Friday, December 22
Heidi woke up to glaring sunlight. She shaded her eyes and then realized she’d fallen asleep on the couch. But it wasn’t the couch in her Amish home. She jumped to her feet and looked around. She was delighted to be back in her New York apartment. Hearing a thud, she looked down to see her grandmother’s diary had landed on the floor. She looked down at it and moved it out of the way with her foot.
She excitedly ran around the apartment and then stopped at the mirror in the bathroom. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked pale and tired, but her hair was back to the short style, and because she’d been sleeping it was sticking out on end. She turned on the tap, wet her hands, and smoothed down her hair.
On hearing the traffic in the street below, she ran to the living room window and opened it. There were cars and crowds, smog and noise. Yes! This was her real life and she was back!
She pulled her iPhone out of her handbag in the bedroom to see it was December 22, Friday, at six in the morning. This was the day of the staff Christmas party. It can’t have been a dream because she’d lost days—as many days as she’d lived with Derek.
Whatever had happened, she was pleased to be back. “I’m back!”
When she walked to the couch, she picked up her grandmother’s diary.
“Thank you, and denke, Grandmamma.” She never wanted to leave again. It was nice to have lived something that might’ve been, but even better to be back home. Never again did she want to go back to the confines of the restrictive Amish community. She had a taste of what her life would’ve been like if she’d stayed and married Derek and it would’ve been exhausting married to Derek with three children. There were too many constant demands and way too many menial tasks. It was much easier to deal with the infighting of the realtors squabbling over commissions and leads.
She smiled when she looked down and saw that she was wearing a silky cream robe. No longer would she have to wear those dreadful Amish clothes that covered her from head to foot and showed nothing of her figure.
What had happened in this life while she was gone? That was something she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. It was all too much to handle and to think about. She raced to the bathroom again and had a quick shower, enjoying the fact that she didn’t have to worry about getting her long hair wet.
After her shower, she changed into her usual attire of tight-fitting skirt and blouse, and the jacket that matched the skirt. Once she'd applied make-up and slipped on a pair of dressy heels, she grabbed her bag and overcoat, and headed to her regular café for breakfast.
As soon as she stepped through the door, it concerned her that the café had changed. If the café was different, what else would be different back here in this life? She felt a little comforted when Ralph, the owner of the café, saw her and waved. After she had waved back, she walked to her usual table, noticing that instead of carpet there were polished floorboards. Patterned graffiti wallpaper adorned the walls, and black steel pendant lights hung from the ceiling.
She slid into her usual booth at the back of the café. She was glad that it was free and they still had the same familiar arrangement of tables within the four walls. After she had pulled her laptop out of her bag, she resumed work on her speech for the Christmas party.
She caught the owner’s attention and he walked over. “What’s happened here, Ralph?”
He chuckled. “You didn’t notice the work going on over the last couple of days?”
“I’ve been away.”
“I should’ve told you, but we did have a sign on the door that we’d be undergoing the renovations. We’ve been closed for the last few days.”
Heidi shook her head. “I didn’t notice the sign.”
“Didn’t you? It was up for several weeks.”
“I don’t usually notice things like that. It looks good, though.”
“Thanks. We’re all finished. This is the first day of the new look. I’m pleased you like it.”
“It’s very on trend.”
“Thanks. I better get back to making your coffee.”
She turned back to her laptop and kept working on her speech. She always made one right before she gave out the bonuses, a clever trick to make certain that all her staff attended. Although, the free food and alcohol might have been enough to ensure that. The staff party was another opportunity to motivate her workers. They too could be as successful as she, if they worked smart and if they worked hard. She’d inspire them by once again telling them her story of how she got to where she was from nothing.
“Here you go, Heidi. One cheese and ham croissant and a double shot cappuccino.”
“Thanks, Ralph.”
The owner of the café placed her food down in front of her.
After she stared at the chocolate sprinkles on the froth, she was reminded that Derek had thought she liked a totally different kind of coffee. There was an emptiness within, a sensation of emptiness without Derek. Her heart was like a desert wasteland. She dismissed the feeling as quickly as it had come, took a sip of coffee, and then took a bite of her croissant while telling herself how good it was to be back home where she belonged, in her familiar surroundings. Nearly every day she had breakfast at that café. The only exceptions were when she had morning staff meetings in the boardroom where fresh pastries and coffee were served.
After Heidi spent some time on her speech, she thought more about her goals. Sure, she’d come a long way, but she wanted to reach higher. There was a need for her kind of business all across the country, in every city of any size. Before she opened more offices, though, she had to get this office and her staff running smoothly. Right now, she had to focus on getting through Christmas.
She finished her croissant and wiped her fingers on a paper napkin. In the new year, she’d eat better and start going to a gym. After she did some more work on her speech, she jotted down some ideas for new year’s resolutions. Some of her ideas were to get new friends, people who didn’t work for her, and to find time to travel.
Once she was finished, she packed her computer away, drained the last of her coffee, which was now cold, and then headed out of the café. Her office was only a five-minute walk from the coffee shop.