Made to Shine - Shining Light - WATTY AWARD Winner

Made to Shine - Shining Light - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

‘Leave your past behind you and focus on the here and now. Sometimes we want to dwell on the things that happened years ago. Whether they were good memories or bad. God wants you to live in the present, not the past. Living your life to the fullest means allowing your past to remain in the past. If someone does not want to support you and the life God is given you, and they come against you (and God) then do as Jesus said in the New Testament, ‘shake the dust off your feet when you leave’ so you don’t take anything from them with you.’

Ben did not tell Emily about his lunch meeting. He didn’t want to worry her. She had too much going on right now for him to throw something else her way. She had hired a pastry student from the culinary school to take some kitchen duties off her load, but she still had quite a few weddings and birthday cakes to deliver this week.

He was surprised when his new secretary, Rita, told him the day before about the message. He was hesitant to return the call, but knew he needed to confront the situation at some point and although he would have loved to wait a while or never deal with it at all, he was positive it needed to be resolved once and for all.

When he entered Barney’s he saw his old friends sitting at a table. He wasn’t one to judge and knew a lot of people who drank at lunch, but he could tell they were well past their first. Ben preferred to keep his mind intact and did not drink anything stronger than a soda. In college his fraternity brothers nicknamed him ‘Never Ben’ because he had never been drunk, never been with a woman and never been in trouble. This was later shortened to Never and then eventually Nev, which was easier for his drunken frat brothers to slur.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Mark said with a wry smile. Mark had not gone off to college with Tim and Ben, he ended up staying in the city and working for his father’s appliance store. He was still working in the same store, but now for his older brother.

“Nev! How have ya been?” Tim asked. Tim had gotten a degree in corporate finance. He had come back home to make his fortune, but lost a lot of his money in the stock market when the bubble burst. He now worked for a small business as the accounting manager.

“Never better,” Ben said as he sat down at the table. The waitress came over and asked for his drink order. After ordering a soda, he turned his attention back to his friends. . . former friends. Leaning back very relaxed in his chair, he knew how to handle people as a lawyer, but he knew how to handle Mark and Tim from years of experience.

“I was surprised to hear from my mother, that you have been back in the city for several months and we have not heard from you,” Tim said taking a sip of his whisky.

“I’ve been busy,” Ben took a sip of his soda that had arrived, glanced at the menu and ordered a cheeseburger when the waitress took the order.

“What has kept you away so long?” Mark asked taking a swig of his beer.

“I had no reason to return. Now I do.” The last part, Ben said with a half smile on his face thinking about Emily.

“Nev? In love?” Tim said more than asked.

“I guess you could say that,” Ben said with a full smile.

Tim had settled down, but settled was more like it. He married his bosses’ daughter in hopes of weaseling his way into a better life. What he didn’t know at the time was that the family put every dime in a business that was struggling.

Mark refused to get married. He had two or three kids by various women and played the field like he was still a running back.

“I never thought you would ever find the right woman to make you stay out all night!” Tim said with a raised eyebrow.

“She is amazing.” Ben sighed. “She is talented. She recently placed second in a nationwide contest. Her design will be on the cover of an international magazine. And after everything, she still loves me. My heart skips a beat when I see her. Plus it doesn’t hurt that she is the sexiest woman I have ever met, curves that don’t stop, if you know what I mean.”

With each description of this wonderful woman, Tim and Mark’s mouths began to hang open. By the end, their tongues were practically wagging. The waitress walked by and Ben waved her over and whispered in her ear, “Make mine to go please.” She nodded and walked off towards the kitchen.

“We can’t wait to meet her.” Mark said.

Ben laughed, “She is a classy lady.” He left off there letting them know, without saying it, that she was in a much higher league then they were.

“Is she in the fashion business?” Tim asked catching the part about her design being on the cover of a magazine.

“No,” Ben shook his head, “She has won Best of Best for New York bakeries for the past few years.”

“Bakeries?” Tim asked. Then realization hit, “Ragamuffin?”

Ben smiled, “Her name is Emily, and yes, I love her. I always have and I always will. She is my soul mate. I guess that is why it hurt so bad when I found out my so called friends betrayed me and told her that she was bringing me down and that I didn’t really love her.”

The waitress dropped a to go bag off at the table and Ben slipped her a couple of bills paying for his lunch and a very nice tip.

“Never speak for me again. You guys really lost out on knowing a wonderful, beautiful woman because you could not see past her insecurities and clothes. She has grown into someone who could grace any magazine.”

Ben tossed on the table a magazine from last month after the competition that said how she finished second overall, but best cake and best bakery in New York. He took small satisfaction in seeing their eyes bulge as Emily stood there in front of her winning cake with her auburn hair flowing down her shoulders and green eyes sparkling back. Her perfect lips were parted just enough to show a line of perfect white teeth. But the low cut blouse was where he noticed their eyes landing. In high school, they would have never known how developed Emily was because of all the baggy sweaters and tops she wore. This picture highlighted her curves in every positive way.

As he stood to leave, he said, “I think we are done here,” he turned to go and turned back again, “One more thing, don’t ever contact her again. I don’t care if you want her award winning cake, cookies or bread. Don’t go near the shop or Emily. And do yourselves a favor, if you see us out together, cross the street to the other side because if I am feeling nice, I will just ignore you.”