It was total darkness as she pulled into her assigned parking stall. Her cell-phone rang as she stepped into the apartment. Gertie’s no-nonsense voice came through loudly. “Have you had a good enough rest for today?” she asked a bit too happily. “Not really, I’ve been shopping with Mom. Why?” Susan didn’t really want to know the answer. “Because we were busy today and I had to come in early, so Muriel suggested that maybe you could start at about nine o’clock and let me go rest.” “Well, there goes the nap idea, but yes, I’ll be there. What’s going on that it’s so busy?” “Gosh, things are calm now. Staffing looks okay. It should be a good night for you. Oh, and by the way…there is an interesting looking package here for you on the desk. We’ve all been trying to guess the contents.” “A package! Doesn’t it have a name of the sender on it?” “Not that I can see, and believe me, I’ve looked it over pretty good.” “You don’t suppose…” For one wild moment she could only think that maybe Danny had experienced a change of heart and wanted to send a token of his love. She had to mentally pinch herself to spring out of that gutter! “Never mind, no use guessing. I’ll just have to see when I get there.” “Sure.” The fantasy of Danny kept teasing her. Silly to still think of him as though there could ever be any hope of reconciliation. Hadn’t he made it perfectly clear how little he cared when she discovered him indulging in an affair with someone else while she was at work? And the acrid words exchanged when she found silk underwear under the seat of her car, which he frequently borrowed. When she confronted him, he had gone into a rage. “Of course I have someone else!” he yelled. “Am I supposed to sleep by myself night after night while my little prude holds out for a wedding ring? And even if you were with me, you’d be a phenomenal drag. BORING! You should become a nun!” He made a stormy exit from her life. She saw him only once again when they had met for a remarkably civil chat and she returned his ring. The memory of it sent shudders through her. I must get back into the present moment. I can’t let him ruin the short nap I need to be able to function properly tonight. She set the alarm for eight o’clock. She forced herself to stay put on the bed believing she needed the rest even if she wasn’t sleepy. Finally, she gave up, shut off the alarm and began getting ready for work. The drive to the hospital was uneventful. Soon she was trotting through the doorway of the office, to the delight of Gertie who cheered as she tossed her bookbag in the corner and sat down to await report. “Sure is good to see you, girl! I’m anxious to shake the dust of this place from my shoes and go home.” “So give me report and scoot on out of here.” “Not so fast!” She pulled a medium-sized brown, padded envelope out of the side drawer, which had a curious square bulge in the middle. “I’m not moving until I get to see what this is all about.” She plunked it down on the desk in front of Susan. She smirked, apparently enjoying watching Susan “My, my! I can’t imagin…” “Oh, for pity sakes, girl…will you please open it and relieve my suspense?” Susan used her curved bandage scissors to slice off the end of the envelope and reach inside to pull out a charming little blue velvet box with a gold sticker on the lid offering the name of “Harry’s Jewelry”. She gasped aloud as she opened it and found an exquisite gold chain bracelet nestled on a square cushion of silk. “Good grief, Gertie! Do you see this? It’s eighteen karat gold!” “My goodness…there must be a note or something.” Sure enough, Susan removed a small thank you card in the envelope. The message on the inside read…
Dear Susan, Please accept this small token of our appreciation for your kindness to my father and myself. You helped us both through a very difficult time. The roses were beautiful, but even more, your presence gave us support and caring that is rarely felt in today’s hectic living. We have sent a letter to your hospital administrator to also advise him of our gratefulness for your help. If there is anything we can ever do to assist you…please feel free to call on us. Sincerely, Michael Kephalos
Gertie removed the bracelet carefully, wrapped it around Susan’s wrist and fastened the clasp. “What a beauty!” she exclaimed. “That cost a pretty penny.” “I never expected anything like this,” Susan stammered. “They didn’t need to buy me a present. I should send it back.” Gertie looked at her with eyes wide in disbelief. “That would really hurt their feelings. You know, sometimes it’s a very healing thing to accept a gift. So keep it. Quit making yourself suffer.” “Well, I’ll talk to Muriel and see if she approves.” Gertie rested her chin on her hand and gave Susan her scrunched eyebrow look of frustration. “For heavens sake, Hon. If you do anything, I think you should call this guy and tell him you’ll cook him dinner! I hear he’s single and a real catch!” “Oh, now where would you hear a thing like that?” “As a matter of fact, it was Muriel. She’s acquainted with these people and everyone knows they’re quite well to do.” She nudged her playfully, “You better check it out.”
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