Disclaimer: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
Prompt:Word Prompt ~ Transform
EPOV
Previously:
I contemplated what would make me happy and came to the conclusion that I needed to go home.
It was time to quit racing through life and take time to enjoy the journey.
A month had passed since I had came to the realization that I needed to return to the only place I had ever called home. My life had not slowed down but I could barely contain the excitement and anticipation I felt at the thought of going back to live in Seattle, near my siblings and parents. After thinking it over for a couple days, I decided to call my best friend, my sister Alice, for her advice.
“Edward? Is everything all right?” Alice asked with a hint of worry in her voice. Was it so strange for me to just call my sister up and talk? I guess it was.
“Everything's fine, Squirt, I just wanted to call and talk to my sister,” I said.
I asked about our parents, and found out my dad had been selected to receive a prestigious award for his years of dedication to his patients and the advancements he had made in neonatal heart surgery. My mom was busy renovating an old Victorian house for an important client and it would be featured on the cover of an Interior Design magazine next spring. Alice happily told me about her wedding plans and caught me up on her fiancé, Jasper's work as a social worker dealing with children in foster care. My big brother, Emmett, was thriving as an architect and had recently started seeing a girl a couple months ago. Alice had got to meet her last week and she was sure that she was “the one” for Em.
“You know I can see these things, Edward,” she said. She always claimed to have the ability to “see” the future. I snorted and rolled my eyes.
“So when are we going to get to the real reason you called me?” she asked.
“That transparent am I?” I chuckled.
“I'm waiting, brother of mine, and I don't have all day. What's on your mind?” she asked impatiently.
“Well, I was thinking about making some changes and I wanted to get your input. I realized the other day that I don't like the direction my life is heading. I don't know, Ali, I just feel like if I continue down the path I am on I am going to end up a very rich but very lonely old man who has nobody to share his life with.” I explained. “I pushed you all away after what happened this spring. I miss you guys so much.”
“Oh Edward,” she sniffled. “I am so glad to hear you say that. We have all missed you too. What kind of changes do you have in mind? What can I do to help?”
I took a deep breath and slowly released it. “I was thinking of moving back to Seattle. There really isn't anything holding me here in Boston anymore. What do you think?”
“Ohmygosh! Are you serious?” she squealed excitedly. “That would be so great! Wait until I tell Emmett, oh and mom and dad will be ecstatic. They miss you so much.”
“Hold on there, kiddo, I haven't made my final decision yet. And I would kinda like to surprise them with the news myself.” I laughed. He enthusiasm sometimes got the best of her.
“Yes have to come home, E. I want my family back together again. Please?” Alice pouted. We talked for a while longer and by the time I hung up I knew that going back home was the right decision.
After my discussion with Alice, I brought up my laptop and tendered a letter of resignation to the law firm I worked at. The partners were disappointed in my decision to leave. With my track record for winning impossible cases, they had hoped to make me partner in the near future. I still had cases that I needed to wrap up with trial dates as late as early December, so I planned my move to coincide with Christmas. I had not been home for the holidays for three years now.
I had contacted my realtor to make arrangements to sell the house. I knew that with the economy so bad I would probably have to take a loss on the sale, but I really didn't care. I was anxious to close this chapter of my life and that home was full of memories I did not care to revisit.
I was tempted to contact our family realtor back in Seattle to get the ball rolling to find a new place quickly. I decided to wait until after I got back home to search for a house. The old Edward would have worked tirelessly with the realtor to have a place ready for me to move right into. But I was trying to transform from the guy who rushed through life with tunnel vision to the guy that appreciated what I had and took the time to enjoy what was around me. I really did not need to hurry to find a home, since I was positive that my parents would let me stay with them for as long as I needed. I liked the idea of taking my time to pick the right neighborhood and look for the perfect house for me.
On weekdays I worked finishing up my caseload, but on evenings and weekends, I began studying to take the Washington state bar exam. I was not sure where I would go with my career once I got back to Seattle. Instead of looking for work right away when I got there, I planned on taking time to spend with my family and reconnect with them. I had invested wisely over the years so between those profits and my trust fund that I had not touched, I could live comfortably for some time to come. Financial independence afforded me the luxury to spend as much time as I needed to find the direction I wanted to take in the future.
I came to the realization over the past couple weeks that my success as a high profile defense attorney brought me little satisfaction. In making a name for myself I felt like I had sold my soul to the Devil. I had compromised my morals by defending criminals and crooks who deserved to serve time for their crimes. The shame of this knowledge was humbling. That was not the man that I wanted to be.
Today, I had to be in court at nine to begin jury selection in one of my last cases. Since today was Friday and the following week was Thanksgiving the courts kept a light docket and we would not reconvene until the Monday after the holiday for opening arguments. This could not have worked out more perfectly for me. My flight to Seattle was scheduled for a 6:30 pm departure tonight. I planned to hole up in the hotel all weekend burying my nose in my books cramming the best I could for the Bar Exam that would begin on Monday. The test was to take two and a half days. I decided to surprise my family by showing up on Thanksgiving Day, sharing the good news of my pending move and spending the remainder of the weekend with them before my return flight to Boston on Sunday. Only Alice knew of my plans. She said she told her best friend about it but she was sworn to secrecy.
Jury selection went well and I was satisfied that the men and women selected would look at the case with an open mind. I consoled myself that at least my client was actually innocent of the crime he was charged with. I had insurmountable evidence that he was nowhere near the house when his wife was brutally murdered. His alibi was rock solid with eyewitness testimony and a timestamped security video showing him at work thirty minutes away during the timeframe of the murder. He had no motive for killing his wife and he was completely devastated. The police could not find any other suspects and the DA was anxious to pin the crime on someone and keep the public appeased. There were no way that they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the crime and I was confident that we would get an acquittal.
As I was just about to walk out of the courthouse, I heard a voice I didn't want to hear again.
“Edward,” Carmen called. I froze. My eyes drifted closed slowly and I took a deep breath. I didn't want to see her, not now, but I was nothing if not a gentleman and thus my manners dictated that I acknowledge her presence.
“Carmen,” I replied tersely as I turned around. It isn't like I haven't seen her since that day. I couldn't avoid her entirely since she worked for the office of the District Attorney, but I hadn't spoken to her directly since we split.
She sighed. “I heard you were leaving the firm. Are you starting your own firm or something?”
“Or Something,” I replied. Why did she care now? She certainly didn't care about me before.
“Oh,” she said with her eyes downcast. She was still a beautiful woman, but her beauty did not hold the power over me that it once had. “Do you have some time? Maybe we could go grab a coffee.”
I was not going down that road, never again. “I don't think that's a good idea, Carmen. And you know I hate coffee. Listen, I'm in a hurry. I have a flight to catch.” I turned to go.
“Edward?” she called after me. I turned to look at her one last time. “I'm sorry.”
“Goodbye, Carmen,” I replied. I turn toward the exit and walked out the doors into the cold November air. I walked down the steps and got into my car.
I drove directly to the airport to get on a plane to take a step toward my future.
So our Edward is going through quite the transformation right now. He saw some things about himself that he wanted to change and took steps to make that happen. He is quite the busy guy right now. He is packing up his house and arranging to sell, finishing up his last few clients, studying to take the bar exam and planning a move across the country in less than a month.
Do you think that enough closure for his relationship with Carmen? I promise we will get into what she did to him later, when he tells Bella about it. Our couple will meet in the soon but not over Thanksgiving.
Finally I wanted to say thank you to my good friend, butterflybetty, for recommending this story today. Without her encouragment, I probably would not have started this story. ALL of her stories are great and I encourage you to check them out, but my all time favorite of hers is “Living Through the Pain”. Check it out.
Please Review!
No comments:
Post a Comment