A good choice on a good day…
This is a short story based on the Reedsy writing prompt entitled ‘Write about someone taking advantage of some unexpected free time’. I tried to stick to the gist of the prompt as much as I could while giving the story a Christian moral that resonated.
She was sitting at her desk at work doing things the way she was so accustomed to doing them. Even though she loved her job, she wondered how she could make a better choice, so that she could make better decisions about her life in general and have a really good day.
Jeanette Henderson was a beautiful but thoughtful young receptionist for Star TV Media Productions who put more than the usual effort at work. She liked being herself, a receptionist that picked up the phone with glee, and smiled into the phone when she spoke. Perhaps it was a characteristic that people who called the thriving company loved about her.
Jeanette had her fair share of administrative work to do, as part of her duties, apart from just answering the phone. She tended to these duties reasonably well and was up to speed in everything she ever did.
One day her supervisor told her on the phone that he would not be coming in to work, and so she would not have any admin duties for the day. Jeanette did not see this coming, but in a way, she looked forward to the idea of having a little more time to herself than usual.
Jeanette had a little diary that she used to stay on top of things. She decided to make a little to-do list that she could refer to, and do most of the things on this list that very day. Given that there was ample time, and no admin duties to do, some of the things that Jeanette mentioned in her to-do list were reading her pocket Bible, doing her nails, journaling, and stretching for a bit at the end.
Jeanette started by sitting down at the table she was so used to and opened her bible. The words on the page seemed to stick out with undeniable importance, as if God was trying to tell her something, and those words were meant only for her. The words were” I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
These words seemed very reassuring to Jeanette who by now did read the bible every once in a while and relied on its wisdom to get through life. The Bible seemed to be getting her places. The words she had read played on her mind. She was never someone who ever planned things out, and considered herself to be reckless and naive in many ways. The words she read made her want to re-think things and to have a more mature and wiser approach to life in general. Jeanette was about to get to the next item on the list when the phone rang. As usual, Jeanette smiled into the phone when she spoke and spoke with an almost perfectly melodic tone. It was as though the person on the other end of the call would have a good morning, even if it wasn’t particularly splendid, thanks to the energy she put into her voice when she received a phone call at work.
Surprisingly it was her on-again, off-again boyfriend with whom she had a tumultuous relationship that was mostly physical. He seemed to be asking her if she was willing to leave work and come out to coffee with him, especially since she did not have any admin duties for the day, and on Saturdays, there were too few calls after 2 p.m.
Jeanette did not know how to handle the situation, or how to end the conversation without saying anything conclusive because she needed some quiet time to think. Her ex was a bawling but cute friend, who despite being her polar opposite, complimented her personality. She told John that she would call in an hour and that something urgent came up, that needed looking into.
Jeanette was rather confused about whether to leave work and enjoy the rest of the day in her lover’s embrace, or hang around and enjoy the stillness, peace, and quiet. If she had to go out with her tempestuous boyfriend, she was in for a whole new adventure. However, she wondered if enjoying some peaceful and quiet time for self-care, centering, and self-growth was indeed a better idea.
Jeanette was a little confused and didn’t know which was the better option. She decided to rely on the Bible, which seemed to be helping her manage herself better these days. She flipped to the quote of the moment, that was capturing her attention, and she felt spoke to her.
She read it out loud. “I have loved you with an everlasting love…For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future” She thought deeply about their inherent meaning. Somehow staying at work a little longer and enjoying some quiet but soulful time seemed like a worthy prelude to the cuddling time she would spend with Roberto at the cozy cafe just near her office.
She looked at her nails and felt they didn’t require too much touching up. She decided to do a little bit of Journaling, right after she crossed off ‘read the bible’, and ‘do my nails’ off her list.
She started to write down the feelings of her heart. Jeanette loved journaling because she found it fun and a cool way to vent. She did not write about her anticipated coffee date with Roberto, even though she somehow did not have anything better to fill the pages with. But she did write about her thoughts about the charming but precious Biblical verse, that seemed to make more sense to her than ever.
She looked up at the wall clock and found that it was almost time to leave the office and head out to meet Roberto. She sat on the floor and stretched her legs and her spine. She felt an instant sense of relief from all that time at her desk and felt grateful for what seemed like quiet but productive precious moments to herself.
She then messaged Roberto on WhatsApp and reminded him about their phone conversation. She mentioned that the cozy cafe close to her office was a popular hangout for couples. Roberto messaged back that he would be there in 30 minutes.
Jeanette walked to the cafe and got there in less than 5 minutes. She sat down with a cup of hot chocolate and scrolled through her Instagram feed. She was so engrossed with her scrolling, that Roberto was there suddenly with a big smile on his face.
Roberto had not seen her in ages and liked the essence of who Jeanette was as a person. She liked his freckles, sparkling eyes, and cute smile too. Roberto wanted to spend some time alone with her.
She too wanted the same. However, she was happy that she did not have too much time to spend doing nothing. Sometimes having too much time to idle/laze around even with a lover led to less qualitative time. It was like having less time to do more made the passing moment seem more precious. It was their first meeting in a rather long time, she wanted it to be short, but sweet and see where it led.
She went home and read the bible like she had been so used to doing. The words of Jeremiah ‘For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’ seemed to ring true and gain altogether different characteristics and ‘dimensions’ depending on the situation to which it was applied.
God must have spoken to people back in the day, which is something she gleaned from the Biblical text. What could have been a busy, reckless, mind-numbing day, turned out to be a revelation of sorts, thanks to the resounding truth of the biblical words she had read during the calm moments of the busy day.
She also remembered how at the beginning of the day, she had wondered how on earth she could make a better choice so that she could make better decisions about her life in general and have a productive day.
Seemed that the Bible helped, and so did God’s greater plan for her life. It also seemed like the innocent of the world, who felt small in the universe, were more likely to try and find their creator and his wisdom in everything they did. What a great day!
Like the way I write? I also have written some short fiction stories, should you like to check them out-
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