Write Affair

Reaching 30: Chapter 1

[Author's Note: Sneak preview of the novel being written for NaNoWriMo.]

The postcard read “My dearest jewel, I miss you so much! I wished to be with you now! Love, Edward” Tossing the postcard to the dustbin, Calista continued her work. She didn’t care about Edward despite his declarations of undying love for her.

All she felt for him was a sense of irritation and annoyance. He was persistant and she wished that the earth would swallow him up at times. All the bouquets and flowers he sent almost every week were often given away to her female or male subordinates. The males wanted to pacify their girlfriends or wives. The females just wanted to feel romantic or make their husbands or boyfriends feel jealous.

Calista enjoyed her work and was happy to be an events planner manager. Being in this position wasn’t easy as she had to overcome prejudice from men who often gave her that “What-is-a-woman-here-for” look whenever she visited her clients with her male subordinates.

However, her efforts and results have paid off and her director was always satisfied with her work. Everyone in the office respected her as she often stood by them when they had problems with difficult clients.

Her phone rang just before lunch. It was Edward. He wanted to lunch with her. Rejection seemed impossible when her secretary pointed that he was just outside her door. Sighing, Calista resigned herself to an agonising lunch with him.

Just as they were leaving the office, Calista saw her regular client. “Mr Fu! What are you doing here?” Mr Fu beamed at her and introduced his friends saying that he was bringing them to see her. “What a surprise, do you want to have lunch first? We can always discuss it during lunch.”

“Will I be disrupting you and your…”

“No! No! He was just leaving.” Calista cut Mr Fu off before he could complete his sentence as it was simply drive Edward’s ego further, something she didn’t want. She left with Mr Fu and his friends happy for the intervention. Edward was left at the lift lobby. He scowled at her leaving back.

When she returned to her office, her secretary was worried for her. “Miss Teo, I doubt that Edward is happy. He looked evil just now when you left.”

“Lucy, I think he is harmless. I have tried to tell him in whatever ways I could to let him know I don’t like him but he still doesn’t get it. I think this ought to let him know that I don’t care to have lunch or anything with him at all.”

However, Lucy was worried because his face was scary at the lobby and she couldn’t convince her boss that he could be up to nothing good even with his nerdy appearance. She left the room reluctantly and hoped Calista would be safe.

Calista took note of Lucy’s words to heart. She didn’t want her colleagues to be worried about her when it was her problem. Edward was known to be persistent and today’s episode must have wounded his ego even more than the previous times.

She just couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t let go when she had informed him in various ways that she wasn’t remotely interested in him and had always rejected his advances. Sighing inwardly, she started on her planning for her new clients.

It was two weeks later when a woman stormed into her office demanding her to leave her husband alone. Calista was called a slut, bitch, snake and all other terms that the angry woman could think of. Shocked, Calista didn’t know how to react but she had no idea who the husband was.

“Who is your husband” she asked when the tirade died down due to the woman pausing for breath.

“You don’t know who he is?” the shriek was hurting the ears. “He is Owen Fu! The two of you have been meeting each other almost everyday and he hasn’t been home for the past two weeks!”

“Mrs Fu, your husband and I were only talking about work. I have a business dealing with him.”

“My foot! Work indeed!” Mrs Fu spat out the words as if they were vile. “The two of you have entered different hotels for 3 consecutive days and you telling me it’s work?”

“The hotels are for selecting the ballrooms.”

“Right! I don’t believe you, you little slut!” At that moment, the security guards arrived to pull the angry and jealous wife out of the office. “So, you need bodyguards now? I’ll have a piece of you!” Mrs Fu struggled to be freed so that she could slap Calista. However, she was no match for the guards. Soon, she was dragged away screaming and kicking her way out of the building.

Calista sat down at her desk in shock. She didn’t know that by meeting her clients after work would affect their families. She never had any problems with any of her clients until now.

“Miss Teo?” Lucy was at her door. Calista motioned for her to enter. Lucy closed the door behind her and sat in front of her. “Here’s your hot drink. I think you need it now.”

Calista took the hot milo from her and sipped it, grateful to have such an efficient secretary. “Lucy, I will need to cancel my appointments for today. I’m going to take the day off and leave today’s work to your capable hands.” Nodding, Lucy took note and left the room. Calista proceeded to pack and called Sonia for a drink.

Sonia arrived at the pub at the same time as Calista. She was the only one Calista would confide in first. They found a corner in the pub and ordered their drinks. Enjoying the atmosphere, they drank in silence until Calista recounted her scary encounter with a jealous wife.

Sonia listened with animated eyes. Finally, she said, “Well, from the looks of you, I can understand why she called you a slut. You still look beautiful while she could be frumpy looking. And going to a hotel with a man does look suspicious.”

“I know, but I was really talking to the hotel managers with my client. I just don’t understand why she didn’t go and ask them if she doesn’t believe her husband.”

“From her point of view, her husband is quite influential and could easily influence anyone to just ‘lie’ to her. She is getting older and feeling inadequate when dealing with her younger counterparts.”

“Sonia, you could be right. She was all wild-haired when she stormed into my office just now and the guards did have some difficulty trying to stop her from clawing at me. I think my face would have been the first to go.”

Sonia laughed but she was serious when she replied, “True but if it were any other woman who could escape the clutches of those guards, I think you would have been in more serious trouble.” Calista agreed.

As they left the pub, a dark figure was following them towards the taxi stand. Feeling chilly, Calista turned around but noticing nothing. Shrugging the ugly thoughts away, she boarded the taxi with Sonia.

Tags: Emotions, Family, Feelings, Friends, Love

Calista Teo

[Author's Note: Character for National Novel Writing Month.]

A pretty lady with a successful career. She is often sought after by men for her grace and beauty while women hate her for her looks. Once mistaken for a mistress of a rich businessman, the wife sent her a threatening letter to stay away from her husband.

This led to a period of depression as Calista was facing pressure from work for a promotion that she wanted to get desperately. She went through it with help from her close friends. She has since become stronger and is known to be cold towards men whom she doesn’t know very well.

Despite her cool exterior towards men, she yearns for someone who can let her cry on his shoulders and just be with her when she needs someone to lean on. She hopes to find him one day.

Tags: Career, Emotions, Feelings, fiction, Work, Writing

The Taxi Ride

The table shook violently. It was suffering from the abuse of constant slamming of heavy files from its owner. The chair creaked from being sat at heavily. Nobody attempted to talk to the angry owner. The office was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

The papers were heard being sorted and everyone got back to work again. How dare he do that to me! She fumed as she typed her report. Joanne had been working for 5 years in the company and the recently appointed manager had set certain standards that all reports were to be of a certain format in order to meet the audit requirements.

The keyboard was being abused as she typed furiously. By the time the report was amended, Joanne had cooled down but she didn’t feel like submitting it when he was still in the office. She didn’t want to face a manager who just insulted her that she couldn’t get a man to notice her even if she had flashed her assets.

Thinking about it got her riled up again and she hate him more. She wished that the chairman had hired someone else who was more objective. Kelvin, the new manager, didn’t know how to handle people and just insult them whenever he deemed fit. Lisa was seen crying the other time she came out of his office. She was scolded for not covering her pimples.

Tired of waiting for him to leave his room, Joanne marched up to his door, knocked three times, opened the door and placed the report on his desk without a word. She didn’t wait for his response and left the room. He didn’t talk to her for the rest of the week either which was fine with her.

It was raining heavily on a Wednesday morning and Gerald was late for work. Looking at his watch, a taxi would get him to the office faster and he hailed a passing taxi. En route, he saw a figure at the side of the road. It was a lady and she seemed to be in pain.

Image via Wikipedia

Gerald asked the driver to stop while he got out in the heavy rain to help her. “Lady? Are you alright?” he shouted against the rain. She shook her head. He helped her into the taxi and turned to her. It was Joanne. The silence was broken by the taxi driver, “Oi! Where you want to go now?”

“Hospital.” The both of them said at the same time. The driver started the car. Awkward, Joanne sat in silence nursing her injured ankle. Gerald fiddle his thumbs. It was mortifying that he had rescued his staff whom he had insulted last week. Her clothes were wet and he could now see her shapely assets that he had insulted. He was so wrong. She was hiding them as she wanted to be known for her skills instead of them.

He cursed himself. Why did he always say the wrong things at the wrong time? Joanne was cursing herself. Running in heels was a bad idea and spraining her ankle was the result. The worse was that she was in the same taxi as the person she hated the most. Her clothes were wet and she was showing off her body to the very man she didn’t want to see elsewhere besides the office.

“Joanne?” he was so soft what she didn’t notice at first. When she turned to look at him reluctantly, he was looking so worried that it threw her off guard. “I’m sorry about what I said that day.”

She stared at him.

“Words come out from my mouth when I am angry and I started sprouting nonsense.” He looked down to observe his shoes when she didn’t answer.

“You are telling me because of what just happened? That’s so typical.” He cringed at her tone. Knowing that this was the wrong time, he kept quiet till they reached the hospital. He helped her out of the taxi after paying the driver and accompanied her to the registration counter.

While she was in the doctor’s room, Gerald called his manager to inform him that he was on urgent leave while Joanne was on medical leave. He ended the call after updating the progress. Turning around, he saw Joanne was in new set of dry clothes. Her ankle was bandaged while she favoured it. He went over to help her to a chair.

After paying for her medical fees, he hailed a taxi to get her home. Worried about her safety, he decided to escort her home. In the taxi, they were both silent as Gerald didn’t know what to say after she had stated her destination. Joanne was trying to ignore his presence but he had been polite to her since they met in the morning that she felt comfortable.

“Thanks,” was all she mumbled midway through their ride. He smiled. They rode the rest of the way to her home in comfortable silence.

Tags: Career, Emotions, Feelings, Taxi, Work

A Mother’s Love

[Author's Note: Dedicated to all mothers who love their children. Based on an email about a thoughtful mother.]

The crash was devastating. The car was destroyed beyond repair. The fire engine could not extract the metal. There was blood and oil on the road. A fire was about to start if there was enough heat for combustion. A cry was heard among the noises. A young boy was still trapped inside the car.

Using the tools to cut through the metal, the rescuers quickly got through the scrap to rescue him. He was bleeding in the head. “Daddy!” he wailed loudly. Apparently, he was with his father. The front of the car was crushed into a ball and there was no way they could see the prospect of the driver still being alive.

Someone shouted, “FIRE!” The explosion was about to come. Everyone ran away from the car as fast as they could. The explosion shook the ground. The boy was still crying. His eye looked injured. Worried, the rescuer hurried him towards the ambulance.

Hours later, a mother was seen crying softly in the dim ward. Her son was injured and the doctor said he would not see out of that eye. Her husband was dead. There was no one else to depend on. She had no family as she was an orphan.

Her husband’s family were staying overseas and they had never liked traveling. The loneliness crept in. Alone and afraid for the future, she sobbed. As dawn crept into the room, she heard birds chirping. Standing up, she went to the doctor’s room and stated her request.

“Madam, are you sure?” She nodded.

4 years later, he was seen running and jumping around with his classmates. It was the last day of school. He didn’t want to leave the school as he hated going home. His friends often laughed at him for having a ‘pirate’ mother. He hated her for daring to show up at school and still smile at him as though nothing happened.

However, there was no where else to go so, when it was time to go home, he went to her side in stony silence. She chatted with him even though he was silent. She carried on her monologue and they finally reached home.

He went to his room immediately and locked the door. She went to the kitchen and prepared for lunch. After she placed his lunch on the table, she left for work. This went on for years. He left home as soon as he completed his degree. He couldn’t stand the thought of living in the same house as her until she was old.

When he got married, he didn’t invite her. She only knew of it through a friend of hers whose son was his friend. Happy, she went to visit him when she saved up enough money for the flight to California as he has migrated there.

When he opened the door, he screamed at her. His children were scared of her. His daughter was screaming, “Mommy! Monster! Monster!”

“I’m sorry to disturb you.” she left quietly, glad that he was living in a large house that she had always dreamed of giving him but unable to afford.

The doctor told her that her cancer was spreading. She nodded quietly. She had left her letter with her friend and months later, the letter arrived in California. When he saw the handwriting, he was angry. However, at the back of the envelope, it was written by his friend. She had passed away.

He didn’t know if he should be relieved or sad. With hands shaking, he opened the letter.

“My dearest John,

I’ve always loved you with all my heart. I’m so happy that you are now living in a large house and with a family. I’ve always wanted to travel around and with you living in California, I’m so glad that I had a chance to travel.

Your father always loved you and he would take you out for rides. That night, when you were only 2, the both of you were out for a ride again. However, he never returned home. Only you were back home. The doctor said you had lost your eye during the accident.

My heart ached at the thought of you growing up with just one eye. So, I told the doctor that I wanted to give you mine. I’m so glad I did that. You now have a wonderful life and lots of friends. Seeing that you have made your mark in life, I am now at peace.

Love,

Mom.”

He cried out. His wife came to see the commotion and gently took the letter away from him. After she finished reading, she realised why he was in pain.

No love is greater than a mother’s love.

Tags: Emotions, Family, Feelings, Relationships, School

Last Train Home

[Author's note: Prompted from a train ride and a comment by DD.]

As he watched the train pass by, he thought of the days when the workers were still laying out the foundations for the pillars and cables. He had often been fascinated with trains and would pester his father to bring him to the train stations just to watch the trains. If he had a choice, he would have all the world’s model trains in his home.

However, his parents wouldn’t allow him as they lived in a 3-room flat where there just wasn’t space for his hobby. All he was allowed were the photos of trains from various countries. While he hadn’t had the chance to visit them, he had sourced for the photos from the Internet and friends.

He had left work late and caught the last train home. It wasn’t his first time as he preferred to ride the train late at night as it was quiet and allowed him to think. As the train proceeded, he was lost in his thoughts. He dreamed of having his own place to setup a train world.

He had been saving up all these years including some money from his sideline ventures. As it was against the company’s rules, he took pains to cover his tracks as long as they were legitimate. His hard work had paid off. His plan was to build the world of trains and let others see his collections. His train collection was stored in his friend’s warehouse.

Arthur was pleased. He would be able to lease the building he had his eye on. Suddenly, the train jerked to a stop. Startled, he looked around. An old man at the end of the cabin woke up from his nap. There wasn’t much people in the cabin or the next.

The train moved again. It jerked to a complete stop again. Arthur was curious. This rarely happened during his late rides home. He had taken the last train home a few times and this was the first time it had happened. Finally with a few more stop and move motions, the train arrived at the station. The rest of the ride was smooth. Thinking nothing of it, it was soon forgotten. More »

Tags: Emotions, Family, Feelings, Relationships, Work