One More Day

“I’ll see you all tomorrow morning. Have a great night, and a great long weekend!” 

Teresa always wished her staff a great night even if she knew they had a not-so-great day. She genuinely wished people a better ending to sometimes miserable days. Work was after all, just work. The small group of employees might have spent a better part of their days in the office, but that for sure wasn’t where they lived and so Teresa always wished them a great night. Time better spent with family, friends, children, or pets. Time away from the demands of clients, ringing phones, missed sunshine and fresh air.

Most people liked Teresa. As a boss she was likeable. She understood when someone needed some time off to deal with a personal matter. She encouraged her staff to think outside the box and bring new ideas to the table no matter how outrageous they seemed. Costs or manpower or ways to implement the idea might seem unattainable at that exact moment, but further time to think and ponder sometimes allowed her people to figure out how to make an idea work at the costs the company could afford. 

Teresa tried to lead by example and since no one likes to leave work before the boss, she always tried to be the first one out the door as soon as five o’clock hit. If she was in a meeting or had a deadline that she was trying to meet, then she stayed late but she always made sure to wander through the office telling people to go home, and have a great night.

This particular day was a Thursday before a long weekend and so she purposefully walked through the office and kicked everyone out an hour early to start their long weekend. It had been a long month so far and people were working hard to meet deadlines and make year-end budget updates and finish annual reporting duties. 

As Teresa was locking the office door behind her, she noticed a plant in the planter outside the door had started to grow. The nights were still cool and the days only just started turning longer with more daylight. She smiled at the green fingertip that reached from the soil, almost as if it were reaching for the sun that was waning in the afternoon. Longing to hold onto the last warm rays before it too slid into the darkness for another night.

After Teresa reached the car and got in she promptly locked her doors and began to take off her spring coat. She hooked up her cell phone to the car’s internal system to allow for hands-free calling and texting features. As the warmth began to slowly pour from the vents and warm her hands and legs, she put the car into drive and pulled onto the freeway. The ringing of the phone came through the speakers and the dash notified Teresa that “home” was calling. She smiled and pushed the button on the steering wheel that allowed her to answer her phone as she drove.

“Hi Sunshine” she greeted her 14 year old son as the phone picked up.

“Hi Mom. I just wondered if you were able to leave early like you said you were going to do?” The quiet voice of her son Luke came through the speakers. “I have everything packed and dinner is started. It should be done when you get home so all you have to do is change and eat and then we can go.”

“Thank you Sunshine.” Teresa’s voice was warm and she was grateful that she wouldn’t have much to do before they left town. They were headed out for a weekend with just the two of them, to spend time talking and hanging out. No calls from client’s interrupting their time. No demands or worries about what the new business would want to see for the upcoming month’s advertising schedule. Just the two of them headed south to warmer weather, the ocean and a few days with no real responsibilities. For either of them.

“I am just turning off the freeway onto the main highway headed home. I should be about 45 minutes yet.” 

“Yay. You were able to get away early.” Teresa could hear the smile in Luke’s voice. Even though he was 14 sometimes she could still hear the child in him and she was grateful for the moments they had together.

“When we get to the hotel can we go for a walk along the ocean if it isn’t too cold yet?” His voice was hopeful as he asked the question.

Teresa’s mind switched to pictures of him as a young boy picking rocks from the beach and running to her showing her the colored pieces of stone and white shells he found. His small hands holding his treasures careful not to drop the stones or crush the shells. His smile as the birds hopped and flitted away as he got too close to them. The lapping waves reaching onto the beach as if trying to entice the child from her. A sudden sadness washed briefly over her as she realized that each year marked another passing of time that took Luke closer to adulthood. To college and away from her. Soon she would have to let him go on his own. To find his own path in life. His own experiences, his own family.

“We’ll have to see. Traffic seems good so we might make it in time for a bit of a walk before it gets too late but it is still a few hours driving before we get there.” Teresa sighed as she imagined his face dropping just a little. She had raised Luke on her own since his Dad passed away six years ago. She tried so hard to make up for that by trying to make sure she was home for him when he needed her, and by trying to make sure that she didn’t disappoint him in the little things. For the most part, she did ok. As he got older though, Teresa wondered if it would always be this easy between them.

Luke knew she struggled and tried her best and he was a pretty forgiving, pretty easy-going kid. Sometimes though, disappointment set in quickly and the teen attitude reared its ugly head before it could be reined in. Life hadn’t been easy this last few years but they worked to make it the best it could be. They had a home and food and clothing. All the basic needs. They had a vehicle to get them where they needed to go. Teresa rarely missed any school sports Luke was in and she managed to be home for every holiday. One of the perks of being a boss. Teresa made sure that the basics were provided and tried for some extras as often as she could. Luke was not a spoiled kid and he had learned to appreciate all that his mom could do for him. He knew some kids who didn’t have as much as he had and so he tried to be grateful for it all.

“Well I should let you go. You are driving and I want you to make it home safe. I love you Mom.”

Teresa smiled. “I love you too Sunshine.” Hearing those words from her boy would always make Teresa smile. She hoped that the day would never come when he stopped saying those words, but she was afraid that it would. After all, one day she wouldn’t be the only woman in his life.

Teresa allowed the call to disconnect and once again focused on the road ahead. The colors of the vehicles in front of her. Like a rainbow shattered on the pavement. Different shapes and hues as the lowering sun began to hit windshields and hoods and trunks. Reflections off mirrors as more vehicles merged onto the highway. Fields washed in the yellow sunset seemed to speed by even though it was Teresa who passed the still-standing fields. The sun hung low in the sky creating yellow streaks through the blue sky, and even some reds and pinks tinted the sky as the sun’s light wove its way across the horizon. Sunlight would be available for at least another couple hours as the sunset teased and danced its way into the evening. Again Teresa smiled and took a deep breath, expelling the stress from her body and releasing the tension that had built up over the day.

Soon Teresa would be home with her son and they would be talking about the next adventure. While not something as exciting as a trip across the ocean or to another country, it was something that Teresa and Luke would do together. These were the memories that would carry her through the years she would spend without Luke as he began his own life. Tears touched her eyes as she looked into the future. She was determined to make this last as long as she could. 

“Have a great night.” She whispered as she drove home.