47 Destinies (Book One)

Chapter Eight

The sun was up when Cora woke up the next day.  It was the day before Thanksgiving.  She felt terrible.  She could barely walk over to the bathroom.  She couldn’t remember ever being so sore and had no interest in sitting in any chair at this point.  She wasn’t sure if she should climb back into bed or try walking around.  Josh’s mom made the decision for her

“Hi, dear.  How are you feeling?  Josh thought you might be a little sore today.  Here is some ointment you can rub on your muscles.  Once you feel like it, just come on downstairs and we can begin the meal preparations for our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow,” Josh’s mom said, handing Cora the ointment.

“Thank you,” were the only words Cora could muster up.  She totally forgot that Josh had volunteered her to help with the Thanksgiving meal. Cora rubbed the ointment over most of her body.   It helped some, but her muscles were still terribly achy.  Cora got dressed and went downstairs to help with the meal preparations.  

The day went faster than Cora imagined.  Josh’s mom was fun to be around.  She gave Cora all of the easy jobs once she realized that Cora wouldn’t be that great of a helper.  Cora became her prep cook that cut, chopped and then washed dishes.  In actuality, it was a lot of help for Josh’s mom.  Plus, she enjoyed the company.  With both of her kids grown and out of the house, Cora could tell that she was lonely.  She felt a little sorry for her.  She definitely needed someone to interact with and Josh’s dad did not appear to be into interacting with anyone unless it was about the business.

Thanksgiving came and brought with it more people that Cora didn’t know.  Josh was the proper boyfriend and stayed by her side throughout the day.  He introduced her to everyone and spoke very highly of her work and future plans.  It was sweet to see Josh dote on her.  She enjoyed the attention.  There was little talk of the business.  It was a day meant for family and Cora felt a part of it all.  She barely thought of Brent, until she checked her email after dinner and read his latest message that he sent earlier in the day:

Corina,

Are you leaving the company?  Your email was so formal and sounded like a letter of resignation.  My mother mentioned that you might be moving to another company.  Please come see me before you make any decisions.

Happy Thanksgiving, Corina!  May you be surrounded by love on this special holiday.

Brent

P.S. It is the anniversary of Kate’s passing.  I wonder if she is roaming the halls of The Del tonight.

Brent’s mother was a liar and relentless.  She seemed determined to move Cora out of the company as quickly as possible.  Or was it something else?  Did she want to distance Cora away from Brent?  But why?  Cora couldn’t compare to Grace.  She didn’t even come close.  What was his mother’s problem?  Cora was irritated.  Nobody was going to run her out of any job.  She had a tremendous opportunity at Locke Incorporated and she wasn’t about to leave it until she was ready.  Cora quickly composed herself so she could respond to Brent’s email and return to the Thanksgiving gathering:

Brent,

I have no intentions of leaving your company.  I am sorry if I left your mother with that impression.  Quite the contrary, I am thankful for the trust you put in me when Julie could not oversee the conference.  I enjoyed the experience and know it will serve me well in my career.  I want to learn as much as I can at Locke Incorporated.  I would like to stay as long as you feel I can serve the needs of the company.

I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving.  I am not with my family, but am surrounded by a wonderful family that cares a lot for one another.  I miss my grandmother and hope to be able to see her within the coming year.  We spoke today and she is doing well.