~{Chapter 7}~

Beep, beep! Beep, beep!

I roll over and turn my alarm off. I slip my robe on and walk over to my bedroom window. I'm greeted with the rising sun. It has been six and a half months since that day, and I am now in my new master bedroom. Due to rain and a few tornadoes, my house and the office had gone through a few setbacks.

I had moved into my house just yesterday. It is truly a beautiful home. It has four large bedrooms, my dream kitchen, my own home office, and so many other things. It is almost fully furnished. I just have to ship the rest of my things from New York City.

Today was going to be my first day at the new office. I walk into my huge walk-in closet and pick my outfit. I pick a red silk blouse and a black pencil skirt. I hurry to my bathroom and start doing my hair and makeup after I get dressed.

Ding, dong!

I finish the last curl before unplugging my curling iron and hurrying down to get the door. I almost fall down the stairs. I stop to look at myself in the hallway mirror and smooth my hair. I turn the knob and open the door to Mr. Parker.

I smile at him and say, "It's good to see you Mr. Parker. Won't you come in?"

He laughs at my formality and says, "I would love to."

I open the door wider for him to come in and lead him to my office. Once we get in there, I sit on top of my brand new desk and wait for him to speak.

"I'm glad to see that you are already enjoying your home. Well, I have to get back to New York City today. I have been here for a month, and I don't think I can stay any longer. My wife and I are about to celebrate our anniversary, and she'd skin me alive if I wasn't there to celebrate. Plus, I know how capable you are. I give you full control of this branch," he tells me.

I smile when he mentions his wife. At the end of his speech, I nod and say, "Thank you very much for entrusting me. I promise I won't let you down."

He smiles at me as I brush a curl out of my face. "Still wearing your ring?"

I'm a little surprised at his question but quietly reply with, "Yes. I can't let him go this soon. It's only been about eight months. Eight months isn't enough time to heal a broken heart."

He gives me a comforting smile and says, "I wish you the best, Kate. I also pray that you will be able to become happy again. I need to go now, but I, again, wish you the best."

He shakes my hand before turning and leaving. I sigh and stay still on my desk. I look around the room and feel the feelings of sadness coming back. I look down at my left hand and stare at my ring. I would never have guessed that something so beautiful would have brought me so much sadness.

I go back up to my room and grab my purse and laptop bag. I go back downstairs and to my garage. I bought a car. I knew that I would need to travel around, and I did not want to have to rent a car every time I had to go somewhere for business. As I pull out of the garage, my thoughts go back to the burden that I am still carrying.

I was right about eight months not being long enough to heal a broken heart, but I was not sure if my heart would ever heal. The feeling I got when I was with him was something that I do not think can ever come back. He made me feel special and beautiful. The fact that I was messed up did not make him stop pursuing me. I think it made him pursue me more. I wish I could say his name, but I think it would just take me back to the memories that used to be so happy. Those memories now bring me sadness.

I pull into the new office parking lot and hop out of my car. I hurry inside the office without making eye contact with anyone. I greet the new receptionist before going back to my office. I set my bags on my desk and look out my window. I get a view of a few newly planted trees. I sigh and sit down at my desk. I open my computer and start working.

"Miss Garner?" I look up and see the receptionist standing in the entrance of my office.

"Yes?" I ask.

"There's a young lady who's here to apply for the job as your secretary. We also have a man who wants to be interviewed tomorrow."

"What job does he want to apply for?" I ask.

"He said that he wants to apply to be our business advertiser."

"Sounds good. When does he want to be interviewed?" I ask as I look at my calendar.

"1:30."

"I can do that. Now, would you please bring in the young lady?"

"Yes, ma'am."

I get out a pad of paper and wait. In less than a minute, the receptionist comes back with the girl. I thank her and motion for the girl to sit down in the chair across from me. She smiles and sits down. She hands me a folder and waits. I look over her résumé for a couple of minutes before setting it down and looking at her.

"What made you want to apply for this job, Miss Stevens?" I ask in a business like tone.

She answers me, and I continue to ask her questions for the next twelve minutes. The more she answers my questions, the more I begin to like her. I finally tell her that the interview is over. She stands up, and I do the same. I hold my hand out to shake hers.

As I shake her hand, I say, "I assume you can start tomorrow?"

I see her eyes go wide, and she says, "Yes, of course! Thank you so much, Ms. Garner!"

I give her a small smile before she practically skips out of the office. I give a small laugh at her excitement. I sit back down and look over the folder one more time. I then put it in my file and go back to editing. I work until about 7:20 before signing out of my computer and picking up my bags to leave. I close my office door behind me and walk to the front.

My receptionist is already gone, so I lock up and turn off all the lights. I get into my car and set all my bags down. I drive up the street to Mrs. Tucker's Diner. I turn the car off and hurry inside. I have been around long enough to where people no longer stop me and start asking all about my life. For that, I am thankful. I seat myself at the small bar and smile at Beth who is behind the counter.

"How's it going?" I ask her.

She gives me one of her looks and says, "Perfectly awful. What about you?"

Her relationship with Josh has not been the best it could be. It started about a couple of months ago. Josh had begun to be secretive and really jumpy. He also started getting more angry more often. Beth has not been perfect, though. She can come off as a little controlling. I know that she is mostly worried, but Josh does not see it that way. They have paused in their wedding planning, but they have not called off the engagement. This is a little surprising, but I am proud of them. It is not easy to keep pushing on in a relationship that you thought was picture perfect.

"As good as it can be. It was the first day at the new office," I reply.

She pauses in her work and asks, "How was that?"

"Fine. I hired my secretary today, and I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow."

She gives me a tired smile and says, "That's great! I wish I could sit all day."

"Trust me, you don't. You get never ending cramps and gain about twenty pounds," I tell her jokingly.

She laughs and says, "I don't know. I think I could live with gaining twenty pounds. It's not like I have to try to fit into a wedding dress anytime soon."

As soon as she says that, she goes quiet and her expression turns to sad. I feel bad for her but do not know what to say. She gives me a brave smile before greeting a customer. I watch as she expertly takes an order. She started working here a couple of months before the trouble started with Josh. Mrs. Tucker needed someone extra to work until Thanksgiving. Beth had gladly stepped up. She now regrets it.

She was happy to do it because it was an opportunity to show Mrs. Tucker how helpful she could be. Now, it is hard for her to work for Mrs. Tucker because of the problems Josh and she are having. Mrs. Tucker is such a sweet lady that it is almost too much for Beth to bear.

Beth comes back to me and asks, "What can I get for you?"

I tell her my order but then say, "It'll be fine, Beth. You'll see."

She bites her lip before giving me another one of her brave smiles. She turns around and goes and tells the kitchen my order. I sigh and get my phone out. I open my Wattpad app and read one of the updates someone posted. I have Wattpad so I can look out for up and coming writers. It is a really cool little app and website.

My food comes, and I eat it quickly. I pay and leave to go to my house. I get inside my car, roll down the windows, and drive in the moonlight. In just a few minutes, I am at my house.

I settle down in my living room on my new couch. I find myself thinking back to the past six months. I am definitely not the same teary eyed woman I had been, but I am still hurting. I can smile and laugh but still be hurting. It is going to take more than eight months to get me back to being somewhat like my old self. Part of me died when he died.

~-~-~-~
"You look beautiful," he tells me.

I give James a smile as he takes my hand in his. He leads me out of the house and into his truck. We drive to our field. It is the field where we became a couple. It is the field where he told me he loved me. He laces his fingers with mine as we sit in the car in the middle of the field.

"I don't want to leave. There are too many memories here," I tell him softly.

"It's time to make new memories, Kate. This is something you have always dreamed of," he explains to me.

"But what about you? I don't want to leave you behind. It was hard enough when you were a few hours away. What will happen if we're miles away?" I ask him worriedly.

He signals for me to get out of the car. I let go of his hand and get out. He walks to the bed of his truck and gets in. He helps me in, and we sit down. He takes my hand back in his. I lay my head on his shoulder and wait for him to speak.

"Kate, how long have you waited to go to New York City?" he asks me.

"A long time, but I don't want to leave you behind," I reply.

"You don't need to worry. We have stuck together for awhile now. I know that we haven't actually been dating for long, but we'll be fine. We've known each other for awhile, and we are still together. We're both faithful."

I find a little comfort at his words but say, "You'll be here for at least three years. I won't have the money to come visit. How can you be so sure that this is going to work?"

"Kate, take it a day at a time. We'll be fine. We won't lose touch. Look at how much technology is around us!"

I shake my head. "It isn't the same as being together. It won't be like this," I tell him as I turn to gaze up into his eyes.

The moon shines bright, letting me see his sparkling blue eyes. He tucks a stray hair out of my face and gently squeezes my hand.

He quietly says, "It won't be for long. Don't worry about us. We love each other, and I'm sure it'll work out."

"Three years, James. Three years," is all I say.

He smirks. "Less than that."

I give him a curious look. "Do you really think I'm going to be able to finish college in less than three years?"

He smiles. "I don't doubt that you can, but that isn't what I'm saying. I was going to wait until later, but you seem so worried. I'll tell you now because I don't want you to be sad."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm moving to New York City in less than six months," he tells me.

"What?!"

He laughs. "I'm going into the military. I'll need to move there in order to actually join. It just so happens to be the city that you're going to be in."

I let go of his hand and pull him into a tight hug. I only end the hug when he tells me to let him go. I lean back, surprised. He just smiles before pulling my face closer to his and giving me a soft kiss on my forehead. I smile and lay my head down on his shoulder.

"Don't doubt us, Kate."

"I try, but it isn't always easy with the past I have."

"I'm counting on forever with you, Kate Garner. Don't ever forget that."