The Library Ch. 10

Chapter Ten

Monday's are never much fun. All the stuff that happened over the weekend piles up and gets stacked up next to all the stuff that needs to be dealt with for that day, and all the reporters have their assignments, and all the editors and producers have their stuff to handle and everyone just gets on everyone else's nerves and to make things absolutely maddening, the anchors have to sit pretty, smile and report on what everyone else was in a mad scramble over throughout the day! And Amanda's job was to direct traffic that walks in the door, whether they work there or not! The one thing that she didn't expect was a postman who delivered to her a certified letter made out to her at the stations address. She signed for it and set it aside until her lunch break.

One o'clock in the afternoon finally came and she was able to go out to her car and get away for an hour. She had learned, if you take a lunch break in the actual lunch room, everyone knew where to find you and most days you'd not actually get a lunch break. So, she learned that when she punched out at 1 pm she turned off her cell phone, walked to her car, started it up and turned the air conditioning on, if the temperature called for it, and ate her lunch listening to her music. It made for a far more enjoyable break.

She had opened her lunch and found the bag of carrot sticks and the half tuna sandwich she'd packed. Also inside was a 12 ounce bottle of apple juice that she opened and set in the cup holder. She began her lunch and while munching on the crisp carrot sticks she opened the certified letter. It was a letter from the Coleman, Rogers and Ebbet law firm. "Uh-oh," she said, wondering what this was all about.

She read the contents of the letter and tears began to stream down her face. It was a Monday she'd not ever forget. Mark's parents had legally had him pronounced dead. The letter said that he had a will and she was mentioned in it and to contact the attorney who was expediting the estate, a George Ebbet to make arrangements to discuss the matter.

The tears continued and she made no effort to wipe them away, or to stop eating her lunch. It was almost like she had a psychic connection to this and knew it was coming. Her past weekend was her "shot heard around the world" announcing that she was emerging from the gloom of Mark's vanishment, never denying she still loved Mark, but knowing life had to go on without him. She smiled to herself, despite the still flowing tears, that it wasn't really a "shot" but more of a "sonic boom" or closer to a "tsunami" at Sylvia's. She smiled at the memory.

She reached for her purse, an off-white leather one that matched her leather belt and heels and pulled her cell phone out of it. She depressed the power switch and waited a moment as it came to life. A few seconds into it and it beeped three times indicating she had messages waiting for her, probably from people wanting to end her lunch break sooner than she was willing. She ignored them for now and pressed the buttons to the attorney's office and pressed the send button. She brought the phone up to her ear and listened to the call going through, tapping her long red nails on the steering wheel as the call went through.

A secretary answered and Amanda identified herself and told her why she was calling. The secretary informed her that the lawyer she was to speak to was in a meeting and not expected to be out of the meeting for another two or three hours and offered to take a message. Amanda left her information and ended the call. The tears were subsiding now. She hoped that the picture albums and his computer were what were left for her. The computer mainly because it had some naughty pictures of her on it, but the albums contained a lot of the memories the two experienced together. That was something that she was sure that would be coming to her, and that was all she'd really needed. She had asked his parents for them and the computer and told them why. They were good people and had his house sealed until something was determined about him. Now, his fate is still in question, but the ones who knew him best can close the chapter.

Her phone rang, it was another call from the station. She ignored it and turned off the cell again and finished her lunch. Memories poured threw her and brought genuine happiness back to her for brief moments. Even when the recollections were over, she was still happy. Finally, the time came for her to return to work. She closed up her lunch sack, leaving it in the car, and finished her apple juice prior to getting to the front door and tossing it into the waste basket near her desk.

She went to the ladies room and inside, she saw that her makeup needed attention in the mirror and would take care of it after addressing her business in a stall. As she left the stall, she noticed that Sylvia was standing in front of the mirror combing her black hair. Sylvia, worked in the broadcast booth, cueing up reporters in the field, whether live or recorded, for the morning and afternoon newscasts. It was a lot more of a techie position than Amanda's, but because Amanda's sense of organization was keen, she excelled at her job and was respected for it as much as Sylvia was for hers.

Sylvia saw Amanda's face and immediately took a tone of concern, "Are you all right? What happened?"

Amanda smiled and shifted her hip from one to another and said, "I'm okay. I got a letter today that's bittersweet."

Sylvia turned her back to the mirror and rested her behind against the sink counter, "What was it?"

"His parents have had him pronounced legally dead," her tears began to squeeze out of the corners of her eyes again.

Sylvia went up and hugged her friend, "I'm so sorry, Sweetheart!"

"It's really all right. I knew he was gone and not coming back. But now it's for sure," Amanda shrugged her shoulders in resignation.

Sylvia continued to hold her friend and Amanda put her arms around her in return. The two just stayed there together without anything being spoken between them.

Sylvia asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. I have to contact an attorney who's handling his estate. I've been mentioned in his will."

"Any idea what it could be?" the taller girl asked.

"I asked his Mom for some photo albums of us and his computer. There are some pics I don't want coming up on the internet!" Amanda said.

"Don't we all!" Sylvia added. The two giggled at that and broke the embrace.

"Seriously, the timing for this is real good. . . I'll be okay."

"Promise me that if you need a friend, you'll call me! All right?"

"You got it!" Amanda agreed.

Sylvia leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and hugged her again. She knew better than to make it more than that, for both of their sakes since they were both at work! She ended the quick embrace and left the ladies room.

Amanda checked the clock on the wall, broadcast stations have clocks everywhere, even restrooms. probably because they're a deadline oriented institution and timing is everything, just like this new piece of news for her life. She saw that she still had a couple of minutes so she fixed her makeup and made herself presentable again to get through the rest of the business day.