Hope in My Heart

Esmeralda lay curled up in bed, crying silent tears. It was just before noon on Tuesday morning, and she had called in sick. What started earlier in the week as mild symptoms of sinus congestion and a sore throat had hit her full force overnight. She woke up with the worst cough, sore throat, and throbbing headache. To make matters worse, she knew that taking off today would mean that tomorrow she would face a ton of paperwork piled high on her desk.

Dear God, Esmeralda prayed, please cure this cold now. I cannot afford to take time off from work.

The phone rang.

Esmeralda responded by pulling the blanket over her head.

The phone rang again.

Esmeralda buried herself deeper beneath her silk sheets before realizing that it was not the phone that was ringing, it was the doorbell. After the fifth ring, Esmeralda decided to pull herself out of her bed, don her pastel pink bath robe over her pajamas, and walk bare-footed from her bedroom, through the living room, and into the foyer in order to answer the front door.

“Who is it?” Esmeralda asked.

“Chandra,” the person on the other side of the door replied. “I’ve brought lunch.”

“Lunch?” Esmeralda winced at the pain in her throat. How can I eat when it hurts to swallow?

Esmeralda opened the door to see a smiling Chandra. “Hey Essie!” she greeted then pouted. “You’re not feeling that great, are you?”

“I feel horrible,” Esmeralda replied before stepping aside and closing the door behind her.

“I’m sorry you’re sick. But no worries. Where’s the kitchen?”

“Follow me,” Esmeralda replied as she walked through her living room and led Chandra to her kitchen. “What do you mean no worries?”

“I took care of everything.”

“Everything?”

“The phone calls, the visitors, the messages, the questions from your colleagues.”

“How?”

“Like you said, I’m a good worker.”

“Any papers on my desk?”

Chandra shook her head. “Nope.”

“Why not?”

“I told everyone to think twice about their questions before asking you and they listened!”

Esmeralda laughed then made a face from the pain that surged through her throat.

“Here’s some chicken noodle soup from that restaurant you love,” Chandra said as she began unloading items from the big brown bag she had carried inside. “And I bought throat spray and cough drops for you.”

“Thanks, Chandra,” Esmeralda replied with a weak smile. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem, boss lady. Let me know if you need anything else, and I’ll drop it by your house after work.”

“You’re going back now?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chandra replied. “See you when you get well.”

“Hopefully that will be tomorrow.”

“No worries, Essie. I’ve got your back.”

Esmeralda smiled, grateful for such a loyal assistant. After seeing Chandra to the door, Esmeralda plopped down onto her couch, turned on the television to the local news, and drifted off to sleep.

~*~

Chandra was driving down the highway with a heavy foot on the accelerator. The music in her Mazda Miata coupe was blaring and she was happy. She planned to return to work before lunch break was over, and it looked like she was going to meet her goal in exactly ten minutes. As Chandra prepared to change lanes for her exit, a car slammed into the passenger’s side of her vehicle.

Chandra screamed but managed to maintain enough control to steer the car to the side of the road. The car that hit Chandra spun around and ended on the side of the road, not too far from her car. A panicked Chandra immediately hopped out of her car and inspected it for damages. The entire passenger side of her car was dented.

“Oh no!” Chandra crumpled to the bare cement beside her car and buried her head in her hands.

Meanwhile, the driver who had caused the accident emerged from his Jeep and checked the damages. The entire driver’s side of his car was scratched and mildly dented. He was inspecting the damage when he heard crying. He turned around and went to see the lady he had run into. He should have known not to text while driving.

“Hey, lady, I’m so sorry!” he apologized. “Are you okay?”

“No!” Chandra screamed as she struggled to rise to her feet. “Why weren’t you looking where you were going?”

“Listen, lady,” the man replied as he retrieved his phone from his jean pocket. “Let’s not get upset. I’m going to call the cops, and we’ll be out of here in an hour.”

“An hour?” Chandra cried. “I’ve got be at work in ten minutes!”

The man looked at her. “Well, what do you propose we do?”

Chandra scrambled, pulling out her purse out of her car then running back to the man who had caused the accident. “Give me your name and number and we’ll settle this later.”

“Fine.” The man embodied tall, dark, and handsome. “But I’m going to take your license plate number in case you forget.”

“Fine,” Chandra replied before pulling out a notepad from her purse and looking over at the man’s license plate. She quickly penned his tag numbers and then looked up at his broad six foot frame. “Here.” She scribbled her name, tag number, insurance information, and cell number on a separate piece of paper and handed it to him. “That’s all the information you’ll need for your insurance agent.”

“And you’re sure that you don’t want to call the cops?” the man asked.

“Yes!” a somewhat annoyed Chandra answered. “Now write your contact information on this paper so I can call my insurance company from work.”

Wow, this woman was bossy—just like his sister. But he obeyed her order.

After exchanging information, Chandra read the stranger’s name out loud. “Sebastian Carter. Why does that sound familiar?”

“I’m a personal trainer for some celebrities,” he replied.

“Like who?” Chandra asked before remembering that she had limited time to return to the office. “Oh, never mind! I have to go.” She hurried to her car.

“Drive safely, lady!” Sebastian called. He glanced at the paper she gave him. “I mean drive safely, Chandra!”

“I was driving safely,” Chandra called back. “You need to look where you’re going!” Sebastian was about to retort but decided not to as Chandra slammed her car door and drove her car on the highway. What a day, he thought to himself before returning to his Jeep where he called his insurance company.