothing she could say would make a difference.
“You’re slouching. When do you ever do that?”
She shook her head.
“Okay. It can’t be that bad. Give me two words. Just two. And they don’t have to be in Spanish. That can wait until later.”
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Fail. Ure.”
His brain was working; she could see it. “That’s two syllables, not two words. But I get it. You had a bad day. It happens to everyone.”
Benita wanted to disappear. She didn’t just have a bad day. “Catastrophic. Nightmare.”
He smiled. “See? Two words. I knew you could do it.”
“No more Spanish lessons.”
His smile vanished. “The other guy got the job?”
Words wouldn’t come to her. She could only shake her head.
“Come on. You’ve gotta give me something. Please, explain.”
It was time to face the music. Adam had worked so hard with her, no, for her. He deserved an explanation. “It’s not that. The job is still not filled. But I’m sure I’m out of the running as of today. Among other things, my Spanish isn’t good enough. It isn’t your fault. I appreciate all you’ve done to help me. It’s just that…after all my effort, I still haven’t learned to speak Spanish fluently enough. I could get by, but that’s not what he’s looking for. He wants excellence.” She almost couldn’t continue. The thought that it was all over filled her with maddening, deafening sadness. This was the kind of sadness that was hard to manage. It filled her brain, making it hard to think. Today’s frustration turned her stomach into knots, making it hard to eat. How could she explain to him how she fell to such an abysmal low? He should be happy she made it to the restaurant.
“The job is still not filled. That’s good news.”
“I’m not excellent.” She couldn’t get over what her boss had said. “I’m not excellent. I was told that today.”
“By your competition? It happens. You’re still in it.”
“By my boss. I can’t compete if my performance is above the level of my peers and I’m still not excellent.”
“He didn’t say that. Who would say that to you? You’re the most excellent person I know.”
“He said it because, among other things, he found out today that my Spanish isn’t as good as…” She didn’t want to even think his name. “The other guy’s.”
“Among what other things?” He squinted trying to read her very sad mind.
“You’re not going to figure it out, so don’t even try. I don’t want to talk about it. My stomach is starting to hurt. I think I have the flu.”
“You can’t think you’re out of it because of your Spanish. You do a lot for that company. How many years have you put in extra hours, completing tasks early?”
“A lot.”
XOXO
Not excellent? Adam couldn’t believe anyone would say something like that to Benita. She’s everything a CEO would want in an employee. How could she think she wasn’t being considered for the promotion anymore?
Benita’s head hung low. Her frown took a little of the spicy away from her clingy red dress with the neckline that unfairly drew the eyes of every man around. She hardly ate anything on her plate. Her fork just moved things around.
From her hand, his gaze moved quickly back to her eyes. If he could just focus on her eyes and not look anywhere else, that would be great. He paid their bill and walked her out of the restaurant. “Benita, how can I cheer you up?”
“Make sure I get home. I’m sure I can’t walk straight. I can’t even think straight.”
If it was her lack of Spanish skills that turned her day sour, it had to be his fault she was in this trouble. He had to think of a way to get her out of it. Or at least help her into a better mood. He walked with her all the way to her apartment door as he always did. But this time, there would be no lessons in her apartment. She wasn’t in the mood. And she wasn’t dressed for it.
She fumbled in her purse half-heartedly. When her hand came up with a key in it, Adam took it from her and opened her door.
“Thanks.” She went in and sat on the sofa.
He closed the door and sat next to her. “Do you want me to leave or try to make you smile?”
“Neither. Just sit here with me while I mope. Just be my friend.”
Friend? Great. His timing was way off. Too slow. He should’ve asked her out before now, and his window of opportunity was closing. Soon, she’d be gone to Spain, and he wouldn’t get another chance to be her boyfriend. She was bound to think he wasn’t interested. She’d be wrong.
A time machine would be really handy right now. He would love to go back and do things differently. But since no time machine was available, the best he could give her was the friendship she needed at the moment.
Benita leaned her head on his shoulder. Her closed eyes emphasized her dark eyelashes. She seemed comfortable enough to sleep like that, leaning on him, almost cuddling.
His eyes wandered again. Quickly, he turned his head. He couldn’t look at her if she was going to stay in that dress. But what man didn’t want to look at her in that dress?
If only he had asked her out on a real date a couple of weeks ago. Even three days ago, when she was daring him to do something he’d never done, would’ve been better than never. Now it wasn’t appropriate for him to reach down and kiss her. Not without at least one date. If he tried, she might freak out. Then he’d never get another chance.
If she lost her promotion today, it might not matter whether he’d already asked her out. She was the most driven woman he’d ever met. A person who thrives on achieving one success after another will go anywhere for it, no matter if it meant being here, or in Spain, or in New York. She might move to another city anyway.
Helping her get the promotion was the right thing to do. He had to help her succeed, even if it means he may never see her again. And if she left, he would make sure he didn’t let himself grieve again like he did for his brother. He would hold it together this time. He would certainly grieve, but he would grieve more gracefully.
“Are you asleep?” He kept his voice low so he didn’t disturb her if she actually was asleep.
She breathed deeply. “No. You’re comfortable, though.”
“Thanks. You want to talk?”
“About what? Not about work. Is that all we do? Talk about my work?”
“No.”
“The Spanish lessons are about my work. I’m doing some volunteer hours because you said it looks good to employers. It might give me an edge in the race for the promotion. Everything I do is about my work.” She sighed. “That’s sad.”
“Not everything you do is about work. You do the volunteering because you like how it makes you feel when you help others. You’re not so selfish.”
“I like how it makes me feel? That sounds selfish to me.”
“You’re warm and generous. A selfish woman doesn’t run in the 5K, does she?”
“The 5K was related to work too.”
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“You became friends with Charlie and me. You sat by Dan and held his hand.” Adam remembered that day and the awkwardness of the moment all over again. Dan was right. Adam should have been holding her hand all along.
“Okay. I’m not entirely selfish. Just stupid.”
“Benita.” Adam whispered her name like he’d wanted to yell it. Her frustration with work was tiring him. He was becoming frustrated by osmosis.
“I was paraded around like a prostitute in today’s presentation. There was one other woman in the room. I’m sure she and I were the only ones who knew that.”
No wonder she was in such a bad mood. Anger flushed through him. If he’d been there, he might have gotten into a fight. “I’m sorry they did that.”
“No. They didn’t. I did.” She sat up and faced him. “I chose this dress. The boss texted me late yesterday after work and told me to be in the conference room for the presentation.” She ran her thumb over the fabric on her knee. “I came prepared to shut down my competition for the promotion. I prostituted myself. The meeting became about me, not the presentation that the boss was giving.”
“Oh, no. You showed up the boss.”
“He didn’t like that no one heard what he had to say. He let everyone know that the two candidates for the job in Spain were in the room. He asked something in Spanish. I didn’t even know he could speak Spanish. He had told me he’s been on the phone with the group in Spain, but I thought they were speaking English with him all this time. So my opponent, or you know…coworker, answered first. Correctly. With the Spanish accent. And you’re right, the accent really helps.”
“I’m so sorry your day was so…”
“Awful.” She sighed. “And that is why I’m not excellent. I was being competitive, but I lost. Risk big, lose big.”