Joanne Wallman had forgotten what it felt like to be happy. She had been walking in the same path over and over so many times that she no longer knew where she was going, if anywhere at all. A life where her children had made up her entire life, where nothing else would exist. It was when the children had move out, leaving her in an empty world of her own, that she had realized her value or rather how worthless she really was. But just like the ugly duckling had turned out to be a swan, so had the duck Joanne turned out to be the swan Julia Wildfire. She had become more than the pond was worthy off, and moved to a new world where she was appreciated for the talents and skills she had. She wasn't a worthless parasite living off the system, she was most certainly beneficent to society.
The dark alleys and stone walls with mold, they were all left to rot for all she cared. The old pots and pans of the kitchen were fading in her memory, just like the piles of dirty clothes that she was required to wash by hand. She didn't care what happened to the father of her children. He never was around to help her when she needed help, nor did he participate in raising the children. All he had on his mind was to work, so that he could save a little. An honorable thing to do, but not the wisest of his decisions. It had alienated him from the rest of the family, so when the kids were old enough, they were more than eager to move. She knew that their decisions were based on the lack of love at home, even if she really loved them, the energy just wasn't there to live and love more than she had. When you find yourself giving and giving without receiving anything, you're soon drained, and Julia knew now that it was what had happened to Joanne, and that was one of most important reason why Joanne couldn't go on living.
Julia woke up, enjoying her weekend off. She had been working five straight days, rubbing feet of tired tourists, helping a guest to recover from his back injuries. It had been a full week, and in some cases long hours, but it had also been very rewarding to her. She was participating in life, offering a service and still giving, but now she was receiving as well. Her new found world had become a gate to a new experiences, things that had allowed her to explore her own sexuality. At three occasions had her duties become other than rubbing soar muscles, and each time had been different in their nature, yet still the same. She helping someone to gain sexual satisfaction and without intercourse. She felt like the had been a helpful Samaritan, but what about the fact that she had received payment for her services? Did that make her some kind of call-girl or prostitute? She had been thinking about that, but wasn't able to make that conclusion. She was a masseuse, and among the 27 guests she had been rubbing, only three had been sexually related and in only one case had she touched a persons genitalia. No, she wasn't providing sexual services, they simply stumbled upon her. She smiled as the flashbacks of recent events visualized in her mind. She laid dreaming for a while before pushed the thoughts aside, feeling a bit disappointed that she hadn't had more of those offers land in her lap.
Sitting up, she let her hands slide through her hair, before reaching up with her hands to stretch her shoulder and back. It was good to be alive. There was a small sign on the computer screen which caught her attention. She read the text "You have mail" from her sitting position and smiled. Feather, the cleaning lady who's real name was Sally, had taught her what email was and how to use it. Her explanations about email being the same as ordinary mail just sent over the net electronically had been a concept she could grasp. Feather had helped her search for her children's emailaddresses, and she had sent all three of them invitations to come and stay at the hotel a weekend so that they could talk and see each other. She was hoping that they would be positive to the invitation.
She got up and sat down in the chair in front of the computer, looked in her inbox and found four emails. Three of them being from Oliver, Laura and Michael, and a fourth which was apparently some sort of commercial stating how you could change your life in 60 days. This made her laugh out loud, they were to late for that, she thought. She deleted the commercial message and re-read the messages from her children. They would all come, that was wonderful news, and Oliver was asking if he could bring his fiancé too. She felt stupid about forgetting that in her email, so she immediately started a new letter to them all. She was looking forward to meeting Olivia, knowing that Oliver had been to ashamed of his parents to introduce her to them. She didn't blame him for that, she just hoped that she could live up to the image of a good mother. Her heart was hoping that there were someone would be joining Laura and Michael too.
She was still naked, but she was in no rush anywhere and went back to bed, laid down and rested a while longer while letting her thoughts wander. She was thinking of her children, how she hadn't seen Oliver in four years since he moved out, Laura had moved out at the same time, but had visited at home on two occasions and Michael, counting the days since he moved to be 48. She wished she had been stronger to have provided them with a better home, but she had better resources now, even if she also knew that she couldn't make up for the years that had passed by. She rolled over on her left side, placing both of her hands under her left cheek and curled up. She felt the same as she had felt so many times before, the joy of her children, three healthy strong individuals. She was proud to have been a part of their lives, and hoped they would be willing to let her remain that way.
The phone rang, pulling her back to from her deep thoughts, and she reached for the receiver.
"Julia."
"Good morning, Julia, this is Pamela. I'm sorry to disturb you on your day off, but I would very much like to ask you to work today. I wouldn't call if it wasn't absolutely necessary."
Julia laid silent while she tried to remember who Pamela was. She finally realized that she was in charge of special events, so it was probably some kind of happening. She had not heard about any such special event being posted on anywhere, so it puzzled her a bit.
"What is it?"
"I can't tell, please come down to my office in 45 minutes. I'll tell you more about the details."
With a puzzled state of mind she hang up and closed her eyes. It was her way of searching her memories, but she couldn't find anything that would spread light on the situation. While she kept thinking, she got up and began to dress. For a moment she considered wearing the bright red lingerie that she had bought, but it was better to not wear them, so she picked out plain white cotton underwear. Instead of the white cotton T-shirt that she most frequently used, she picked a white blouse which looked a bit nicer, even if the T-shirt was more practical when she was working. She took one final look in the mirror, and found no reason to change her appearance. Her hair was hanging freely, the ends curling up a bit below her chin. She had become more elegant the last couple of days, treating herself to manicure, pedicure and a long awaited haircut. She had felt separation anxiety when her very long hair had been shortened to get rid of the split ends and also to lift her hair some. The result was a more elegant modern woman, well worthy of the name Julia Wildfire. She had also began to appreciate the value of make up, and had enjoyed the color coordinators "lecturing" about what her colors were and how she could use them to enhance her features.
While walking down the corridor, she began to think about her children, how they had been the beacons in the darkness of her life, and the fears she had about loosing them. She knew that she wouldn't be pampering them everyday, they were to old for that, but she wanted them all to know that if they ever needed to talk, come and visit, or have a shoulder to cry on, she'd be there. She smiled at a memory of Oliver hiding underneath the bed when she had wanted him to take a bath, and how she had found him and got him clean all over.
Reaching the third floor she got out of the elevator, and walked towards Pamela's office which laid on the other side of the brass ring. The brass ring was a large open area on the third floor with an area for relaxation. It featured a large aquarium full of colourful tropic fish and water plants, a few chairs and all surrounded by a brass ring about waist-height. She let her hand slide over the smooth metal and felt how cold it appeared to be. The door to Pamela's office stood open, so Julia went in and sat down while Pamela finished her call. It gave Julia time to look at the small office, which had walls completely covered with shelves and they were filled with papers, books and posters. She wasn't paying attention when Pamela, while still talking on the phone, gave Julia a folder with the Hotel logo on it, but took it from her hand and opened it. Inside laid information about tour-dates for a popular musician, but she found no information about a concert in the city. She kept reading until Pamela ended her phone conversation.
"What does this have to do with us?" Julia asked and lifted up the folder with a quick twitch of the wrist.
"He's coming here." Pamela smiled with a huge grin on her face, showing of the pride she felt.
"But when?" Julia asked, letting her finger slide over the list as to point to a non existing date.
