Seasons (19 page)

“I’m sick of you with all your personal problems. You’ve been working below par for the last several months now, with one
problem after the other. I’m not putting up with it anymore. If you can’t handle the job, get out! I know somebody who can.”
She stood up behind her desk and literally screamed the last sentence.

It was clear the woman was not going to change her mind, so Jaci turned and left the office. She vaguely registered the presence
of other people on her way out, but her eyes were so full of tears of anger that she couldn’t see who they were. She went
back to her office, still not believing what had happened. That she should have to be dealing with something like this, after
so many years on the job and what she had thought was an excellent record, was beyond her comprehension. She started talking
to the Lord.

“Father, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I know You do. Whatever it is I know You’re able to handle it. I ask that
You will do that right now. I thank You, Lord, for the victory in this situation. And Father, I pray for Wynola. I know You’re
able to minister to her in whatever way she needs You. Have mercy on her, Lord, and bless her. And above all else, save her
and let her experience Your love and peace.”

In her spirit she heard the Word of God whisper,
“Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”

Again, she told the staff what was going on. They had worked together too long for her to be anything but honest with them.
If Wynola was gunning for her, she would probably go after them next. “It seems I can’t do anything right around here all
of a sudden. First, I’m reprimanded for being rude to a citizen. And now, my vacation request is being denied. Wynola told
me she’s tired of my personal problems and my working below par. I do know I’m going to see my grandmother. If that means
I’ll lose my job, then so be it, but I have to go.”

Her staff was unusually quiet this time. And before long, Bill had disappeared out of the office.

Jaci may have been reluctant to go over Wynola’s head, but others were not. The next day when someone knocked at her open
door to get her attention, she was surprised to see Ed Shannon, the department director standing in her door.

“Oh Lord, what now?” she asked, not bothering to hide her agitation.

Ed Shannon rarely interfered with day-to-day personnel matters in the department, leaving that to the divisional managers.
He encouraged employees and managers to work together to solve personnel problems without his involvement. But he was too
troubled by what was happening to take that approach this time.

He looked at the woman sitting behind the desk, observing her frustration and the tiredness in her eyes and spirit. He had
never known her to act in any way other than with cordial professionalism and graciousness. That was missing today and he
knew she was definitely a woman at the end of her rope. He was aware of what had been going on in her family and knew that
in spite of everything, she had still managed to do her job in an exemplary manner. He thought about all the commendations
that the department had received because of her hard work and creativity. He had never heard anything of a negative nature
about her from a citizen. Even when citizens complained about their properties being condemned, they were always complimentary
of Jaci’s sensitive assistance.

Ed had already heard about Wynola’s mistreatment of Jaci from Bill Whitmore and two other division managers who happened to
be in Wynola’s office when it happened. He also knew that when the Gilmore family, who were personal friends of his, as well
as the mayor, heard about it, he would also be hearing from them. J.P. had already jokingly told him Jaci’s days in the department
were almost over.

“Jaci, I understand you’ve been denied some vacation time,” Ed said, while his thoughts ran ahead of him. “Is that true?”

“Yes, sir, it is.”

“Do you know why?”

“No, sir, I don’t. But that’s not surprising since I just learned from Wynola that there have been other complaints made against
me by property owners. Evidently, I’m close to losing my job and didn’t even know it.” Her anger erupted despite her trying
to control it. “That really blows my mind. I’ve busted my butt in this department all these years and I’m just now learning
that my work is below par.” She leveled a hard look at him. “So, why do I have the honor of your presence? Are you here to
tell me to clear out my desk?”

When he heard the anger in her voice, Ed realized the department hadn’t done well by her. Even though management had not supported
her, she carried out her responsibilities well. He had convinced Bill Whitmore to transfer into the division when Jaci took
over as hearing coordinator, hoping Bill’s support would help turn the tide of resentment caused by Jaci getting the position.
And it had to a certain extent. But there continued to be widespread petty jealousy and dislike of her. He had left it alone,
hoping it would work itself out. It hadn’t, yet Jaci seemed to handle it okay.

Now he realized he should have taken the lead in support of Jaci because for some reason, Wynola had turned against her. It
was evident that Wynola was out of control, and if he didn’t take action, this situation could escalate and cause repercussions
he didn’t want. Why the devil Wynola had suddenly decided to wage this malicious attack against Jaci was beyond him!

“Absolutely not!” Ed answered Jaci. “I’m just as much in the dark about this as you are. I’ve already heard about what happened
in Wynola’s office, and believe me, I’m going to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, I came to personally let you know
that your request for time off is approved. I know you don’t abuse your leave benefits and I see no problem with your taking
the time. I heard it’s a family emergency. Is that right?”

“Yes. My grandmother is gravely ill in Arkansas.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Where’s your leave form? I’ll go ahead and sign it.” Jaci handed him the form, which he looked at
for a long time before signing his name. “Will you make me a couple of copies of this when you get a chance? Just give them
to my secretary,” he said as he handed the form back to her.

“Yes, sir, I will.”

“Everything is cleared with Wynola. Go on and see about your grandmother. And don’t worry about your job. You’ll be okay.”

He heard her softly spoken “Thank you very much, sir.”

As he walked away, he heard her say, “Thank you, Heavenly Father, for Your delivering, conquering power on my behalf.” He
wondered if he was numbered among the ones she had asked Him to conquer. The thought didn’t sit real easy in his mind.

Ed decided that the mayor was going to hear about this from him first before Big Pat Gilmore got to him. He and the mayor
needed to have some serious conversation about employee job performance or the lack thereof. Wynola Dickson held her high-ranking
position because of her husband’s political connections. But she had done very little to actually carry out the responsibilities.
Ed had inherited the problem and hadn’t rocked the boat because Jaci and other employees in the division made sure the work
was done. But now, in his opinion, it was time for Wynola to go because apparently, she had lost the ability for rational
behavior.

Jaci was shocked at her grandmother’s condition. Although very old, her grandmother had been in reasonably good health until
recently. Now she was seriously ill and the prognosis for recovery was not good. A nursing facility was recommended to the
family; however, her dad and his siblings were reluctant to place their mother in a nursing home, but Jaci and her brothers
supported their mother in accepting the doctors’ recommendation. Her grandmother required more care than her parents, up in
years themselves, would be able to provide.

Jaci returned to Houston with a heavy heart. Her grandmother’s condition, the baby, Maxie’s demands, and her job situation
made it seem as though trouble was on every side. She struggled not to become perplexed but instead to just jump in with both
feet and deal with everything so she could move on.

“My daddy!” Randi said, amazement and other emotions spreading across her face. “Where has he been all this time? Why does
he want to see us now? What’s his game? He has to have one.”

“Honey, I can’t answer any of your questions. He called me out of the blue a few weeks ago and demanded to see you and the
kids. I don’t feel comfortable about it, but he is your daddy and I don’t think he’s going away. The last thing I want to
do is stand in the way of your meeting him. You know that I’ve always been honest with you about how things happened with
me and your daddy. It was his decision not to be involved in your life. You know I’ve made several efforts to locate him over
the years, to give you the opportunity to meet him, but he couldn’t be found. Why all of a sudden he surfaces now—making ridiculous
demands—I don’t know. It’s your decision. I can’t make it for you. If you don’t want to see him, it’s fine with me. But I
have a feeling he’s going to have to hear it from you. You’ll eventually have to face him yourself. That’s where you’ll get
all your answers.”

“He’s been sick, you said? You think maybe that’s why?”

Jaci laughed. “Yeah, he could be a sick old man trying to clean up his act while there’s still time. I don’t know. Whether
that’s the case or not, you have to do the right thing—the thing that you can live with.”

“So, you’re telling me to see him, huh? How could you do that after the way he treated you . . . and me? As far as I’m concerned
neither one of us owes him anything.”

“Honey, I’m not telling you to do anything. You are going to have to communicate your desire to him one way or the other.
Like I said, he’ll never believe me if I tell him you don’t want to see him. Of course, I’d be happy if you told him to go
jump in the deep blue sea. But again, it’s not my decision. Basically, I’m out of it at this point.”

“Mom, you’re never going to be out of it. It took both of ya’ll to get me here. He ducked out on me, but you ain’t going nowhere.
If I do talk to him, I’ll let him know real quick that as far as I’m concerned he’s just a stranger. He’d better not try to
disrespect you in any way either. He’ll be laid out on the floor! He won’t get a chance to die from sickness, I’ll kill him.”

A little choked up, Jaci said, “Okay. I’ll give him your telephone number and tell him to never, ever, call my house again.”

J
.P. left messages for Jaci at every number he had for her. By the time she returned his calls he was fit to be tied. Anger
didn’t define what he felt when he learned Jaci had left town without letting him know.

“Don’t ever do that again!” he spoke softly, but forcefully. “I’m serious, Jaci. I know you realize how much I care for you,
and that I would be worried about you. You were wrong not to at least tell me you were going out of town. All I’m going to
say is, don’t ever do something like that again. I think you owe me that courtesy.”

“Wait a minute! I don’t owe you anything, Mr. Gilmore. And working for you doesn’t make you responsible for me. I’m an independent
woman and don’t have to answer to you or anyone for my actions.”

“Believe me. I know you’re an independent woman. And even though I probably don’t have the right to feel responsible for you,
I do, because I care about you. What if something had happened? I wouldn’t have even known you were out of the city.” When
she didn’t respond, he continued in a soft voice.

“Jaci? Are you running scared because of what my dad said to you about marrying me?”

“No!” she yelled. “I just . . . he just . . . kind of caught me off guard. But no, I’m not running scared.” He knew by her
reaction he had come close to the truth.

“I think you are. I think that’s what prompted you to leave town without letting me know you were going. Honey, I’m not trying
to take control of your life or anything, I’m just in lo—” Where had that come from? He had almost told her he loved her.
“It’s just time you learned to let someone take some of the pressure off of you. And Jaci, I don’t plan on that being anyone
but me.”

“I don’t want or need you or anyone else for that matter to take pressure off of me. I’ve come this far by myself. And I haven’t
gotten to this point letting someone else run my life, J.P.”

“I’m not trying to run your life, sweetheart. I’m just trying to show you how much I care. And I’m not arguing with you about
it anymore. I don’t know what I’m going to do about you. I believe we have something special between us. Something I’m not
willing to throw away. You know it, too, but you’re not ready to accept it.”

He paused, waiting for Jaci to say something. When she remained quiet, he continued. “Anyway. That’s all I have to say on
that issue. How about coming to my house for lunch Saturday? You can meet my son. He’s been bugging me about it ever since
he talked to my dad. So will you come?”

“I don’t know. I mean . . . Not that I don’t want to meet your son, it’s just that I don’t want him to get the wrong idea
about us.”

“Well, I’ve met your family and friends. What ideas have they gotten about us?”

“None. Because the circumstances were different, and you know it.”

“Well, I had already told him all about you. And then his granddad really laid it on about how beautiful and nice you are,
and how he’s already asked when you’re going to marry me. So Patrick is really chomping at the bit, wanting to meet you, check
you out, and see what has his old man all shook up.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea. He may draw the wrong conclusions.”

“I do. And whatever conclusions he draws will be his own. Besides, you
do
owe me, lady, for almost giving me a nervous breakdown. Now here are the directions. Be here around two.”

T
he following Saturday, Jaci found herself nervously trying to decipher her hastily written directions to his house, filled
with an overwhelming temptation to turn around at any time. She didn’t particularly like social functions, and she had no
idea who besides J.P. and his son would be there.
Why hadn’t she been firm in her refusal?
she asked herself for the hundredth time. He couldn’t force her to come. The worst he could do was fire her, and she could
live with that. In fact, that might have been her simplest solution—to just quit. But she had never been a coward. And now
wasn’t the time to start. Whatever happened, she would survive it.