Her Lifelong Dream

Judy Kouzel

Leedy Collins pulled her old, dark green Jeep Wrangler
into the closest parking space she could find. She glanced
briefly at the white stucco building for a second before she
flung open the car door and headed for the entrance. It was
a beautiful early fall day in Madison, Wisconsin, but Leedy
barely noticed. Her thoughts were a million miles away.

Please approve the loan, please approve the loan, she
prayed to herself as she opened the gleaming glass doors
and walked into the lobby. But of course they would approve the loan-at long last. Why else would she have
received the phone call yesterday?

"Hello, Ms. Collins," the friendly voice on the other end
of the line had said. "My name is Greta Spencer and I'm
with Bernard & Simmons Savings and Loan. Terry Foster,
the loan officer in charge of your case, would like to meet
with you to discuss your loan application. Would it be possible to set up a meeting?"

"Absolutely," Leedy had said. She would have driven to the bank right then and there but instead she had to settle
for a meeting early the next morning. She could hardly
sleep that night. Could all of her hard work finally be paying off?

The enormity of the day weighed heavily on her as she
made her way to Suite 10-B, so much so that her knees
were shaking and her stomach was churning all the way up
to the tenth floor of the office building. She walked down
the hallway, her thoughts on the San Francisco culinary
institute she had attended and the many years of working
for restaurants large and small. From busgirl to hostess to
server to chef's assistant, Leedy had done it all. Her resume
was a testimony to her qualifications as a capable restaurateur. No doubt about it-she knew the food business inside and out.