CHAPTER 15
I went downstairs and went near the hall. I saw about fifty people gathered around her, and she was talking to them. I was shy to be seen so I came back to my car and waited. At exactly ten O’clock I saw the people leaving the hall and I got down from the car and slowly started towards her room. When I reached the door I heard she locking the door from inside after coming into her room. I knocked....
“Just a moment.”
And the next moment the door flung opened.
She was shocked. I lost speech... we waited looking at each other for a moment.
“Please do come in madam.”
I went inside and there was a small bed and a small table and no chairs. A little bag of clothes and a big book on the table, which I knew, what it is with my first glance.
“Please be seated.”
She showed me the bed. I sat down.
The room is unbearably cold then I noticed that there is no heater in the room.
“What brings you here madam?”
So it’s time for me to talk.
“I came to say how sorry I am for what I did to you.”
There was silence for a few minutes but I have to react. I got up and put my arms around her....
“I am sorry Emily, will you forgive me?”
I was crying. I held her tight. There was no day that I cried after firing someone from office. I never cried when I fired Jason. But I have suddenly become different.
“Did you find the file in the bottom drawer of your desk madam?”
It was shocking news to me. How did she know that it was there? I made my grip tighter on her.
“Yes, how did you know that it was there?”
“I was scared to challenge you, thinking that you will get angrier with me by finding that it was you who misplaced it, and anyway I will never go beyond my Boss’s command.”
“Will you work for me again Emily? Your salary is raised by five times. From today onwards you are not my secretary. You are my best friend. Will you come Emily?”
Even I can’t believe my ears. I can’t remember asking forgiveness from any of my employees so far. What is happening to me? I just cannot fathom what is going on in my life.
“I will.”
“There is one more thing. Will you move in to my house?”
“But why madam?”
“I am not madam any more I am Sarah and you are my best friend Emily. I am feeling very lonely Emi I need a friend very badly.”
“I have started a small Bible class here. If I move in I will be leaving these poor people high and dry. When I left the last place I was living I had more than hundred people coming for my Bible study. It was all over in one day. Those people think I got fired because I was cheating in my job. So I lost my credibility there. At least I want to continue with this fifty because I love my Jesus more than anything in this whole world.”
“No.. You will continue your class and I will give you a car for your travelling. Also by seven in the morning tomorrow your name will be cleared where you lived and your credibility will be restored. By tomorrow evening you will visit them again.
Will you come?”
“I have nothing to loose ma...Sarah, I have only to gain if God is willing. Let’s go.”
I slowly released the grip and kissed her on her cheeks and said thank you. It took about one or two minutes for her to get ready. When she started packing her cloths I asked her not to.
“Why Sarah what am I going to wear?” She asked me....
“You will have a new wardrobe tomorrow. We will go shopping.”
“Then let me give these to somebody who is in need, and at the same time let me inform them that I will be leaving.”
“Tell them that you are coming to see them tomorrow.”
I added.
It took about fifteen minutes for her to inform all her friends in the building. Finally when she came to the car all were following her. Some of them had tears in their eyes. Emi told them that she would be back tomorrow to see them. I started the car and started driving.
“You have changed Sarah, I wonder how? I never knew you to be soft on people you work with, but you have changed.”
“I don’t know... maybe this incident must have changed me.”
Then I told her what happened with the housekeeper at her first address. When I finished we laughed. We will be going there tomorrow in the evening. If he had done a good job to clear Emi’s name then we will know it. It’s good to have a friend like Emi so that I don’t have to see men anymore and after that incident with Jim yesterday I don’t know whether I will have any more men in future. Without a very strong desire I will never go with a man again.
When we get back home it was eleven O’clock and Martha as usual waiting for me. I introduced her to Emi and asked Martha to serve some dinner for us. I showed her room, which was next to mine, which had a connecting door. It had a separate attached bath and toilette and it is four times the size to where she had been when I found her.
“Do you like it Emi?”
“Can I ask for more?”
“Let’s go and eat something. Tomorrow morning we will go shopping and you will buy all the things you need. Money is no problem.”
Emi is a beautiful girl. But she had lost weight during the past three weeks. I wonder whether she has a boy friend. I felt that any man would want to date her. Though she was wearing ugly old cloths I knew she had a beautiful and a shaped, firmed body. But from tomorrow she will also have the best; like me. I want her to have it. She is my best friend and my personal secretary.
After dinner I took her to my room and asked her to select any nightdress for her to go to sleep. She was amazed at the collection I had. She couldn’t decide what to take. Finally looking around she saw Shane’s jogging suit and told me that she will have that as that is the only old thing that she can spot in this room.
“It’s the newest in my collection and I can’t give you that. You can have all the night dresses in this room but this jogging suit, I will tell you about it later. It is the only thing that I have to remember someone special in my life.”
Then I took out one of my best night dresses and gave it to her.
“I am coming to see you wearing it, so be ready with it.”
I told her... I took a quick body wash and got into the jogging suit and crossed to the other room to see Emi. I heard the shower running and then I noticed the only thing she brought from that little room on the bed side table; Her Bible.... When she came out she was looking lovely, fresh as ever. Though I was a little taller to her, the nightdress fitted her nicely. When we saw each other we started laughing at each other. I laughed because she was looking lovely. She laughed at me because I was wearing the jogging suit.
“Emi if you need anything just wake me up, Ok?”
“No Sarah I think I have everything I can ever dream of... once again thank you for your generosity. Good night and May God bless you.”
I wished her good night and came into my room. I was feeling happy, very happy. If Shane knows about what happened today, he would be happy. I have managed to get Emi back. But only asking forgiveness, kindness and with love but not by money.
If I can get Shane also back? What do I need to get him back? What wouldn’t I do to get him back?.... I decided that I should talk to Emi about him. May be she will give me some idea how to get him back. There again I thought that Emi would be a good wife for Shane. My heart started to burn by thinking of it. Then I will surely die. Then again I thought whether I love Shane.
Now that is a very good question but I had no answer. I don’t know whether I love him.... I know it was lust at first sight but I can’t say for sure it is love. I don’t know what love is. For some time I thought that I was in love with Jason. After the breakup now I am not sure of it anymore. After a long time that day I slept well. When I got up it was eight O’clock in the morning. As soon as I got up I went to see Emi. She was wearing what she was wearing yesterday. I said that I will be ready in half an hour to go with her and informed Logus about it.
Then I phoned office and informed the personal manager not to hire a secretary for me as I have taken Emi back. Further I informed that I wouldn’t be coming to the office today and to take down all the messages for me to call back tomorrow.
When we were ready we had some breakfast and went shopping. First I took Emi to the bank and opened up an account in her name and made a deposit of hundred thousand dollars transferring from my personal account. Then asked the bank to issue a Visa gold credit Card under Emi’s name.
Jim was there and he was very helpful as usual but was very inquisitive about me doing this for another girl as he knew I am straight oriented. Though I was feeling guilty to face him after the incident he was very normal and that made me easy. When I made the deposit I saw Emi's eyes going up and hitting the ceiling. But I had to tell her....
“Emi, now if something happens to me, your future is safe. I had to do it because you are my best friend.”
Then I took her to the jewelers and bought her a nice chain a pair of ear rings and four bangles according to her liking. She insisted that she doesn’t want them but I was adamant for her to have the best.
Then I took her to the best designer clothing shops in New York where I use to shop. I told her that she should select twenty dresses for her. She said it is really too many but there again I was adamant. Then from a jeans shop she bought five pairs of jeans matching tops etc.. etc... At Juliano’s I got her to buy six pairs of shoes. Got her some of the best of perfumes as well as a light make up set.
We managed to finish all the shopping by about two and then went for lunch. I asked to deliver all the things to my house and paid with my platinum Amex card.
We had a very good lunch because both of us were exhausted and hungry after walking for so long inside the shopping centers. After lunch I gave her the wallet which I bought for her secretly while shopping with three thousand dollars in it.
“You do anything with that money because from today onwards it will never run dry.”
The first thing she bought with that money was candy. When she asked for two pounds I told the sales lady to make it ten pounds.
When we came back from shopping everything we bought was there and Martha was arranging Emi’s wardrobe. I was happy, and I knew Emi was happy too.
We rested for a while in my room as we spoke about the days shopping spree we had. She said how her life changed within a few hours.
And she thanked and praised God for it. I don’t know about her God so I didn’t understand what she was talking about. Only thing I know is I paid her in full for the misjudgment I made on her and now I have a best friend in her.
“Tell me Emi; how did you know the file was in the bottom drawer of my desk? Tell me frankly.”
“When I was searching for the file and when I couldn’t find it I was very upset. I prayed to God hard, because working for Harris Cargo was my first decent job. But at that particular moment God didn’t answer my prayer. When you fired me and when I bid you good luck and God’s blessings before I turned my back to leave the office I strongly felt that it is inside in the bottom drawer of your desk. I saw an open eyed vision. Your desk drawer became transparent and God showed me the file in the right hand side bottom drawer. I wanted to turn around and tell you where it is but something told me not to. If God wished me to find it before getting fired, He would have done that, I know it. He wanted this to happen the way it happened. I have only obeyed him. Today I feel great not because suddenly I became rich, because you came back to me to say sorry and you invited me to be your best friend. So I think that is what God wanted and that was his will and for God to do this, He surely would have other plans too.”
“What is your religion Sarah?”
“I have no God.”
“But you have a Christian name.”
“I think I got a Christian name because my mother was a believer, but I have no God.”
“Then why do you have a Bible in your room?”
“A friend of mine gave it to me as a present.”
“Is it the same person who gave you the jogging suit?”
“Yeah!.. how do you know?”
“A poor man will find God easily as he comes to the end of his journey in life very fast as there is nobody to help other than God. Then he will turn to God and God will find what he wants. But a rich man will never think of God because very rarely he will want to know God. Among the rich, few people realize that money is not everything as there are so many important factors in life which money can’t buy. For an example love, kindness, patience, joy, peace and happiness.
And this jogging suit belongs to a poor man and he has a very rich heart to present a Bible to you. Because he is a man who knows the truth. Also God tells me that this man has found the true values in life according to God’s word.”
“How do you know all these?”
“I believe in a living God. When God is living he speaks when you speak to Him. God has given me understanding to analyze situations in life. Are you thinking of reading it?”
“I don’t know.... I am not sure.”
“Tell me about him...”
“Yes I will... tonight.”
“Do you love him?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what love is. I don’t know how to identify whether you are in love or not.”