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Chapter 2
She had just completed her last final in the small college she attended north and inland of Santa Barbara in the Santa Ynez valley. Here the green hills and valleys beckoned her to take walks, ride her bike, or to simply go for long drives of solitude. She looked forward to the three months of summer and more time to do those things she enjoyed.
“Bills… junk mail…” She muttered to herself, shaking her head. It was always the same. She was hoping one of these envelopes contained her final grades. Her eyes widened, however, and her chest unexpectedly tightened around her rapidly beating heart as she looked down at the return address of one very formal looking letter. Her foot unwittingly slammed on the brake and her hands began to shake.
Two months ago she would have excitedly opened a letter bearing the return name Pemberleo Coffee, hoping to hear from her sister, Janet. That changed with Janet’s and Chad’s deaths; each stark reminder seemed only to reinforce Elyssa’s unrelenting grief and pain.
After a few moments, she lifted her foot from the brake and lightly stepped on the gas. Pulling into the garage, she turned off the motor. Sitting still for several moments just staring at the letter, she attempted to regain her composure. With the death of her father four years ago, and her mother’s instability and unwillingness, Elyssa was the one who had to deal with all the details after her sister’s death. She wondered what information this letter would bring.
Getting out of the car was suddenly an impossible effort. She walked slowly toward the house, keeping her eyes fixed on the letter while fingering her set of keys. Upon finding the right one, she opened the door and walked in, dropping all the mail onto her kitchen counter but the one that had her attention.
She slowly walked into her living room and sat down on her overstuffed chair. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. No tears. No tears, she commanded herself. I can do this.
She ripped open the envelope to find a neatly typed letter. Glancing quickly to the bottom, she saw the meticulous signature of William Denton, President. This caused another rise of consternation within her as she wondered what it
was he wanted.
Bringing her eyes back up to the top, she began to read the letter.
Dear Miss Barnett
I would like you to know that all of us at Pemberleo Coffee grieve with you in the deaths of your sister, Janet, and her husband, Chad. They were two very warm, caring, and giving people. Chad was not just an employee, but a close friend, as well. Although I cannot claim to feel the loss as deeply as yourself, I grieve for them also.
I wanted to inform you that we have not done anything with their belongings in the townhouse Pemberleo provided for them in Guatemala. If you would like, we could pack up all their belongings and send them to you so you could sort through them at your own leisure. In talking with both of Chad’s sisters, they informed us that there are only a few items they want. We are sending those things to them as they do not wish to go down there to retrieve them. I would not wish to have you make a trip down there if you are not inclined to do so.
Therefore, I am willing to have them shipped to you if you just say the word. However, we would be willing to fly you down there on our private jet, if that would be convenient for you. Please advise me and I will do the best to accommodate your wishes.
Again, my deepest condolences,
William Denton
Elyssa blinked her eyes several times to diminish the tears that were pooling up in them. She knew that having to sort through their things would be an agonizing and difficult task. It was something she had not wanted to think about. She certainly didn’t want them to ship all their belongings to her. She would be more than willing to donate most of their things to some charitable agency in Guatemala that could use them, but she knew there could be some things her sister owned that she would want to keep as a memory. She wouldn’t know what those things were, though, unless she went down there herself.
She walked over to her desk and opened the drawer, pulling out an airline ticket she had purchased just before Janet died. She had planned to fly out on June 30, which was only two weeks away. She reasoned that she might as well go ahead and use the ticket and get this over with. Going through their things would not be easy, but there was really no other way. She would go down to Guatemala.
*~*~*
Back in his office, William Denton was glancing over the end of the month figures and was just about to pick up his phone to call his cousin, Richard, who was Vice-President of Pemberleo, when his secretary, Mrs. Reed, buzzed. “Yes, Mrs. Reed,” he said in a detached way, more from automatic response than interest.
“Miss Elyssa Barnett, Janet Blakely’s sister, is on the line for you.”
Will looked over to the phone. After a slight pause he asked, “Pardon me, but who did you say it is?”
“Elyssa Barnett. She is Janet Blakely’s sister.”
He could not help but notice an increase in the pulsing of his heart and wondered of its root. “Do you know what she wants?” He unwittingly winced when his voice produced a most annoying and uncharacteristic crack.
Without giving any indication that she noticed, Mrs. Reed answered, “She received the letter I wrote for you and is responding, Sir.”
“And what did we say in that letter?”
“You had mentioned that we needed to do something about the Blakelys’ personal things. I wrote to her that we would be willing to ship them to her or, if she preferred, we would fly her down to Guatemala so she could go through the items herself at a suitable time and per her convenience.”
“Hmmm. And, uh, you said it is her sister, Elyssa?”
“Yes, Sir. The one that was closest to Janet and is handling her affairs. The one who gave her eulogy at the funeral.”
Will pursed his lips together, disturbed by the tension he felt just in anticipation of speaking to her. “Mrs. Reed, would you please apologize to her and tell her I’m busy. Just find out what her wishes are and tell her we’ll be more than happy to accommodate them. Would you do that for me?”
“Certainly, Mr. Denton.”
Mrs. Reed hung up from him and picked up the blinking light. Will looked at the speakerphone in silence. He planted his elbows firmly on his desk and brought one hand up to his face, clasping it over his mouth as he eyed the light on the phone line. He knew he was taking the easy way out, but at the moment, he did not feel like dealing with an emotional woman who harbored anger and resentment toward him. Particularly Elyssa Barnett.
Will kept his eye on the telephone and watched until he saw that the light had gone out. He buzzed Mrs. Reed back.
“Yes, Mr. Denton?”
“Did Miss Barnett say what she wanted to do?”
“Yes, Sir. She told me that she had previously purchased an airline ticket a few weeks before Chad’s and Janet’s deaths that she had planned to use for a visit. She said she would fly out there on her own, using that ticket.”
“Did you tell her we will do everything we can to accommodate her down there?”
“Yes, Sir. I also told her to send us the amount of the ticket and we would reimburse her for it, although she really did not wish to accept any compensation from us.”
“See how much a ticket costs and reimburse her anyway.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Reed.”
Will hung up the phone, but quickly called Mrs. Reed back.
“Yes, Mr. Denton?”
“You might want to send her a letter with some advice on what she will need to take down there and what she might expect. Tell her we will have someone pick her up and take her wherever she needs to go and that we will make reservations for her at the hotel if she would rather stay there.”
“Yes, Mr. Denton. Is there anything else?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Thank you, Mr. Denton,” Mrs. Reed replied with a curious tilt of her head. He was behaving in a most uncharacteristic way. He was usually so businesslike and precise, getting everything he wanted in one phone call. She looked at the phone and pondered to herself, This is really interesting, indeed!
Will stood up and began pacing around his office. He felt something stirring inside him that he tried to push down into the depths of him. While uncharacteristic of him, it seemed to be a combination of nerves and restlessness. His pacing became more determined and he felt as if he were spiraling out of control. He did not like that feeling at all.
He looked around him at the diplomas adorning the walls, a Bachelors degree in economics and a Masters degree in business. He had always succeeded easily in school, grasping even the most difficult concepts, acing the tests, and impressing his teachers and professors, but he had never really learned how to empathize with his peers.
He was easily considered by everyone to be one of the more popular students because of his looks and athletic abilities, but he was never forced to make any sort of effort in developing and sustaining a friendship.
Reserved by nature and reinforced by the same behaviour in his father, he had always found it difficult to get close to people. Very few people really knew who he was, save for his younger sister, Gina, and his cousin, Richard. Even Chad, who had been a good friend since university days, had not really known him all that deeply. His friendship with Chad had always been based on his friend’s outgoing nature and ability to strike up conversations with just about anyone. That complimented Will’s own lack of natural ability in that area. Chad looked to Will for wisdom and guidance, as he enjoyed life so much he sometimes found it difficult to make a decision if it committed him to something at the expense of something else.
William Denton could talk business and articulate his goals and direction for his company, taking the leadership with a youthful, but mature confidence. He found it difficult, however, to share his deepest feelings. He could be in a room full of people and still feel disconnected and flooded with a sense of loneliness. He wanted something more but had no idea how to go about getting it.
When he broke things off with Carolyn, he had come to the realization that she had simply been happy with the idea of him. She really knew little about who he was and really didn’t seem to care. She liked the attention of being with someone who was incredibly wealthy, who was thought to be handsome, and who was well respected. But after a little over a year, he found that the two of them had very little in common and consequently he ended their relationship. She took it hard, but he doubted that she would miss him that much, only those things that came with him.
He had dated very little after that relationship. The magazine that named him one of the top 50 most eligible bachelors without any consideration whether or not he wanted to be, gave him cause to be suspect of any woman who tried to secure his attention and affections. He wondered whether it would ever be possible to enter into a relationship with a woman who was interested in him and not his wealth.
He recalled watching his father when his mother had died. Although he knew his father and mother loved each other deeply, his father barely shed a tear and he admonished his son to bear up under it like a man, even though he was only 15 years old at the time. Ever since then, he had pushed his emotional side down as deep as he could. As a result, he found it difficult dealing with people who were emotional themselves. He now questioned whether that truly was a positive trait.
He thought about his sister, Gina. She was almost twelve years younger than him, but she was the one person who could readily reach down into the depths of him and she made every attempt to do so. Ever since their father had died and he had been given guardianship of her, she had touched places in his heart that he had thought were sealed shut. But she was the only one who could evoke such feelings and responses.
Will walked about his office and casually picked up a picture of Gina. He sat down on the edge of his desk and looked down into her sweet, smiling face. His heart lurched as he considered what it had taken to make him realize he had been neglecting her due to his misguided sense of priorities. Even though a little over a month had passed, it still shook him. He vowed never to let that happen again -- even if it meant getting up and leaving an important business meeting to be by her side if that’s what was needed.
In the fall she would begin her first year at Stanford University. It had been her desire to attend this college in California and despite its distance, he made her, as well as himself, a promise to keep in close contact with her. He was proud of her, maybe a little protective of her, and he loved her as much as any father would love his own daughter.
He replaced Gina’s picture to a prominent place on his large, mahogany desk and walked around to his leather chair. He was on the eighteenth floor of a building that overlooked Lake Michigan. Pemberleo Coffee owned five complete floors in addition to office buildings in Texas, Guatemala, and Columbia. He owned a private jet, a couple of limousines, several company and personal cars, a townhouse and two homes. Yet he had to admit that even with all these things, he was still not happy.
He shuffled some papers as he looked down at his calendar. He had much to do before the weekend. He could not afford to idle his time away thinking of things that were not as he wished them to be.
*~*~*
Elyssa sat in her living room eyeing the ticket that would take her to Guatemala. She knew sorting through her sister’s things would be difficult. It had only been two months since their deaths and she still was frequently overcome with grief at some thought or reminder of her.
She looked around her at her comfortable home. She had been renting it, and hoped to someday buy it with her savings and little bit of money her father had left her when he died. An insurance policy had provided money for each of the girls, in addition to a larger sum left to her mother.
She worked part-time at the public library while attending college and was now full-time. She thoroughly enjoyed her job and often wondered how they could pay her when she enjoyed reading as much as she did, but her great love and dream was to become a full-time interior designer.
While still working on a degree in interior design with an emphasis on historical decor from the nineteenth century, she had had several opportunities to exhibit her natural talent. While living in Los Angeles, she had been able to secure occasional work on movie and television sets that dealt with historical periods. Her good friend, Charlene Lukas, was a set director who had made a name for herself and often called Elyssa to help out when she worked on period movies. Knowing how talented Elyssa was, Charlene also freely handed out her friend’s business cards when someone was looking for designers.
Many people recognized Elyssa’s talent and she was tempted to forego college and work full time in the studios. But she disliked the traffic, crowds, and smog too much to want to stay there, so she moved up to the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley. Besides, she reasoned, she wanted to use her talents for people to enjoy, not just for a temporary set that would be torn down after the filming was complete.
Here, she was close enough to LA so that if she were occasionally called to work on a movie set, she could easily drive down there and stay with family during the course of the time she was needed. She had done some small decorating jobs in and around where she lived, but it was not enough to consistently pay the bills. So her job at the library was one way to solve that problem. There she had a job she loved and they were willing to let her take time off when her own business demanded her time.
Looking around her, she could not help but be proud of her living room. It was this room that she had put the most time and money into designing and redecorating. She figured that this was the room most people would see when they came to visit her, and hopefully, would recognize the talent she had in the area of design. Her eye for placement demanded that every item on a table or shelf and every picture or knick knack hung on the wall had its perfect place.
She knew all about how the eye must be drawn to one object, how you must decide what you want that focus to be. She knew how to make things look balanced, even when they were not. She knew how to hang odd shaped and sized pictures without them looking as if they were just stuck on the wall. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of demand for her work and she was just not willing to move to a big city; at least not if she didn’t have to.
She stepped outside onto the large porch and walked over to the porch swing that was hung there. When she found this house and its porch swing, she knew this was the place for her.
She had fond memories of visiting her Aunt and Uncle Garner in the Midwest and how in the evenings when the weather was mild, they would sit together on their porch swing. They would talk to each other about their day, her aunt working on some needlework or crocheting and her uncle smoking his pipe and reading the newspaper. But the one thing Elyssa noticed was that they talked and listened to each other. Elyssa came to believe that the happiness in their marriage was due in large part to that porch swing.
She picked up a pillow and sat down upon the swing, plopping the pillow down onto her lap. She brought her legs up and the movement caused the swing to sway as she wrapped her arms around her legs. She leaned her head forward against the pillow and felt her grief begin to spill out again. The creaking from the swing’s long chains seemed to echo her anguish with mournful cries.
While Janet was in Guatemala, when either of the sisters needed a word of encouragement, they would be on the phone with one another and Elyssa would always be rocking soothingly with her cordless phone in hand. When Janet visited Elyssa the previous year on a trip home, the two sisters spent hours catching up with each other on this very swing.
She loved it here. She loved the slow pace and the appreciation everyone had for the beauty that surrounded them. She thought of her father down in Los Angeles and how he traveled an hour both ways to get to work and then spent over ten hours a day there. He would come home tired and irritable, with little time for anyone. He virtually had no free time to enjoy his own pursuits. While Elyssa and he had once had a very special relationship, towards the end she saw what his job had done to him, but it was too late for a change.
When he had a heart attack at the young age of 54, she could only blame it on the high pressure tactics of his boss and swore that she would never marry a man who was so consumed by his career. For some odd reason, she thought of William Denton.
Here was a man who, most likely, worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and demanded the same from his employees. He was a man who most likely would not be able to take the time at the end of his day and enjoy the serenity of a porch swing in the presence of a wife and family.
An angry tremor passed through her as she placed him in the same sphere as her father’s boss. Both men were responsible for the deaths of people she had loved dearly. She hoped that once she had gone to Guatemala and taken care of Janet’s and Chad’s things, she would never hear from William Denton again!
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I hope you enjoy it!
Kara Louise
