From Sunrise To Sunset

Decisions 2

Nicholas

The soul never forgets what the mind and body fail to remember.

My body may live in the present but it's clear that my soul still lives in the past. A place where it drifts to every time my body falls asleep.

Waking up from a different dream about Margaret and Jonathan is further proof that my dreams are not simply just dreams but are also memories of a past life that Cassandra and I once lived. There are so many similarities between us and them, and it's not just our physical features but also the things we like and how we met. Everything Jonathan feels for Margaret is exactly what I feel for Cassandra and even though Cassandra won't admit that she loves me, I know that she feels for me what Margaret feels for Jonathan.

I stare at the elevator buttons as they each take turns lighting up in the color blue as the elevator moves upward to the top floor. After everything that transpired last night, I wanted nothing more than to clear my schedule and stay home for the day to get my thoughts in order, but I promised Noah and Uncle Thomas that I'd join them for lunch to discuss my future at Charles' brothers, so I had no choice but to leave my apartment.

The elevator opens and instantly I'm filled with the memory of my father. The last time I came here was shortly after the accident. Uncle Thomas brought me here because he thought that I should be the one to clean out my father's office and take whatever I wanted to keep, but I couldn't make it out of the elevator then. I haven't been back here since, but that was ten years ago.

I take a deep breath and then step out of the elevator. I let my eyes scan the place; the company hasn't changed that much in the past ten years. The only difference now is that the wooden walls have now been changed to glass and the floors appear to have been redone.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Cooper," I say, greeting the receptionist. She's a dark middle-aged woman with short kinky hair and small oval glasses. She's been working here since my father and Uncle Thomas started the company back in 1995.

"Good afternoon Nick," she replies, excited to see me. "Noah informed me that you'd be here today, but I found that hard to believe since the last time I saw you was...ten years ago. How have you been?" she asks, coming from behind her desk to hug me. She was practically Noah's and I's babysitter when we used to hang around the office with our fathers.

"I've been well, thank you," I respond as she puts her arms around my shoulders and I rest my left hand on the center of her back.

"You've gotten so tall," she laughs. "I now have to look up to look at you and you down to look at me. Before it was the other way around," she adds and we both laugh as she releases me. "Noah tells me you're into that photo-taking business now," she continues.

"Yes, I do freelance photography."

"That's good." She smiles, "I remember when you used to run around here taking pictures of everyone with that little Polaroid camera. You sure have grown into a handsome young man. You look just like your father but, you have your mother's eyes and her smile. Oh, how I miss that sweet smile..."

I give her a small uncomfortable smile as she mentions my parents. It's hard enough to be here without them. I don't need anyone here bringing them up.

"Can you direct me to Noah's office?" I ask before she continues to talk about my parents.

"Yes, of course, it's four doors down on your left," she says, pointing down the hallway on the left side of her desk.

I thank her, then walk down the hall to Noah's office. He's standing behind his desk talking to a dainty brunette who is wearing a simple tight gray dress that falls two inches above her knees. She seems to be more interested in checking Noah out rather than paying attention to what he's saying.