An unlikely romance sprouts from a chance encounter between Cliff and Hannah after she spurns his good deed. ----------
Cliff tries doing a good deed for financially distressed Hannah by paying for her expensive car repairs. He expects nothing in...
Hannah replayed in her mind the telephone conversation she had with Cliff the day he was released from the hospital.
She told Cliff how she had allowed him into her heart. He had been the only happy and positive force in her life among all her current misfortunes.
Would things have been different if she hadn't lost her job? Would his mother have viewed her differently? She could drive herself crazy speculating about all the what ifs.
She and Cliff had almost kissed. Twice. If that happened, intimacy would soon follow. She was already falling in love with him. Intimacy would make their breakup even more heartrending.
Hannah tried reasoning with him that it would be better to end things now. They were doomed. His parents held his economic future in their hands and family would always win out.
Of course, he disagreed. He told her how he would break free from his parents' hold on him. He would've done so sooner but waited until Izzy graduated from uni. He said he and his sister had a plan and they were putting the plan in motion.
She didn't know if she should believe him. Maybe he was sincere. Maybe he was just acting desperate. Either way, she couldn't risk having her feelings crushed again so soon after her previous breakup.
Over the phone, she had told him how relieved she was to find out he would make a full recovery from his concussion. Then, she made it clear to him they were over, but she wished him the best. No, she wouldn't reconsider. No, she wouldn't go to the summer social with him. That was now off.
Cliff had been unhappy to hear those words but not angry. He told her he wished things could be different, but he respected her decision.
During the entire conversation, she managed to hold her emotions in check until his final words to her. Before ending the call, he had said, "It's a shame, Hannah banana. I thought we really had something. I would have really liked seeing you in your black cocktail dress."
She supposed it wasn't the words themselves that made her break down and cry, but rather the way he had said them. So forlorn. So much sadness in his tone. He had touched her with his pain.
Hannah was thankful her parents were supportive in everything she did. She had told them everything. They often expressed their views and gave unsolicited advice, but they never judged her. Both her mother and her father liked Cliff, but they understood the situation.
Her father still hadn't found another job, and his termination date was looming. With her mother's arthritis getting worse, what would they do about her healthcare? How would they be able to afford to pay for private health insurance? They insisted she shouldn't worry about such things, but how could she not?
If only she could find work in her profession. She had tried everything. She had looked everywhere. Companies weren't hiring, or they weren't interested in hiring her. It was utterly frustrating.
Maybe it was time to give up trying to be a manager and set out on some other career path. What a waste it was paying for a college degree she couldn't use. One thing for sure, she wasn't going to spend the rest of her life as a server in a sports bar.
Her cellphone rang pulling her from her thoughts. The name in her caller ID surprised her. Shortly after losing her job, Hannah had contacted a headhunter, hoping an agency would help her find work more quickly than she could on her own. She figured they had contacts and an incentive since she would have to pay them a finder's fee if they could place her.
The agency had proven to be worthless. The agent assigned to her never followed up even after Hannah had bugged her often.
Now, suddenly, she was calling. Hannah took the call.
"Hannah Blessing, I'm calling to find out if you're still available."
Yeah, she was very much available. "I haven't found anything yet."
"I think maybe I have." Her agent sounded enthusiastic.
"A local company," she asked, "or would I have to relocate?"
"It's local. Can you interview tomorrow at ten?"
Like her calendar was so damn full. "I can do ten."
"Do you have a pen handy? I can give you the details or if you prefer, I can email you."
Hannah didn't want to wait for an email.
"I'm ready. Go ahead. What's the name of the company and with whom should I meet?"
So taken aback was Hannah, she asked the agent to repeat the information.
After ending the call, she considered the strange twist. "You have got to be kidding me!"
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In case you're wondering, it's not Cliff's company.
