To God be the Glory
Established
Why was it so hot? Kayla wiped the sweat from her brow. She had been job searching for weeks! Hopefully, today would be different. She blew air from her lips as she bustled down the busy street. Cars drenched in air condition whizzed by her. The smell of frying fish filled her nostrils. "Ummm." she relished the odor. If only she could be at her granny's picking her way through freshly fried Spot! She grasped her beat up second hand attache case. She had to get this done! When she was done and established, then, she would get her reward! She huffed through the underpass, grateful for its' temporary shade. Va sure was hot! A few young women passed her. They smiled as they did so. Kayla was confused. Why are they so happy? It was scorching out here! Especially with those skirts on! She braced herself. All of this will be over after a while, she thought. But for now, I gotta get back in this sun! The sun was just as hot when she left the shady underpass. Oh well! Kayla walked to the crosswalk, crossed the street, and entered the building.
Two hours and ten minutes later, Kayla sat. She was so disappointed. Frustration burned between her eyes. For two long hours she sat awaiting her turn. She held no fear of being rejected, no apprehension, whatsoever. Her credentials were solid. She was so confident; so hopeful. However, the interview was over so quickly that Kayla felt that she never had a chance. She read disappointment on the interviewers' expression the moment she entered the room. Now, again in the waiting room, she worked her hands into a fist. She stuck them together in her lap to hide her anger. The receptionist looked at her hands and darted from the room. Kayla wandered what that meant. Quickly, she returned to the simmering sidewalks. After putting a little distance between her and the failed interview, she slowed. There was no need to hurry now. As she walked, she went over her life's plan. She was to arrive in Va, grab a great job, establish genuine friends along the way, then begin to purchase a beach house. Kayla frowned. So far, all she'd accomplished, was to arrive. She tried to remember the cues given her at the Successful Woman Seminar she'd taken at the Skyhigh Conference Room when she was in New York. But all she could focus on were the waves of heat that blurred the sidewalk in front of her. Kayla blinked. She felt funny. Someone waved emphatically at her. She didn't know them, why were they waving? Too late, Kayla realized that she was falling.
The emergency room was bright. Although there were very little people in it the emergency room was loud. Two receptionist and two orderlies stood talking. One was telling a joke. The others interrupted periodically to laugh. Security appeared over her. His face seemed to hold animosity. Did she know him? "Eh!" an orderly said, spotting her and the paramedics who transported her. The rest of the staff turned to look at her. Kayla tried to speak. "I got you." One woman said. Where did she come from? Kayla wandered. Someone pushed her gurney through a door. That was all that she remembered.
The women from the underpass sat quietly in the room. Kayla squinted against the sun shining through an open venetian blind. One of them got up to fix it. She smiled a 'That's better' at Kayla and nudged the woman beside her. She looked up from the booklet she held. "Heeey" she said in an excited but hushed tone. "you felling better?" Kayla watched as she pushed the call button for the nurse. Why were these women here? "They said you had a heat stroke, girl- A bad one." The other lady patted Kayla's leg. "Don't worry about it, though. They'll probably let you go, now that they've checked you out, and watched you for a while. And we'll take you home." The doctor came in but Kayla didn't relax. She mulled and squirmed until she was safe at home with her grandmom. She asked when the super nice ladies were gone. "How did they know where I lived?" Her grandmother laid a steaming batch of crabs on to the newspaper spread across the table. "I go to church with them sometimes. They were passing out tracts to the neighborhood when they passed you. Sure wish it wasn't so hot today;they had a service in the parking lot by the bridge." Kayla smelled the Old Bay seasoning wafting up from the crab. She smiled as her grandmom passed her a cold Cocoa Cola. In anticipation of the delicious meat on her tongue , she flopped happily down at the table. "Wait a minute!, " her grandmom said. "Let me say grace."
