How does it feel?

3. Adventure-Laced Rejection

Callie

The scream I tried unsuccessfully to stifle was enough to make Cecelia drop the clipboard she had been holding. It hit the ground with a clang as the gray-haired woman clung to the large metal desk in shock. The mailman behind her visibly jumped with the clamor of screaming women and clipboard dropping.

“Mother Mary! Will you stop screamin’ and take your damn package.” The old woman’s voice sounded harsh, but I swore there was a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

We had an interesting relationship, Cecelia and me. She acted like she loathed me and I acted like it bothered me. Truthfully she had been nothing but a sweetheart to me since I started at the rehab center.

I would even call her a friend, but I’m sure that wouldn’t look very good to her fellow townies, so occasionally, she pretended to find my bubbly, perky nature annoying. At least, I thought she was pretending.

“My microscope!” I squealed, running over to the large brown box that waited for me on the desk.

Golden light from the heavens beamed down dramatically over the package as angels sang a victorious tune—at least in my head.

After dramatically picking up the abandoned clipboard, Cecelia finished her task and handed her signature back to the shocked mailman.

“Told you she was off her rocker,” she shouted dramatically for both of us to hear as he hurried out the front doors.

I scooped up the large box and practically ran back to my office to open it up. If it were lighter, I might have actually attempted to run had it not been so expensive. I’d been waiting on this equipment for nearly a year. A year! My hands began to tremor, and my vision blurred from excitement. This was better than any Christmas morning I had ever had, even though
those had stopped when I was a young kid anyway.

The ALMScope B/20c was the best in-field compound microscope available. This was it! When Stanley, my boss, told me to just “deal with it” after I had begged for a new microscope, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Months ago, the old one had quit working completely. I had to have one though.

How else would I find them? I haven’t been able to proceed in so many of my projects without one. Plus now, when I get called to Mexico to help track the monarchs, I can take it with me. This will hurry everything up, and then I will find them.
I was glowing, I was sure of it. Like someone had poured a fresh pitcher of hope into my system.

I set the box on my small metal desk, ignoring the adorable cage of brown and gray baby bunnies to my right. They were ready for rerelease today. I made a mental note to get Cliff to help me rerelease them in the meadow today before we did anything else.

I also needed to check through my books and letters for any more details from my family on when I might get the chance to see them.

I grabbed the pair of orange-handled scissors from my very fancy Solo cup pencil holder and cut into the tape that held the large cardboard box together. Nearly vibrating with joy, I peeled back the tissue paper and pulled out the Styrofoam package prison to reveal (cue the angelic music and shimmer effects) the most beautiful compound microscope ever!

I could have hugged it! Happiness doused my mind’s interior as I carefully pulled the shiny scope against my chest and closed my eyes, finally feeling a bit of peace. Everything would be okay now.

I was readying my glass slides, about to take them for a trial run, when my cell phone rang. The sound of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons played loudly from my dark-green backpack on the floor.