Chapter 7

© Copyright 2006 by Kimberly Jones

If Sharon thought that seeing Michael at Sunday Service was awkward then she knew that Monday was going to be the same, but for some strange reason, he acted as if nothing had happened, even on Sunday he acted the same way. Sharon was beginning to think that she imagined the whole thing. The kiss to her was still fresh in her memory. She could still feel his lips against her own, but he acted as if it never occurred.

She remembered the way her sister reacted when she told her the whole story, and wondered why she wasn’t surprised at all.

“He kissed you?”

“Yes, and Sondra, I couldn’t believe it. I was so surprised that…well he rejected me. I think he couldn’t believe, himself, that he kissed me,” Sharon said that Sunday afternoon when she went to visit her sister. She had wanted to see how her sister was coping with her pregnancy, and Constance couldn’t wait to see her aunt and ask her questions, but when James took her into the kitchen for some cookies and milk, which had given the ladies the opportunity to talk about other things.

Sharon watched a grin come across her sister’s face, “This is not funny! Here I am getting rejected for a kiss that I probably initiated and all you could do is laugh about it.”

“Why do you think that you initiated the kiss?”

“Well..” Sharon began to pace the room. “After I cried on his shoulder like a big baby, and looked up at him, Sondra, I wanted to kiss him so bad, and then he did it. When I asked him why he did it, it was almost like he was upset about it,” with her shoulders slumped, Sharon sat on the sofa next to Sondra.

“Have you ever thought of the fact that he might have wanted to kiss you?”

“No,” Sharon said unsure of herself. “I don’t know. I’m so confused. I’ve never been in love before, at least not like this, and¬—“

“Aunt Sondra, is the baby here yet,” Constance came into the room and sat next to her aunt.

Sharon took that time to think of what her sister said, and found herself still thinking about it. What if he did want to kiss me? She thought It would change everything, but that doesn’t explain why he’s acting like it never happened. When he walked in that morning, Sharon had her usual attack of nerves, but this time he didn’t linger at her desk. He took his messages and went straight into his office.

As the day seemed to drag, it had gotten worse for her. Whenever she went into his office he acted real serious and all business like. Never once did he joke or put a smile onto his face. She knew that something had to have been bothering him, and she knew that something had to have been that kiss. Why else would he be ignoring me? She thought as she continued to type on the report. It was as if they were completely strangers.

She began to realize that working for Michael was starting to become a strain for her. She knew eventually she was going to have to quit her job, especially if she wanted to remain friends with him. Sharon decided that she would spend her lunch hour trying to find another job, possibly even returning to her old one if they would still have her. She knew that Michael would probably be upset about her leaving, but in the end, she hope that he would forgive her. If he only knew the turmoil that was going on inside, he would probably help her find another job. They were good friends, but it was turning out, that they didn’t work well together. With a heavy heart, Shannon continued to work, trying hard not to give in to the tears that seemed to cloud her eyes.

~*~*~*~

Michael buried himself in his work as he tried not to think of Friday night’s event, but seeing her at the office made it very difficult for him. There were many times where he wanted to pull her into his office and tell her of his undying love, but he knew that the time was not right.

As he worked with his staff on the next project, he found his thoughts going back to Shannon. He only saw her shocked expression flash before his face, and he was once again filled with pain, embarrassment, and shame. Out of all the times he wanted to kiss her, why did he have to do it then. Because I thought she wanted it. He thought and then he let out a frustrated sigh. He knew that that wasn’t an excuse. He just shouldn’t have kiss her.

“Michael?”

All he could think about was her question, “Why did you do that?” He heard it over and over in his mind it was always their and the shame he felt would not leave him. Why did he have to give in to his desires? He was always able to restrain himself from such actions. Even with Tracy. But you weren’t in love with Tracy.

“Michael?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Stephanie, what did you say?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I was just thinking,” he replied as he looked at the drawings trying to hide his embarrassment from the probing eyes around him.

“Oh, well, what do you think about this color?”

Michael looked at the soft green and thought that it was pretty, but it wasn’t going to work in the customer’s room. “I don’t know. I mean it goes against the color pattern.”

“I know, but Mr. Brown said that he wanted something unique and different. I think that we could make it work,” she said with excitement.

And that was how his day went, along with a plenty of phone calls, his day was busy. It was one of those days where he didn’t to much care for interruptions, but he couldn’t seem to help it, especially when Shannon would come into his office from time to time with reports or messages. He was sure that she probably thought he was being rude, but the truth of the matter was that he didn’t know how to act in front of her. His thought would sway to how things could be, if she had an inkling of what he felt for her, but he couldn’t dwell on those things. He had to think about Mr. Brown, and what this project meant to his company. This was a big account, and his company’s success really depended on it. Not to mention, he was in the middle of a big contract with one of the major architectural company in the state of Texas.

He knew that he could thank no other, but God. However, he also had to thank Sharon. She was the backbone of the company, and the reason it was still standing. He knew that it was hard for her being a single parent, and staying committed to her work all at the same time. He knew that she deserved a raise, and he would make sure that she got one as soon as the contract goes through.

Michael worked for hours by the time he was ready to leave the office, no one was there, but him. He found himself disappointed. He kind of wish that Shannon had of stayed so that they could get things out in the open.

Walking slowly to his car with his shoulders slumped, head bowed, he opened the door and began to pray, “Lord, please help us both to find our way. I’m so confused, lonely, and in pain, and I don’t know what to do. Please guide me when it comes to Shannon. In Jesus name, Amen.” Silently, he got into his car, and began to drive home. With each mile he took, his burdened became lighter, and he smiled to himself, because he knew that everything was going to work out just fine.

~*~*~*~
Sharon continued to work hard each and every day, all the while pushing her emotions for Michael aside. Michael continued to treat her more like an employee rather than a friend, and this made her determined more than ever to find her another place to work. She had already sent out her resume to five companies, plus she put her resume in at her old job.

Sharon knew that her time working with Michael had come to an end. There just wasn’t any way for them to get round that kiss. While he regretted every second of it, she dreamed of it over and over in her head. Some times it’s much longer and ended with him telling her that he loved her, and others, he was asking her to be his wife. But then reality would set in, and she would cry over the fact that it was all in her imagination. Why would Michael want me anyway? I’m an ordinary woman with a child. She thought to herself as she began to file papers. She believed that most men didn’t want a ready made family, and she could only assume that Michael was apart of that group. Then his face flashed into her thoughts. He was so handsome. Could she dare to hope? Immediately, she remembered a verse in Hebrews 11, which she had memorized a few weeks ago, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.” Hope. Could she dare to hope for the impossible?

With a sigh, Sharon pushed those thought to the back of her mind, saving them for another time to meditate on and went back to work, it was around lunch time when her cell phone began to ring as she sat at the table of one of her favorite restaurants and when she answered it, her heart pounded in her ears as she listened to the caller’s words. It was her old boss, and they wanted her to come and work for them as soon as she could. With a heavy heart, she accepted and told them that she would be there bright and early that Monday. Putting an end to the call, she hadn’t realized that she was crying until she felt the first drop hit her hands. She thought that by the time she reached the office her head would have been cleared, but this was not the case. The tears started all over again once she saw the building. This was after all what she wanted, so why was she crying? There was no other way. Michael obviously didn’t want to have anything to do with her romantically. All they had was there friendship, and she was not going to jeopardize that for anyone.

With her mind made up, Sharon wiped away her tears, held her head up high and walked back into the building. She had to type her letter of resignation and present it to Michael before the day was finished.

The hours seemed to pass like bolts of lightening flashing in the sky. Before Sharon knew it, the entire staff was saying their goodbyes as they headed for the door. This is it, she thought to herself when not a single soul was left in the building except for her and Michael. With trembling hands she picked up her letter and walked slowly into his office.

His head bowed as he examined several sheets of paper. His sports jacket hung neatly on the back of his chair. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and his top button was unbuttoned while his tie hung loosely around his neck. She stood in the doorway trying to remember every detail of him. She knew that this was going to be the last time she would see him this way. Of course, she would see him at social gathering, but never again like this. When the tears chose that moment to appear in her eyes, she wiped at them, and then walked further into the room.

Michael looked up then, but there wasn’t a smile on his face. His look was so intense that Sharon wondered if this was the right time to tell him of her resignation, but she continued to walk closer and surprised her self when she spoke, “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Of course not,” he said motioning her to sit down.

Before she took the seat, she handed him the paper, with a deep breath she sat and waited, not sure of what was going to happen next.



Michael read the contents of the letter with surprise. The letter held no true explanation as to why she was leaving. It only said that she enjoyed working with him and that she felt it was time for her to go. He thought that she was happy working for him. She made nice chunk of change every month. With a sigh, he threw the letter aside and looked at her in her eyes, “What’s the real reason?” he said as he went to stand before her.

“I’d rather not discuss it.”

“You’d rather not discuss it with me.”

“Look, I just wanted you to know, okay?” she stood and was about to head out the door, but his hand took hold of her wrist.

“No, Sharon, it’s not okay,” he said as she kept her head bowed to the floor. “What’s going on? Is it something I done?” As soon as the question was out, he immediately thought about the kiss.

“No, it not you. It’s me, okay? Now will you please let go of me?”

“Sharon, look at me.”

“No,” she said with a wobbling voice.

Tugging on her arm, he brought her closer to him, and with his fingers, he touched her chin gently until he was looking into her tear filled eyes. He wanted more than anything to wipe away the pain he saw there, but there was nothing he could do unless she opened up to him. “I’ve known you for so long,” he said this in a whisper, “Please don’t do this to us. Don’t shut me out.”

The tears fell onto her cheeks now and she began to tremble violently as he folded her into his arms. Oh, how he loved this woman. He wanted so much to tell her, but the timing wasn’t right. Something seemed to be troubling her, and he’ll do all that he could to comfort her. A while later, her trembling subsided, and the word she said next, made his heart swell.

“I don’t want to loose you.”

“You’re not going to loose me,” he said stepping back to look into her eyes, “Why do you think that?”

Tearing away from him, Michael watched her as she walked to the window, “After that kiss, I realized that we both want two different things,” she said and when she looked at him , she saw that he was about to speak, and she held her hand up to stop his words. “No, let me finish. In order for me not to destroy our friendship, I have to leave,” she said and then turned her head back toward the people on the street. “You see, I realized that my feelings for you have changed. I’ve always loved you, but I find my self wishing for more, and it’s not fair to you. I’d rather have our friendship than nothing at all,” when she turned around with tears in her eyes, she was surprise to see him standing directly behind her with a grin on his face.

“You have no idea, how long I’ve waited to hear you say those words. I love you, Sharon. I love you more than you would ever know,” with his hand around her waist, he brought her closer to him and kissed her with all the built up emotions that were inside of him. It was the sweetest kiss he had ever known, and he pulled her closer for a deeper kiss.

Tears fell silently against Sharon’s cheek as she was finally in the arms of the man she loved, and when the kiss ended, a sudden thought came to mind. One that’s been plaguing her thoughts for a while now. “What about Connie?”

“What about her?”

“Well, she’s not your child,” she mumbled with uncertainty.

“Shar, my love for you is unconditional. What happened in the past stays in the past. I love you, and that means your daughter too, and I will raise her as if she was my own.”

With relief and a giggle, Sharon said, “You make it sound like we’re going to get married.”

“That’s because we are.”

“Are we?” she said as she stood on tip toe to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

“Mm Hmm.”

“I don’t remember being proposed to,” she said with a teasing grin.

“Sharon Yvette Harris, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Yes, Michael, and I will love you unconditionally,” she said before he sealed their promise with a kiss.


HEY! and don't forget to e-mail Kimberly Jones if you have a comment! She would really like to hear from you.





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