Ten Years Wasted Before Spring Chapter 10
My work in Seattle went smoothly.
The new project performed well.
The company promoted me and gave me a raise.
I started learning new skills and meeting new people.
Little by little, my life filled with new things.
Sometimes I still thought of the past.
But it no longer made me sad. Only reflective.
Time really can heal.
Half a year later, Mrs. Harlow called me.
“Celia, please,” she said, her voice trembling. “Please leave Brynn alone. She’s already suffered enough.”
“Mrs. Harlow, I’ve never had it out for her,” I said. “Everything that’s happened was the result of her own choices.”
“But she can’t find work now. People point at her when she goes out. She’s still so young.”
Mrs. Harlow began to cry.
“For the sake of how I treated you when you were little,/ please help her.”
I was silent for a moment.
When I was a child, Mrs. Harlow really had been kind to
My parents were busy with work and often left me at the Harlows’ house.
Mrs. Harlow made me food and bought me new clothes.
But still…
“Mrs. Harlow, you are crossing a line.”
“Mrs. Harlow, if I were the one being harassed online right now, would you speak up for me?”
The other end went silent.
The answer didn’t need to be said.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Harlow,” I said. “But asking the person Brynn hurt to manage the consequences for her is not
fair. I can’t help her.”
After hanging up, I felt a little hollow.
But I didn’t regret it.
Everyone has to live with their choices.
Brynn. Everett. Me.
All of us.
At the end of the year, the company announced me as Employee of the Year during the holiday party.
Standing near the bar with a glass of champagne while my coworkers applauded, I felt dazed for a moment.
One year ago, I had been exhausted from wedding planning.
Now I stood here with a completely new life.
“Congratulations,” a warm male voice said beside me.
I turned.
It was the new director at the branch.
He handed me a glass of champagne and smiled.
“Your toast was excellent.”
“Thank you.”
I accepted the glass and clinked it lightly against his.
Music started.
He held out his hand.
“May I have this dance?”
I hesitated, then placed my hand in his.
As we moved slowly across the dance floor, he asked, “You were at headquarters before this, right?”
“Yes. I came to Seattle about six months ago.”
“Do you like it here?”
“I’m starting to.”
He smiled, his eyes bright.
“Seattle is a good place to start over.”
I nodded without speaking.
It was.
A place to begin again.
