Leaving Serenity (20 page)

Authors: Alle Wells

“Good morning. Are you enjoying the sunshine?”

Tom didn’t sit up or open his eyes. “Yes. I’ve heard that the sun has healing powers. I wonder if it’s true.”

I laughed. “I guess you’re
getting your
daily dose of Vitamin D. We could all use some of that. I stopped by to invite you to my place for Thanksgiving. You know that I can’t cook, but I know a great caterer. And I want to run an idea by you.”

I continued to jabber away as Tom lay back and listened quietly. “Infomercials seem to be the new trend in advertisement. I’d like to put this expensive face to work on television.”

Tom opened his eyes slightly and squinted at me. “Sounds like a great idea. Go for it.
”

“What’s up with you? Why are you so quiet this morning?”

He pulled the lever to straighten the chair and swung around to face me. “I have pancreatic cancer, Nikky. The doc said
—
maybe three months.”

I stared at him in shock.
I had noticed that he was slowing down, but I thought it was because I had taken the reins in the business.
Fear ran through my veins when Tom told me he had cancer. Fear for him and for me. I felt compassion and selfishness at the same time. Tom and Harris Realty
were
my life
, bo
th rolled into one package. One didn’t exist without the other.

“I’m speechless.”

Tom smirked. “
Me too.
T
hat’s not a good thing for the best damn realty team in Nashville.”

I suddenly saw the pallor and deep lines in his face that I’d missed before. I felt my lips turn up. They quivered and portrayed no happiness.

“We’re a great team, all right. I can’t envision life without you.”

“Envision—that’s a good word. You are a visionary, Nikky. That’s what it takes to
succeed
in this world. You’ve always had it. So have I. I like to think of us as mavericks, conquering the world on our own, one deal at a time.”

Tom looked around the office and stretched his arms. “This place
has been
my whole life. I was always too busy
to have a
family. This is it for me, and it has been enough. I’ve made a will, Nikky. I’m leaving the agency to you.”

He grinned at the irony. “You don’t even have to change the name.”

My
tears flowed as Tom talked, dry eyed. I seemed to be much more upset than he was.

“I’ll make you proud, Tom.”

I looked up and saw his eyes glisten, too. “You always have.
I’ve never regretted the day I stopped you in th
at
restaurant and offered you a job.
You’re the cream of the crop.”

I added, “
And the cream always rises to the top.”

“Nikky, I’d be honored to join you for Thanksgiving dinner.”

***

My dear friend
and
mentor died before Christmas that year. After he passed away, I’d sit in his office for hours, just to feel close to him. I eventually made Tom’s office my own
and talked to him often behind the closed door. I called my new office the Harris office because it still belonged to both of us.
I reminded myself everyday how lucky I
am
that he t
ook
me under his wing.
Tom had left me set for life with a thriving business
and
t
he money he had invested for me. But he knew that I would never rest, that life goes on.

In the spring of 1985
, I contacted a producer with the local cable network about launching a real estate infomercial.
I scheduled an appointment to meet with
Sandy Shive
at the Harris office.
My carefully chosen business attire clashed with
her
colorful
layers of
flowing
rayon. We couldn’t have been more different. I shared my idea of starring in a real estate infomercial for Harris Realty.

Sandy’s voice boomed. “Miss Harris, you are a beautiful woman. But that accent will never cut it on the air, not even in Nashville. If you want to do this, you’ll have to invest in a speech therapist.”

I was shocked that she had insulted me in my own office.
How dare she find another flaw in me after I ha
d
worked so hard?

“Ms. Shive, I didn’t invite you here today to insult me. I am a businesswoman, not an actress, but no one can represent Harris Realty as well as I can. That’s a proven fact.”

The woman reached into her handbag for
a tissue. “You don’t believe me.”

“No, Ms. Shive. I don’t. Over the last ten years, I’ve sold over five hundred houses in South Nashville. I think that I’m perfectly capable of selling
real estate
on the air.”

Sandy reached into her handbag again and placed a small tape recorder on my desk.

“Listen to this.”

When Sandy played the
last few lines I’d said back to me,
I
realized how differently I sounded on tape
than in real life. My words didn’t come through as sharply or clearly as I had intended. I quickly learned that what you see is not always what you get on camera. I took Sandy’s advice that day and made an appointment with the therapist she recommended. It took a long time to break
those
sloppy old habits, but it was worth every minute of it.

Since then, Sandy and I have become best friends.
The vivacious redhead was just what I needed to lighten up my life and help me begin a new segment of my career.
We’ve shared many laughs about th
e
day
we met
.
My infomercials have
gone viral
over the last
few
years
.
I share home inspection and financing tips during the thirty minute advertisements. Each segment ends with a tribute to Tom Harris.

I carried on Tom’s tradition
of
helping young women break into the business world. Today, Harris Realty is made up of
a strong,
competent team
of nineteen women and thirteen men. If Tom is watching from another realm, he knows that I work ha
rd every day to make him proud.

***

My pace
gradually
slows down
as
I reach
my parents’ house.
My
walk
through Serenity
has been
therapeutic. Kari would approve.
With a lot of help from my friends,
I’
ve come a long way since the last time I was here
.

I turn the handle on the glass door lead
ing
to the foyer. My mother and siblings are
enjoying a lively
dinner in the dining room. I feel like a teenager again as I sneak back to Daddy’s room and lock the door behind me.
He turns his head and recognizes me in the curtain shadowed sunlight.

“Hello, Trooper
.
”

I sit next to the bed
and take his hand
.
The grip of his hand
releases
an avalanche of tears
that
stream down my face.
I don’t remember holding Daddy’s hand before.
I mourn the loss of
a
relationship that could have been
.

“Hello, Daddy.”

His voice sounds weak and unsteady.
“I’ve been watching you on TV. I like the way you’re
wear
ing your hair these days.
How’s Goldie?”

“She’s just fine. I had her restored, just like new.”

“
I
should have known
that
y
ou were the cream of the crop.”

He lets go of my hand.
I couldn’t have asked for more in life than hearing those words from his lips.
Daddy
closes his eyes for the last time
, and
I
finish for him.

“And the cream always rises to the top.”

The End

Copyrighted names, books, film, and song acknowledgements:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Days_Are_Here_Again

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Gees

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_McGraw

http://marystewartnovels.com/extras/moonspinnersmovie.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Dreamin
'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_the_Dolls_(film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delilah_(Tom_Jones_song)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doors