If intense heat and pressure transformed carbon into diamonds, Jolene graded her
crushed ego at about half a carat that Tuesday evening. She got the pink slip at
four in the afternoon, and an hour later she had boxed her few personal things and
told Shane and Liz she would be in touch later. Her boss had promised her a letter
of reference, but she feared that anything Maryanne had to say about her now
would be artfully treacherous at best. Two weeks ago, Jolene had accepted a
dinner date with Maryanne's boss, not knowing that Maryanne had wanted the
man for herself. Kyle was friendly and easy-going, and Jolene knew he
enjoyed jazz as much as she did. She was uncomfortable going to the music
clubs alone, and had told him that one afternoon. The very next week he
had invited her to have dinner and to listen to one of the local jazz
groups at the Band Wagon. She had accepted, and though he had not called since
that night, the intelligence operatives that masqueraded as co-workers had
debriefed Boss Maryanne in record time. After that, Maryanne sent Jolene curt
emails whenever she wanted something of her, and any morning greeting from
the woman was edged with frost.
And then there was the ailing cat. After Jolene had Tipper spayed, the poor feline developed
an infection, an occurence the vet had assured her was a relatively rare one. He
had forgotten to mention that rare would also mean costly. The notice for a second,
hefty installment was in Tuesday's mail.
The answering machine had taken a call from her brother in Oregon, who had found a
new house that was now in escrow. His townhouse had a buyer, but the timing would be
tricky. Could she help him out by storing all his very expensive musical equipment
if he drove it down to her next weekend? A second message was from her neighbor who had
taken a package for her and then had to go out for the evening. If Jolene's light was
still on when the neighbor got home, she would stop by with the box. The third caller
had hung up on the machine. But the fourth call was from Kyle.
"Jo, it's Kyle. I wanted to see if you were all right." He had paused. "You must
not be home yet." He was quiet another moment. "Or you're not answering. I
wouldn't blame you." She heard him sigh. "I knew about the layoffs last
week, but I couldn't tell you. I guess that pretty much puts me at the top of your
creep-of-the-month list, huh?" There was another long beat of silence, and Jolene
was surprised the machine had not hung up on him. "I guess this does mean one
good thing, though," he had finally said. "If we want to go out again, it won't
be just another office romance."
Jolene smiled for the first time in several hours.
"I'll check back with you later," his voice continued. "Oh. Myron Hall is
playing this weekend at Band Wagon. Maybe we can give a listen. If you can make it." She
heard him clear his throat. "I think I remember you saying you were a night owl. I'll take
a chance and call back about ten tonight." The click of the machine marked the end of his
call, but Jolene listened to the message one more time before she deleted it.
Late that evening she stepped onto the front porch and sat on the top step and scanned
the sky. Though rain clouds jostled for position overhead, a few select stars still held
court over the little community. Jolene tried to recall details of that article she had
read which claimed that scientists had found meteorites containing bits of leftover stardust
that were actually tiny diamonds. These particles formed when stars either exploded
or collided with other heavenly bodies.
Maybe all I need to be is just a diamond in the rough, Jolene thought. If stars could
undergo pressure and still act as beacons in the night, maybe she could find a way
to face things here on earth. She did not want to be some hapless victim. And being a hero
was beyond the scope of her present reality. She would become like a grain of star propelled
through space, raw and spent after the terrible journey, leaving a final, fiery trail that
might glow long enough to light the way for someone else in the darkness.
The cordless phone she had brought outside rang softly.
It was Kyle. He was calling from his cell phone and had taken a chance and turned onto
her street. Could he come by?
Jolene stood as the first quench of rain touched her face. When Kyle's car
turned into her driveway she watched with yielding recognition as raindrops danced
past the vehicle's headlights and hastened into a cascade of glitter that swept
over her in the night like stardust. |
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