Chapter 3
~{Chapter 3}~
Growing up, people would ask me where my home was. I would tell them the city I was currently living in, but I would not actually see it as my home. For me, home is a place where I would feel secure and happy. It was a place that I would always be eager to go back to. I never felt that way about any of the places I had lived.
I was soon thinking that I would never find a place that I could call home. Well, until I was taken to South Hart, Texas. The foster agency was sick and tired of me moving from family to family, so they had me move in with the overall boss of the organization. It was there that I met James.
Once I had met him and Beth, I finally felt a sense of peace. South Hart was the first place I could call home.
When Beth said those words, "Come home," I realized that she meant the words on a much deeper level. She knew that I had really had only one place I could call home. Even New York City had not been as satisfying as living in South Hart.
I needed to go home.
~-~-~-~
"Ms. Garner?" I look up from the box I am packing to see my secretary in my office doorway.
"Yes?"
"Someone is asking for you."
"Who?" I sigh, hoping it was not the difficult author.
"She told me her name is Elizabeth Brown."
"Let her in."
"Yes, Ms. Garner."
"Hey, Kate," Beth says as she walked into the office.
"Hey," I softly say.
She looks around at my once decorated office and gives a small whistle. "You really did do what you wanted to."
I take a deep breath and look at my bare walls and say, "I guess I did."
She turns her attention back to me. "You sure you want to come home?"
"I never thought about it until you told me. Once I did think about it, I realized that I needed to get away from the city for awhile."
She nods. "Okay. It's hardly changed."
"I figured," was my reply as I went back to packing one of the few boxes I have left.
"Need any help?"
I nod.
We worked side by side for about an hour without speaking. Soon enough, my packing was finished. I gave her an appreciative hug and sat down on the top of my desk when we had finished. She joined me.
"Kate, what are you going to do when you get there? You know that people are going to be asking all sorts of questions, right?"
I sigh. "I know. That's why I need you to help me."
"I can't stop all the questions, Kate. You know how nosy they are."
"I just need you to stop most of them."
She nods her head. "Okay."
"Thanks. I need to head back to my apartment in a few minutes. I think you can go ahead and go."
"You sure?" she asks with concern.
"I'm sure. I need to be alone to pack up my apartment. There are too many memories there for me to have other people around."
She nods her head and gets down from the desk. "Call me if you need anything."
I nod, and she walks out the door. I get off my desk and begin to stack all my boxes. I am stacking my last box when my partner comes in.
"You really are leaving," is all she says.
I nod. "It doesn't mean I'm quitting. I'm still your partner. I'm just going to work from Texas."
She laughs. "Sounds cool."
I walk over to her and say, "You can have my office."
Her eyes widen. "Really?"
I nod and turn back to my boxes. "Have Jonathan send these boxes to my storage unit."
She nods.
I pick up my purse and laptop bag from the corner. I give my partner a pat on the back before walking out of the office. I step into the elevator and let out a deep sigh.
As I drive to my apartment, I give myself time to think about what I would do when I got to South Hart. I knew that I would need a place to live, but I knew there probably wasn't a house open for me to buy or rent.
South Hart is ridiculously small. I don't mean like 500 people small. I mean about 300 people small. I'm not even exaggerating.
Ring, ring.
I pick up my phone and answer with a tired, "Hello?"
"Are you ever going to freaking meet with us?! We are sick and tired of you being so lazy! Get your body back to work before I make sure your career is ruined!" the "agent's" angry voice yells at me.
I yell right back. "I am dealing with a death here! You want me to get back to work?! I'm moving! If you want me to get that book edited, I'll do it when I get to my old home! If you want it edited now, talk to my partner! I'm sure she'd be glad to edit it! Before I hang up, I just want you to know that I am sick and tired of having you both on my back constantly! Why don't you two just try to shut up occasionally?!"
I hang up the phone and throw it on the passenger seat. The rest of the way home, I am in an even worse mood.
When I get home, I rush to my hall closet and yank all my suitcases and boxes out. I began to furiously pack up my clothes, pictures, and kitchen utensils. By eleven o'clock, I am basically packed. All I had that wasn't packed was a few clothes in my closet, a few kitchen necessities, and my bedding. My small bookshelf was empty and only two of my cupboards had things in them.
I sigh and sit down in my favorite chair. I avoid sitting on my couch because that was where I would sit with James. Anything that reminds me of him always brings a lot of pain. I realize that packing up had not been as hard as I thought, but it finally hit me that this is it.
I sit in my favorite chair and close my eyes, hoping that sleep will let me not feel any of this sorrow or pain for a little while.
~-~-~-~
The next morning, I wake up to the sound of sirens and cars. This is one of the perks of living in the city. You have an automatic alarm clock.
I force myself out of my chair and into my master bathroom to take a shower. As I slip under the warm water, I close my eyes. The sound of the water helps me relax and get ready to start a new day.
After taking a shower, getting ready for the day, and eating breakfast, I head to my office to do some last minute things.
"Ms. Garner!" an angry voice greets me as I enter the office.
I take a deep breath to keep myself from doing something I will regret.
"Yes?" I sweetly ask.
"Don't get smart with me, Ms. Garner! You haven't worked on my writer's book for more than a month! You should give me a little more respect!" he yelled angrily.
I grit my teeth and say, "What can you not get about me having to deal with my fiancé's death? How many times do I have to say that for it to get through your thick head?"
He gives a bitter laugh. "How am I supposed to know whether or not you're telling the truth? Anyone can make up a story."
I give him a death glare and say, "Do you honestly think I would stoop low enough to lie to you for a month and half?!"
He nods with a smirk. I lift my hand, ready to slap him across the face, but I feel someone put their hand around my arm and force it down by my side. I turn my head to see the CEO standing behind me.
In my editing company, there are different branches that one editor runs. I run the New York City branch. There are different branches all over the country and even out of the U.S.
The CEO of the company is a man that is somewhere in his forties. He is kind but doesn't put up with nonsense of any kind. To have him there and seeing me lose my temper was not a good thing.
"Ms. Garner, what is wrong?" he quietly asks me as he lets go of my arm and stands next to me.
"She has been slacking off in her work because her fiancé supposedly died," the "agent" says before I can speak.
"May ask why you make it sound like she is lying to you about this death?" The CEO asks.
"She has never gotten along with me or my writer. She has always done things that are against our wishes," was his reply.
The CEO turns to look at me and says, "Please go to your office. I'll be in there shortly."
I bite my lip and nod. I hurry into my office and pace around. I could hear muffled voices getting louder and quieter for at least ten minutes. Finally, the door opens.
"Mr. Parker, I am really sorry for what I was about to do. I wasn't..." I begin to explain to the CEO, but he holds up his hand for me to stop.
"Ms. Garner, I'm not interested in what happened out there. I'm interested in this past month. I know that you have had to deal with the death of your fiancé, but I want to know how books assigned to you have still been edited. How have the short stories been edited?" he asks me with a raised eyebrow.
I sigh in relief, knowing that I had less of a chance of getting fired. "I've been editing stories, but I haven't been meeting with the authors. The only way I can escape some of the pain is to edit."
"Ms. Garner, I'm impressed that you have still been working. I also realize that you aren't yourself, which is why I'm offering you to take a few months off. I know that you're moving back to your hometown. I want to keep you on this team, but I don't know if you can keep working at this branch."
"Mr. Parker, I can't take a few months off. I still have books to edit for this branch. I know that I won't be here, but I can still edit for this branch."
He shakes his head. "I don't think that will work."
"Are y-you firing me?"
"You're too valuable for me to get rid of. That is the reason why I'm having you start a new branch out there in Texas. Yes, I do know that this town is in the middle of nowhere and is very small, but I also know that there are many aspiring writers all over Texas that need a place to send their books. They need a place that is closer than New York City."
I sigh with relief. "Thank you so much."
He nods. "You are taking a few months off whether you like it or not. I have to build an office that you can actually work at. It'll only be you and probably a few more people that work there."
"Thank you, again."
"Well Ms. Garner, I believe you have a new branch that you will be running. I will be in South Hart in a couple of weeks."
I nod, and he shakes my hand. After he had left, I gathered all the books I had been editing and took them to my partner's office. I explained to her what had happened, and she gave me a death glare. She knew how difficult this author was. I gave her an apologetic look and left. I gave a final goodbye to everyone before leaving the office for the last time.
~-~-~-~
I hurry through the airport, trying to reach my gate. It was two days after I had left the office, and I was heading back to South Hart. Sadly, I had had a bad morning and was running late. At New York City's airport, you had to get there really early if you wanted to make your flight.
It will be a miracle if I make it to the gate in time.
I run through the crowd of people and was given death glares and scowls. As I approach my gate, they are closing the door.
I shout, "Wait!"
They turn and look at me. I rush up and hand them my ticket.
"Please tell me I made it!" I say desperately.
"Barely," was the only response I got.
I say a quiet thank you and rush to board the plane. Once I had gotten into my seat, I finally relaxed. Throughout the flight, I sleep, read and listen to music. The three and half hour flight is soon over.
I take my time to get to the baggage claim because I knew that Beth would probably be a little late. She has to drive two hours to get to the airport. As I get my luggage and head to the exits, I feel someone staring at me.
I slightly turn my head and see a guy looking at me. I turn my head all the way and get a look at the guy's face. He doesn't even turn his head. In fact, he keeps staring at me and smiling.
"Josh? Josh Tucker, is that you?" I ask.
He walks forward and laughs. "You bet it is. Is this the famous Kate Garner speaking to a lowly man like me?"
I give my first small smile since James' death and shake my head at his silliness. "I'm not famous, and you know that I would always speak to you."
He laughs and pulls me into a hug. I pull out of the hug and get a good look at his face.
"How have you been?" I ask.
He smiles. "I've been pretty good."
"That's good to hear."
He smiles and says, "Well, I've got to get you to South Hart before Beth kills me. Plus, I have news that you might want to hear."
"You're taking me?" I ask with surprise.
He takes my luggage and begins to lead me outside as he explains. "Beth thought it would be cool if I took you home. She also wanted me to talk to you about something. She really values you're opinion on things."
"Why can't she tell me?" I ask as I hop into his blue truck.
"It's something I need to do. I also think it'll be great to catch up with you."
"Sounds good."
"Welcome home, Kate. Welcome home," he says as he pulls out of the parking lot.
______________________
South Hart, Texas, is a made up town. I have never been in New York City's airport, so I just tried to make it up. I'm sorry if it isn't accurate.
Remember to comment if you see mistakes!
Thanks for reading!
~CGirlyGirl
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