Fools "Rush" In

Chapter 1 - Elaina Chases a Dream

"Mom, don't be ridiculous! You can't let this opportunity pass."

"But it's a stupid amount of money... plus I'll feel silly going by myself."

"When have you ever let being by yourself stop you from doing anything?" Emily blew a breath up through her bangs. She couldn't believe her mom was being this wishy-washy about something she clearly wanted so badly. "And as for the money, you can easily afford it. We both know that you're only struggling because you never want to spend it on yourself."

Elaina sighed, "Sometimes I forget which one of us is the mom." And then she chuckled. "You're right... I'm going to book it; it's time to do something for me."

The sound of her usually mature and low-key daughter giving a hearty "yeeessss" across the phone line brought a genuine smile and feeling of warmth through her chest. Although Emily was a grown, married woman who now lived 12 hours away, she would always be Elaina's sweet baby girl.

"Alright, I gotta go Mom. Text me the details once you get it booked. I'm excited for you! This is a great way to kick off your retirement!"

After ending the call, Elaina took her glass of wine and curled up at the end of the couch with her laptop. She had only officially been retired for 4 days, but she was already restless and ready for adventure. She'd worked for 25 years as a bio-chemical engineer, beginning at age 22 when she was a young single mother. It had been hard, but she'd loved the work and had done quite well financially. Now, at the age of 47 she was taking a breather before she started writing the next chapter of her life.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled up the website for RUSH, her favorite band of all time. They had announced that they were releasing one final album, and as a farewell were going to hold one last private show at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The venue only held 600 people, and the seats were invitation only, with one exception... a small section of 20 seats that were being held open for a charity auction.

As she watched the countdown timer on the screen, indicating that less than half an hour was left to bid, Elaina typed in the absurd amount of money that she was going to most likely part ways with. She only felt slightly better knowing that her accountant had told her she needed more charitable write-offs to offset the stock options she had exercised upon retirement. At exactly one minute to closing, she hit enter on the bid and then drained her glass of wine.