The next morning, I start out doing some housework; unsure if I dreamed the call from the agent. Am I on my way to becoming an author?Now that one dream of mine is on it’s way to coming true, I am more determined than ever to realize another. I find myself standing once again on Desmond’s front porch. My finger is again, inches away from the door bell. This time I apply the pressure needed to make it ring; although my heart is pounding so loud, that I can’t hear it.I stand back and wait for Desmond to answer the door; praying that he doesn’t slam it in my face when he sees me. I clear my throat just to make sure that my dry throat still contains my voice, because it feels as though I’ve swallowed it.Desmond comes to the door, looking as handsome as always. He doesn’t slam it or react negatively.“Oh, hey! I was wondering what happened to you!” Desmond says sounding pleased to see me.“Last time you came by, you sorta disappeared on me,” he says.
I’m guessing that he did not see me run away. I’m relieved.He offers his hand and I grasp it.“Uh,” I say, again clearing my voice to make sure it works. “Sorry about that, I remembered that I had left my stove on,” I say offering a white lie instead of telling him that he makes me crazy nervous.“I’m so glad you came back. I wasn’t sure if I should stop by your house or not,” Desmond says sounding genuine.
He wanted to stop by my house? I repeat to myself.I get over my shock long enough to offer my name, “I’m Athena…Athena Sparks.”
“So good to meet you. I’m Desmond Bailey.”“Please come in,” he offers.
Immediately I can feel my pulse increase. I can also feel my fight or flight impulses creeping up again.But this time I do not run away…Instead, I nervously enter Desmond’s home.
After my bath, I walk outside and notice that my wind chime is gone. The thief managed to steal it along with my porch light. This just adds to my feelings of violation.I can’t take sitting around my house knowing I’ll probably never be comfortable there until I can afford an alarm system. I call a taxi and tell him to take me to the diner. I would rather spend some money on breakfast than sit around psyching myself into thinking the thief will return.A crowd is just what I need right now. Too much isolation threatens to drive me crazy.The diner is located in a gorgeous area of town. The noisy crowd puts me at ease.I eat and leave the diner, but I still have hours before I have to be at work.I visit the grocery store on the corner for a few supplies. I could use some bubble bath and some snacks.A few trips through the aisles of the grocery store is not enough to spend the rest of the time I have before I have to be at the bookstore.I decide to give starting my novel another try. At the house of books, I sit and stare at the computer screen for a while; waiting for an idea to enter my mind.Then it comes to me…I will write about something that I know all too well and I will call it ‘Lonely Girl’.Like a person possessed, I type and type as the ideas come faster than my fingers can type. Before I know it, I’ve completed the first chapter.While spending months of wasted time sitting at computers, I started creating an email list of agents. I submit my first chapter to a few of them. After being robbed, I no longer fear rejection from a book agent.It’s time for work and I am exhausted. I consider calling my boss at the bookstore and telling her that I’m not coming in, but I’d hate to let her down.I make it to the bookstore and stay as long as I can. Finally I give into my fatigue and let my boss, Cynthia, know that I didn’t get any sleep because of the robbery last night. Graciously she allows me to leave.I make it home and lie down for a nap right away. My energy is totally depleted; leaving no room to fear another robbery.My cell phone wakes me an hour later. Groggy and disoriented, it is moments before I know what has awaken me from my nap.I finally realize that it’s my phone. It’s a call that I never expected to receive…one of the agents that received the first chapter of my book wants to consider signing me for a book deal. If I agree, I would be paid a small amount of money for each acceptable chapter that I submit.After the call, I stand and marinate over the agent’s last words, “The heroine of your story is refreshing, unique and brilliant. Keep it up and this book will quickly become a best seller.” I am in shock.
I am in bed that night when I hear rustling outside of my house.At first I think I’m still dreaming until the rustling turns into soft pounding footsteps on my porch. It soon becomes obvious to me that someone is on my front porch when I hear my wind chimes tinkling a lot more than I am accustomed to.I don’t even wait before I’m on the phone with the police.I am scared out of my mind, but I run out to the porch hoping that it would scare the intruder away before they attempt to enter my home.It works. By the time the cop arrives, the thief is long gone.I am relieved to see the cop, but I am breathing so hard from fear that I can barely greet him.“I’m sorry ma’am, I didn’t catch the intruder. Did you get a good look at him?”“No…I,” I begin.
“The more you can tell me, the better chance that we can catch him.”“I’m sorry, things just happened so fast…and it was dark…”
“I understand. Please take my card, if anything further comes to mind, give me a call.”The cop takes a quick look around and takes notes for his police report. After the cop leaves, I am extremely tired, but I’m reluctant to fall asleep. What if the thief returns to finish the job? If I had some place else to go, I would leave.My anxiety only increases as I hear the cop car pull off.I manage to return to sleep, but it’s not restful and it’s plagued with nightmares.I hear a sound outside on the porch. I’m sure that’s it’s just my imagination, but the fear is real. I take a bath, submerging my head under water. It’s the only thing I can think to do in order to fully make sure that I am awake.I sit in the tub, reflecting on my situation. Now that I’ve experienced real, potentially life threatening fear, the things I’ve been afraid of seem so petty…including introducing myself to Desmond.
