Javen was miserable and Carly was stunned and heartbroken. He had never raised his voice at her before. She sat on the swing as tears welled in her eyes. Her cell phone rang and vibrated on the oak slats of the swing...she reached and shut it off. Javen...at his office tried five times to call her....finally leaving a message,"Carly...I'm so sorry...please call me."
The bank manager, Jane Cullens, came into Javen's office...stood at the doorway and said,"Well...you must have some friends in high places....I just got the word that I'll be transferring to Columbus...as of Wednesday..you'll be the manager of this bank."
Javen put his phone down and said,"What...what are you talking about? Jane said,"I just received a call from the main office...I did apply for the manager's job in Columbus but I was almost sure I didn't have a chance." She went on,"I thought they would pick Joan to replace me...but...they picked you."
Javen stood up...looked out his window and said,"There must be some kind of mistake...hell...I don't even know what a manager is supposed to do?" Jane chuckled and said,"I'll give you a crash course...I already transferred your accounts to Joan and Bob...you can hire someone to replace yourself next week." Javen's head was spinning as he asked,"How much does it pay? Jane smiled...saying,"About twice what you make now...and the bonuses are great!"
Jane then said,"I have a couple of calls to make...then we can go out for brunch...I can fill you in on some things then." Jane winked at him...turned...and cat walked away in her tight black dress....long...curly blond hair bouncing on her back.
Javen plopped in his chair and tried to gather his thoughts. He was excited about being promoted but he was mostly worried about Carly. He kept trying to call her up until Jane came to get him. They headed out to Donavan's Cafe for brunch.
Carly's emotions went from hurt to anger and back to hurt. She grabbed her purse and went to her car. She spun in the gravel and whipped down the lane. Suddenly...she slammed on the brakes...she hit it...the chain across the lane they had put up to keep out nosy reporters. She could already see the scratches on the hood and the chain had pulled the left post out of the ground. She was furious as she got out and flung the chain off of the car.
She got back in and said to herself,"Calm down....just calm down." She took a few deep breaths and pulled out on the road. Carly went straight to the hospital. She couldn't get Javen off of her mind but her stubbornness wouldn't let go. Dr. Evans wasn't in but the nurse recognized her and told her she could visit for a few minutes.
As soon as Carly walked in the room...Miss Mums saw her and moaned. Carly could see in her eyes that she was glad. Miss Mums was still holding the flowers that Carly had put in her hand the day before.
A nurse who was checking her blood pressure said,"She won't let go of the flowers...gives us mean looks if we try to take them." Carly asked,"How is she doing? The nurse replied,"Amazingly well...all of her vitals are good and her blood work came back normal...she turns away from the food though." Carly smiled...saying,"Try sushi...My husband and I believe she may have survived on raw fish from a pond she had access to." The nurse made a note of it on her chart and left the room.
Carly stroked Miss Mums hair and softly spoke to her. Carly was sad to see her still strapped to the bed but understood it was for her safety. When it was time for Carly to go...she leaned and gently kissed Miss Mum on the forehead.
When Carly backed away....she could see Miss Mum was trying to smile. Carly rubbed her hand softly and told her she would be back tomorrow. She knew Miss Mum didn't understand but told her anyway. Miss Mum watched her go out the door and moaned...trying to smile again.
