Mary’s Christmas Gift Chapter 9
Story posted by Chris Cade | Short Christmas Stories on Oct 14, 2008 in Inspirational Christmas Stories (If known, the original author is listed below)
The adoption was conducted the day before Christmas. Mary’s attorney and a registered nurse brought the baby from the hospital to Elizabeth and Kevin’s attorney’s office, where the adoption papers were signed and the new parents took custody.
They named their daughter Molly. Mary’s attorney phoned to tell her that the adoption had been completed and that both parents cried when they held the baby for the first time. After the phone call, Mary cried too.
Jill insisted that Mary spend Christmas with her and her family, and even though she hadn’t felt like socializing, Mary found herself enjoying the offbeat sense of humor of Jill’s parents, aunts and uncles. And, as is the case with every American holiday gathering, there was too much good food and everyone ate too much.
By the time she returned to work after the holiday break, Mary still felt sad, but she could feel her strength and energy returning and she resolved to move on with her life. She felt more dependent on God than ever, which, she knew in her heart, was exactly what He wanted.
Jill was already at her desk when Mary came into the office. Mary was glad to have no more need for the huge red coat she had borrowed. She wore her own short, baby blue jacket, slacks and a sweater. She had already started to lose some of the weight she had gained during pregnancy.
“Hi, Mary! How are you doing?”
Mary hung her coat up, came back and stood by Jill’s desk. “Well, in one way I have a certain sense of relief that it’s all over, but in another way, I’m feeling a lot of disappointment. I know I shouldn’t, but that’s just the way I feel.”
Jill pushed her new glasses up on her nose. “You did the right thing, Mary. And you’re the only one who knows your limitations. You were honest in knowing you’re not up to raising a child by yourself right now.”
“I imagine Elizabeth will be taking some personal time,” Mary said. “She’s not here yet, is she?”
“No. Her office is dark.”
“So. Does Pastor Don have you memorizing the entire Bible yet?”
Jill laughed. “No, but I’m reading through the Gospels now. I’m so excited, I feel like I could explode.”
Mary smiled. “You know, this doesn’t mean all your problems are going to instantly go away.”
“I know, I know. But now I’ll have God to help me with them. And I think, I think as he helps me feel better about myself, maybe I’ll be more attractive to the right man.”
“You’ve always been attractive, Jill. I’m so happy for you. I wouldn’t last a day without Jesus helping me.”
Jill’s phone rang. She put her hand in the air to signal Mary to hold her thought.
“This is Jill Novak.” She picked up a pen to write a note while she listened on the phone, then put the pen down and said. “Yes. I’ll be right there,” then hung up.
“That was Ray Jefferson,” Jill told Mary. “He wants to see me in his office.”
“Probably about filling in for Elizabeth while she’s off,” Mary guessed.
“Yeah. That’s it.” Jill picked up the pen and a yellow legal pad then started down the hall toward the vice president’s office. “We’ll talk at lunch, okay?” she called over her shoulder.
“That sounds good,” Mary said.
Mary sat down at her desk, listened to her voice mail messages, then checked her email. By the time she had returned three phone calls and replied to two important emails, Jill came back, her face showing an odd expression that Mary couldn’t decipher.
“What happened? Jill, are you okay?”
“I can’t tell you about it yet. He wants to see you, right now.”
“Okay.” Mary grabbed a pad and pen. “Any hint on what it’s about?”
“We can talk about it when you get back.” Then Jill broke into a broad smile, which relieved Mary immensely.
Everyone in the company had tremendous respect for Ray Jefferson, the vice president in charge of administration. He oversaw the Finance, Human Resources, Purchasing, and Marketing departments. An African-American in his early sixties, he had put himself and two of his brothers through college, served in the Marines in Vietnam, and was a deacon in his church. Ray was a model of integrity, intelligence, and patience, the kind of person who inspired loyalty and admiration from his employees.
Mary paused at the desk of Kathy Porter, Jefferson’s secretary. The young woman looked up from her computer monitor. “Oh! He’s expecting you, Mary. Go right in.”
Mary rapped on the side of the open door. “You wanted to see me, Ray?” “Good morning, Mary,” he said, smiling. He stood, gave her a firm handshake, then gently shut the office door. “Please have a seat. We haven’t spoken for quite a while.”
Mary noticed that he was still smiling, and from the way Jill had behaved, she assumed this wasn’t going to be any kind of disciplinary meeting. Besides, she couldn’t think of anything she had done wrong. “First, let me put your mind at ease.” Ray folded his large hands on his desk blotter. “The reason for this meeting is a good thing—at least I hope that’s how you’ll see it.”
Mary nodded, consumed with curiosity.
“I received a phone call at home the other night from Elizabeth,” the vice president explained. “She notified me that she plans to resign from her position at Midwest Milling. She wants to stay home with their new baby.”
“Oh! That sort of surprises me.”
Ray laughed. “Me too. But you should know that she hasn’t been this happy in years. She’s always wanted a child, and you made that possible for them, Mary. Kevin has a great job at the Mercantile Exchange, so finances are not an issue for them.
“I guess the big news,” he continued, “is that I just offered Elizabeth’s position to Jill, and she accepted.”
“Wow! That’s great. I’m happy for her.” Mary was surprised, yet not surprised.
“Jill has filled in for Elizabeth during vacations, and she’s always done an excellent job. Elizabeth recommended her and said she’d be a natural for it.
Fortunately for us, Elizabeth agreed to come in part time for a couple months to train Jill. Jill probably knows most of it anyway, from filling in, but there are some procedures she’s not familiar with.”
“Can I ask who’ll be filling Jill’s old job?”
“Well, I don’t have anyone specific in mind, so I’m going to post it within the company first. If no one applies, then we’ll go to the outside. But I’d much rather have someone from inside, who already knows how Midwest operates. It’s going to be a big load on Jill for a while, learning Elizabeth’s work and training someone in her old job too, but I’m confident she can handle it.”
“When does this start?”
“Today! I’ll be handling some of Elizabeth’s duties so Jill can still do her job at the same time. I don’t want her to resign because we dump too much on her at once,” he said with a laugh. “And now to the part that affects you, Mary. You trained under Mildred Stansky, out at the Omaha plant,” Ray began.
“Mildred was my mentor. I learned a lot about the company from her.”
“Tom Buchanan, the Omaha plant manager, called me last week to tell me that Mildred is taking early retirement.”
Mary was shocked. “She is? Gee, I’m surprised to hear that. Mildred and I still keep in touch, and she never mentioned that to me.”
“Well, her husband Fred—you know Fred—had a TIA a couple weeks ago.”
“What’s that?”
“A transient ischemic attack. I guess you’d call it a small stroke. He came through it with no physical or mental effects, but it was like a warning signal to him and Mildred. He’s on medication now, and his doctor says they caught the condition in time, but Mildred has decided to retire at 62 instead of working ‘til 65. She wants to spend more time with him and be able to visit their
grandchildren more often. I can’t say I blame her,” Ray added. “There’s more to life than just work.”
“I’ll have to call her and congratulate her,” Mary said. “She’s been with Midwest over thirty years, hasn’t she?”
“Thirty-two. Mary, Mildred has recommended you for her job at the Omaha plant.”
Mary was stunned. She looked at Ray Jefferson several seconds, not knowing what to say. “I…I…”
“You don’t have to give me a decision right now. But I would like you to seriously consider it. You’d be starting at $60,000 a year, a considerable increase from what you earn now. Naturally there’s more responsibility to go along with that, but Mildred has complete confidence in your abilities, and that’s good enough for me. Besides, I’m familiar with your work here. I looked at your personnel file and Elizabeth has always given you excellent performance reviews.
She said you’d be perfect for the job too.”
“This is so unexpected…”
“I have to admit that I’m selfish enough to want to keep you here at headquarters, but that wouldn’t necessarily be the best thing for you,” Ray said. “I know that your parents are deceased and that you don’t have many relatives back in Nebraska, but this would be a major advancement for you, Mary. I’ve always been a strong believer that we need our best people out in the plants. Heck, that’s where the cereal is made, not in these offices here in Chicago. We have our part to play, of course, but Midwest Milling succeeds or fails on the quality and delivery of our products. Mildred played a key role in the Omaha plant. I’d like you to go out there and keep up her high standards, Mary.”
He stood and offered her his hand again. She shook with him.
“Can I let you know by the end of the week?” Mary asked. “I’ll need some time to think about it.” But already the idea appealed to her. Something was prompting her to make some major changes in her life.
“That’ll be fine. Why don’t you and Jill take a long lunch today so you can talk about it?”
Mary smiled as she opened the door. Ray Jefferson was a very perceptive man.
As she walked down the hall back toward the Finance offices, she felt lightheaded, as if her feet were barely touching the floor.
Except for her friendship with Jill, Mary couldn’t think of any reason not to go.
She wondered if this was God’s strange way of answering her prayers.
As she thought about Wahoo, Nebraska and the short commute to the Omaha plant, Mary smiled. Maybe it would be good to go back home.
[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10]
- Jack Zavada
©2006 by www.inspiration-for-singles.com
This a just a chapter of a free ebook entitled “Mary’s Christmas Gift” which can be downloaded from http://www.inspiration-for-singles.com/mary.html
Jack Zavada’s new ebook, Single and Sure, not only shows single people how to rescue themselves, but how to become a happier, more confident person in the process.
