you and I forever

chapter one

Chapter 1
A door across the hall opened and nine years old Laura who is still half awake walked to the kitchen to find her mum making breakfast.
" good morning mummy" she said sitting at the kitchen dinn.
" Morning my baby " Jess Conner answered turning to notice that she is still in her nightgown
" Laura why are you still in your nightgown" she asked going to pick her up from where she was sitting and pushing her towards the bathroom, " you know it is a school day and is already past 7am, what have you been doing since I came to wake you up"
" Mom can I skip today? Am feeling sick "
" No you are not, Laura be fast your aunt Joan will be here anytime to pick you up"
"But why are you not dropping me off to school today?"
" Baby I told you yesterday that I have an interview today by 9am and I can't make it to your school and still make it to the interview on time, so please don't keep aunt Joan waiting when she comes, and I made your favorite lunch and breakfast " she said as she made her way back to the kitchen.
" Yeeeeh" Laura shouted as she rushed into the bathroom.
Jess Conner smiled and went back to the kitchen to finish making breakfast for her daughter as she thought if only her husband was still alive then her joy will be completed, he wasn't her first love but she was happy but her peaceful marriage was cut short when her husband James Conner fall seriously ill and passed away two years ago, leaving her penniless and soon to become homeless. They have used all the money saved up for the house at the hospital for her husband's treatment, so this interview was like a new hope for her and she can't afford to be late.
The door bell brought her thought back as she rushed to open the door for her friend Joan.
" Good morning Joan" she said as she opened the door " you are a lifesaver and the best friend ever".
" I know " Joan said smiling " and where is my baby girl "
"Oh she is getting ready and will be down in a minute" Jess said walking back to the kitchen. Joan followed her looking worried.
" Jess how are you keeping up" she said as though she can sense her mood, as she watched her pack Laura lunch.
She shrugged in an answer to her question as though it were so difficult to answer
"Oh Joan I need this job or they're going to have our things out there any moment" Jess said glooming over her coffee and Joan knew she was right cos she has earlier received a notice from her landlord saying she would need to vacate the premises if she didn't pay back the rent but she was unable to be of any help as she is currently dealing with her mother's sickness which is eating up her savings too, all she can do was to show up for her in times like this.
" Jess I know you are going to get this job so don't worry about a thing and just show them who Jess Conner is" she said as both burst into laughter.
" Ooh thanks Joan I really needed that".
" Good morning aunt Joan " Laura said as she entered into the kitchen
" Good morning my favorite one, how are you this morning"
" Am feeling sick but mummy won't let me skip school today "
" She is not sick just trying to play smart this morning just so she won't go to school, which is not smart Laura, so come and have your breakfast so that aunt Joan can drop you off on her way to work " Jess said.
" Ok mom " said Laura faintly.
After Joan and Laura were gone some minutes later Jess said a little prayer in her mind hoping that the interview will be a successful one and then left the house not knowing what the future holds in store for her.

............................

The long flight from the state left Ryan exhausted, his weariness doubled as he thought about sitting for another few hours to inspect the interviewers who will be interviewing the five qualified applicants who will be joining his company. A headache began brewing due to stress and fatigue from being on a plane for too long , if not that he wanted to make the final selections himself of people who will be working closely with him after taking over the company from his dad who he wants to impress after being away for over 10 years now, he needs the best of the best.
" Sir are you sure you don't want me to drive you straight home cos you look very tired and exhausted from your trip " Quinn said looking over the head mirror.
" No I'm fine and I will be staying at the beach house, hope everything is ready "
" Yes sir everything is set apart from the cook who traveled to see her daughter who just put to birth and will be returning in a few months time "
" Okay I can deal with that " Ryan replied, leaning back to rest his head a little before they got to the office. He didn't inform anyone that he was going to be at the office because he wanted to quietly enter his office and monitor the interview from his system through the camera and leave quietly.
Meanwhile at the Powell company building the five qualified applicants were seated with their number tag and Jess who is the number two candidate in the row was so nervous that it feels like her co-applicant can hear her heartbeat. A girl who once had a bright future was now penniless and destined for a life on the street. Jess thought, there was no more hope for her insoluble situation, she had already prepared herself for the worst " becoming homeless" she hoped that God was somewhere out there listening to the inner cries of her heart.

At the Powell group company building in the CEO's office Ryan sat with his laptop showing what was going on in the conference room where the interview was been held, the first applicant came in and his performance great and it made him happy because he wanted the best, but when the second applicant entered his face changed, was he seeing clearly? " No it must be someone else" he said " there are so many looks alike, so it must be her look alike and not who suspects it to be . But even with that thought in his head , his mind wasn't at rest so he picked up the telephone and called his secretary who was sitting just right outside his office.
Lisa an elderly lady who has been working for Ryan's grandfather picked the call and all that was said was * get in here now " Lisa has worked with the grandfather for more than eight years now understands the family temper so she quickly rushed inside the office.
"I need the list of the applicants who are being interviewed in the conference room right now" Ryan said looking more pissed off than earlier.
* Yes sir" Lisa answered rushing out to find the list on her desk and coming back with a piece of paper and handed it over to Ryan.
" Hmmm Jess Conner interesting" Ryan murmured was it the name she goes by now, if this was truly whom he thought she was, " Jessica Marshall" changing her last name could only mean one thing " she was married", the thought of that made him more angry as he turned to Lisa who was still standing there looking all confused and waiting for the next order " find out every little detail there is to know about this jess Conner ans i need it in the next 30 minutes"
" Yes sir" she debated whether she should ask him if it was her past life or her present one, but decided she could just go through it all.
" Jessica Marshall" why on earth will she appear to his face the very first day he came back after all these years of trying to forget everything that has happened between them, why her of all the people to apply for a job in his company he thought as him faced the interview still ongoing in his laptop.
His eyes were on his laptop but throughout the rest of the interview all his thoughts was on Jessica Marshall, he prayed that this Jess Conner was just a different person altogether because he still doesn't want to face her yet and don't know how to deal with the pain she caused him and how after all these years only the sight of her brings him this sharp pain he is feeling right now and the memory of the past or rushing down he can't deal with all this right now he needed to go home and rest, with the headache with headache and now this sharp pain he is feelings now all he needed was a good race but the thought of her actually being married to another man made his heart aches more. He thought he had moved on from this, so what was this pain he is feeling now.
Lisa entered the office with a piece of paper and handed it over to Ryan " you can go and tell the driver i will be down in a minute".
Ryan review the paper Lisa gave him Jess Conner was actually Jessica Marshall who got married to James corner 5 years ago and has a daughter whose age was not mentioned anger filled he up untill he flip to the next page to see where it was written that James Conner passed away two years ago then he felt a bit relieved not because her husband was dead but because it was good to know that she was single again.