DELETED SCENE FROM
LOVE AND THE DREAM COME TRUE
BY TAMMY L. GRAY
“Lexie”
I scan the growing post-it garden across my desk, hoping to get the massive pile reduced before my two o’clock meeting with Mason to go over the demolition plan. The fluctuation in daily tasks and navigating one crisis after another has always been my favorite thing about property management, but lately, it’s become tedious. A job, more than a passion, and the primary thing keeping me from where I really want to be right now—at my new house. But attempting to put my thoughts into some kind of sharable order is a small price to pay for what’s gained—three weeks of paid time off I’ve saved all year to take. Add in the limited holiday office hours, and I practically have five weeks of critical house renovation time.
“Lexie!” My boss peeks his head out from the one office in our tiny building. He’s the nervous type. Always moving, making a phone call or questioning what’s being done. He expects perfection from himself and no less from his employees. Which is probably why we are known as the best property management company in Ellis County. “What’s the status on Broken Arrow?”
“I called Jerry ten minutes ago, but he was all the way across town.”
“Well, call him again and light a fire under him. The faucet is now gushing water all over the floors.”
I turn in my seat, annoyed. “You didn’t tell them to turn off the water to the sink?”
He huffs like I asked a ridiculous question. “They’re three college girls barely over eighteen. They’d probably do more damage than good.”
I refrain from reminding him that I recommended we slide their rental application into the waste basket despite one of them being the daughter of an old buddy of his, and call Jerry again.
“911 speed only works when you have flashing blue lights.” he growls through the phone. “And tell Mr. Barron to stop pacing. I’m turning the corner now,”
“You’re the best.”
“So you keep telling me.”
I fill out another post-it, pink this time and press it to the top of my desk: Buy Jerry a six pack of Mountain Dew—his favorite afternoon pick me up.
A few minutes later, he sends me a lot of hashtags and dollar symbols expressing his annoyance in code.
I add: and a bag of Starburst jelly beans to the pink paper. At least Jerry is easy to please. My boss… well he’s more of a challenge.
All the same, I scoot away from my desk and walk the ten feet to his office door, knocking softly on the door frame to get his attention. “Jerry has it all under control. Crisis solved.”
“Good,” he says, not bothering to look up at me.
“And just wanted to remind you that I’m leaving early today. And we got the house, so I’m definitely taking the leave I submitted.”
He looks up at me then, irritation in his gaze, though he knows he can’t say much about it. Vacation is a company benefit even if he chooses not to take any. “Make sure Suzi is well prepared,” he says with a resigned sigh. It’s a well-known fact in the office that despite my less than conventional organizational skills, I hold the longest and hardest list of properties. A detail I pointed out to Mr. Barron some time ago. He brushed it off claiming he picks me the most because I have a special way with irate people. “I don’t want any balls dropped while you’re out.”
“Absolutely,” I say, even though internally I cringe. Suzi loves order, long lists and scheduling down to the minute. Needless to say, my brain and hers work in completely opposite ways and neither of us is super thrilled she was the one chosen to run my properties while I’m off. I turn to leave when I hear Mr. Barron clear his throat. Immediately, I swing back around. “Did you need something else?”
He pauses, then goes for a smile I find slightly scary. Mostly because he seems to be really trying to make it look normal. “Good, um, luck on the reno,” he finally chokes out. “I hope it goes well for you and your cousin.”
My mouth nearly falls open but instead I grin to the point Mr. Barron’s cheeks flush with embarrassment. Not only was that the nicest sendoff I might have hoped for, but his words mean he’s actually been listening to my babbling these last few months. “Thank you so much, Sir.”
He flicks a hand, and I scurry away while I’m ahead.
Suzi’s waiting at my desk, picking up random post it notes and then pressing them back to the surface. “Is this your tracking system?” Her voice is laced with mild apprehension.
I shrug. “Basically.”
Suzi points to my shorthand note on an especially pretty patterned blue square. “What does this mean?”
“The H is for the Hildebrand house and that upside-down V is a reminder to get a roof inspection. They had a huge hailstorm out there last week.” She points to another and I continue to explain, following no particular pattern which I’m sure bothers her. “Cherry St needs a new renter, 1st Main hasn’t paid rent in two months and this one signifies the bossman.” I have a B inside a Superman symbol. “The dollar sign is a new potential client.”
Suzi shakes her head. “I think you’re going to have to write me out a translation sheet. This all looks like chicken scratch to me.”
“Really?” I examine my handiwork again, unable to see what she does. To me the pictures float off the paper and make a beautiful map of tasks for the day.
She pats my shoulder and moves back to her desk, leaving me with the sense that she somehow feels sorry for me and my lack of structure. I have a feeling when I get back from my vacation that every one of these houses will be in some kind of four-page spreadsheet.
I shiver and scrunch my nose, secretly glad that my personality gives me the freedom to follow whatever strange, twisted path or method feels best. And who knows, maybe God gave me this mindset for a reason. Maybe He knew I’d need to be this way to survive all the bumps and bruises life has thrown at me. If so, for that reason alone… I’m extremely thankful.
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8/23/2022 |
Guest Post |
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8/23/2022 |
BONUS Series Spotlight |
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8/24/2022 |
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8/24/2022 |
BONUS Promo |
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8/25/2022 |
Notable Quotables |
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Excerpt |
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8/30/2022 |
Deleted Scene |
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8/31/2022 |
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9/1/2022 |
Review |
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