Bits of life

A-7 Words-1000

the gambling center might appear. With these positive thoughts on my mind, I went to bed after a refreshing shower. Morning dawned bringing a spate of news. Several phone calls made by several people filled me with a new impetus to expect an active day ahead.` First, it was uncle John who rang from his countryside home to inform me of a new break in the bank robbery and forgery case. Then it was Mr. Wilson Moore from “Future Solutions.” And the third call was from Mr. Anderson, Union Bank’s manager.
Needless to mention, that all the three calls were important to me. However, being ruled more by personal concerns, I gave priority to the call from my boss. He seemed to have told my mom, “an important matter, which needs Jim’s presence in the office immediately.”
After a hurried breakfast I made it to my office as fast as I could drive through the nine O’clock rush on the roads.
I forgot to mention that now I had a separate office in the firm. It was furnished with a desktop and fax machine as well. The authorities felt that I needed full privacy and concentration to come up with new and profitable ideas for the firm and for the world at large. What a lovely thought! This was what job satisfaction amounted to.

As I stepped into the small lobby of the firm’s premises, I was mobbed by the office crowd with Mr. Wilson Moore standing at the forefront of it. My heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second. The suddenness of seeing so many people at close quarters might have sent my adrenalin racing.

“Hey Jim, our golden boy! Congratulations on a successful launch of a new software. It is going to make waves in the international scenario meant for women. We have a reason to celebrate our continuing success with your new software. Women are racing to our site, man. Our rewards are going to be colossal. This definitely calls for celebration. I am hosting a party at the Sheraton this evening at eight O’clock. I invite your girlfriend too. Tell her it will give us joy to have her with us,” said Mr. Wilson Moore.
There was a round of congratulations and lot of smiles of joy and approval. I got the meaning of working for the firm. You benefit not only yourself but the community around you. It gave me rare satisfaction.

After the working hours, I rang up Ashley to tell her of this new outcome. She was very happy to hear of my latest laurel. She readily agreed to accompany me to the party at the Sheraton, one of the famous international chains of hotels. I spent the rest of the day designing and adding further details to “career by choice for women.” As I worked on it, I was thrilled to receive a number of phone calls enquiring the details of this new software. I was glad enough to answer their queries.

My mom was very happy and tears sprang to her eyes when she heard the news. I was sure her joy came from the thought of how hard it was to raise me singlehanded and how easy had life become in the present. My prosperity and success were the things that gave her utmost joy. She felt her responsibility of raising a son without much financial backing had now come full circle. She always gave credit to the Almighty God for making our dreams come true. No pains no gains, she often quoted. Her patience paid in double rewards. She was worried about my job and wedding. Now, both clicked. I felt it was her patience that let her harvest the good tidings. She too had every reason to be in a celebrative mood. She called her sister Sarah and brothers John, Rod and Jeremiah and invited them to a party she wanted to throw on the following weekend, at the beachside hotel named Novotel.

By the time Ashley and I reached the Sheraton, the party was in full swing. There were about thirty guys and girls, some of whom some brought along their girlfriends and boyfriends. Music was soft rock which was slightly fast and not garish or blaring. It allowed people to relax and unwind. We saw them sitting in groups and chitchatting. It was a happy crowd. I looked around and recognized a number of them. Some nice feeling and a sense of happiness hung in the air around us.

Ashley was greeted by Mr. Moore and taken to a table in the center of the large hall. I followed her and we sat at the table and greeted our colleagues who were already drinking their favorite drinks and having some appetizers. At half time at 8 in the evening, Mr. Moore called out,

“Hey Jim, time to start dancing. We accord you and Ashley, the honor of being the first to occupy the dance floor. Flag off the dancing my boy. This evening is yours, go for it.”

I thanked him and took Ashley’s hand in mine and went to the center already cleared by some young colleagues. The challenge was to dance to the kind of music played every five minutes.

I thanked him and took Ashley’s hand in mine and went to the center of the hall, which was already cleared by some young colleagues. She wore a dress in a mix of pink and green colors, both light and silky. She looked sexy without being obvious. Few girls can carry off knee-length dress without being conscious of themselves. The evening’s challenge was to dance to the kind of music played every five minutes. We enjoyed doing the waltz, the tango, the rock and roll and the salsa. It was an invigorating twenty minutes. There were other couples invited to do the same. At the end of three hours of hilarious dancing, the winners were announced. We listened with pin drop silence.