to put it off.
“Hello, Happy Homes Shelter. Megan speaking, how may I help you?” asks the female voice.
“Uh, yes, is Mark in his office today? I really need to speak with him,” I say.
“As a matter of fact he is. May I ask who’s calling so that I can transfer your call to him?” she asks.
“Tara Timmons,” I reply, hoping that by giving my name he doesn’t become busy and I have to end up leaving a message for him.
But Mark has always been a reasonable guy so I’m sure that he’d take my call.
Even if I did cause a scene at his event last night.
“Okay, hold please.”
I’m immediately greeted by the generic sound of elevator music and am compelled to hum along until Mark picked up.
“Tara! Good morning.”
“Good morning, Mark. How are you?” I ask, building up some conversation.
“I’m doing okay. It was a nice night last night. How are you feeling?” he asks.
“I’m doing okay as well. I wanted to apologize for causing that scene at your fundraiser last night. I don’t know what got into me, and I’m extremely sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or your event…”
He chuckles. “It’s no problem. I know sometimes Alexander can be a jerk, so no hard feelings. And you didn’t do people any harm. I know that you’ll never cause a scene on purpose.”
I look at the phone to be sure that I heard him correctly. “You’re really okay with it? I mean, things got kind of ugly for a while.”
“Of course. Alexander is my best friend so I know firsthand how difficult he can be. I’m not going to hold it against you. Besides, from the version that I’ve gotten it’s pretty much all of his fault anyway. He’s just a bonehead and we can’t really break him out of it. He’s been that way as long as I’ve known him.”
“You’re his best friend?” I ask in shock. “But you both seem so different. You’re so calm and normal, and he’s….well, he’s just him. I really can’t describe it right now because I’m still pretty upset.”
He laughs. “Yeah, but I’m not a billionaire like him. I like to help people, and I’m not too concerned with reaping a profit from it. But don’t get me wrong: he’s quite into charity. He even mentors a few kids. He just doesn’t brag about it because he feels that it’s no one’s business but his. Under that jerk exterior, there is a great heart. If there wasn’t, I’m pretty sure that he wouldn’t be my best friend; I would’ve kicked him to the curb a long time ago.”
I become quiet as I realize I talked a lot of trash to Alexander last night. So sure that I had him figured out, and apparently I am completely wrong.
“Well that’s good to know. I still want to make a donation—you know that I love helping out with the shelter in any way I can. I’ll put it in the mail today, as I’m going to be a little busy to drop it off.”
“Thank you Tara. You know we appreciate every penny that we get,” he says.
“Thanks for being so understanding, Mark. Talk to you soon,” I say.
Hanging up, I fall back into bed.
I know that I have to start my day, but I really didn’t feel like getting up and doing something.
I can’t believe I misjudged Alexander. I was usually on point when I made judgments about people, but in this case I was way off.
My phone buzzes. I reach over to get it and see that it’s the councilman’s office calling.
“Hello,” I say into the phone.
“Hi, is this Ms. Timmons?” asks a lady.
“Yes.”
“This is Rhonda, Councilman Jones’s assistant. I wanted you to know that he’s accepted your proposal and that he wants you to come down and sign the deal right away,” she says.
“Really?” I yell into the phone. “Thank you! I’ll be right over.”
“Okay. See you down here,” she says. “Congratulations.”
Leaping out of bed, I rush into the bathroom. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and brush my hair back into a ponytail. I throw on a pair of black jeans and a casual white
“Hello, Happy Homes Shelter. Megan speaking, how may I help you?” asks the female voice.
“Uh, yes, is Mark in his office today? I really need to speak with him,” I say.
“As a matter of fact he is. May I ask who’s calling so that I can transfer your call to him?” she asks.
“Tara Timmons,” I reply, hoping that by giving my name he doesn’t become busy and I have to end up leaving a message for him.
But Mark has always been a reasonable guy so I’m sure that he’d take my call.
Even if I did cause a scene at his event last night.
“Okay, hold please.”
I’m immediately greeted by the generic sound of elevator music and am compelled to hum along until Mark picked up.
“Tara! Good morning.”
“Good morning, Mark. How are you?” I ask, building up some conversation.
“I’m doing okay. It was a nice night last night. How are you feeling?” he asks.
“I’m doing okay as well. I wanted to apologize for causing that scene at your fundraiser last night. I don’t know what got into me, and I’m extremely sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or your event…”
He chuckles. “It’s no problem. I know sometimes Alexander can be a jerk, so no hard feelings. And you didn’t do people any harm. I know that you’ll never cause a scene on purpose.”
I look at the phone to be sure that I heard him correctly. “You’re really okay with it? I mean, things got kind of ugly for a while.”
“Of course. Alexander is my best friend so I know firsthand how difficult he can be. I’m not going to hold it against you. Besides, from the version that I’ve gotten it’s pretty much all of his fault anyway. He’s just a bonehead and we can’t really break him out of it. He’s been that way as long as I’ve known him.”
“You’re his best friend?” I ask in shock. “But you both seem so different. You’re so calm and normal, and he’s….well, he’s just him. I really can’t describe it right now because I’m still pretty upset.”
He laughs. “Yeah, but I’m not a billionaire like him. I like to help people, and I’m not too concerned with reaping a profit from it. But don’t get me wrong: he’s quite into charity. He even mentors a few kids. He just doesn’t brag about it because he feels that it’s no one’s business but his. Under that jerk exterior, there is a great heart. If there wasn’t, I’m pretty sure that he wouldn’t be my best friend; I would’ve kicked him to the curb a long time ago.”
I become quiet as I realize I talked a lot of trash to Alexander last night. So sure that I had him figured out, and apparently I am completely wrong.
“Well that’s good to know. I still want to make a donation—you know that I love helping out with the shelter in any way I can. I’ll put it in the mail today, as I’m going to be a little busy to drop it off.”
“Thank you Tara. You know we appreciate every penny that we get,” he says.
“Thanks for being so understanding, Mark. Talk to you soon,” I say.
Hanging up, I fall back into bed.
I know that I have to start my day, but I really didn’t feel like getting up and doing something.
I can’t believe I misjudged Alexander. I was usually on point when I made judgments about people, but in this case I was way off.
My phone buzzes. I reach over to get it and see that it’s the councilman’s office calling.
“Hello,” I say into the phone.
“Hi, is this Ms. Timmons?” asks a lady.
“Yes.”
“This is Rhonda, Councilman Jones’s assistant. I wanted you to know that he’s accepted your proposal and that he wants you to come down and sign the deal right away,” she says.
“Really?” I yell into the phone. “Thank you! I’ll be right over.”
“Okay. See you down here,” she says. “Congratulations.”
Leaping out of bed, I rush into the bathroom. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and brush my hair back into a ponytail. I throw on a pair of black jeans and a casual white
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