Journey To Forever. Carol Steward

never have happened.

      She quickly walked the two blocks from the parking lot carrying a fruit tray for the Labor Day potluck the staff had planned. Morale needed a boost, according to the managing editor. Which, of course, meant eating.

      Everyone had brought treats, yet she felt more than conspicuous adding her contribution to the table after everyone had already served themselves. Thinking of all the delicious calories on the huge table, she pushed her way through. “Here’s a fruit tray, help yourself.” For the first six months of her internship, she’d gained steadily, despite her efforts to go to the gym. Only recently had she broken through and started losing. She wasn’t about to blow it now.

      Quietly, Nikki fixed a plate, then headed back to her desk. She sat down and began to contemplate the direction her life was going.

      Misty turned her chair around to face Nikki’s. “Surely your diet can have a day off!”

      She glanced at her friend, mustering a quick smile. “Oh, it’s had a day off already. I just came from a picnic,” Nikki said softly. “I found out that I made a big mistake last night with some filler I used in place of the water-theft article. Apparently some people think we should ignore both sides of the shelter issue.”

      Misty nodded. “I’ve heard this issue is getting heated. So what?”

      She nodded and silently turned back to her computer. Nikki had been surprised to find she enjoyed the fast pace of the newspaper. She hadn’t minded any aspect of the job, until today. She hoped the copyeditor would be back at work tonight so Nikki couldn’t make any more mistakes. How had she let her grandfather talk her into this?

      “Is something wrong?” Misty rolled her chair closer. Misty looked into her reddened eyes and must have seen more than barbecue sauce. “It is, tell me what’s happened.”

      “I met the man doing the fund-raiser for the homeless shelter at the picnic tonight. He wasn’t very happy with our support of the other side.”

      “What support?”

      “Remember, I filled in for Michelle last night? We were short on copy, so I took this one from the top of the list.” She picked up the paper on her desk, turned to the article and waited while Misty read it.

      Finally, Misty said, “This is a newspaper, not a periodical. Journalism is putting your own beliefs aside to tell the full story. That piece was not an editorial. Colin isn’t used to someone opposing his causes. That story told about the reasons the opposition is fighting the shelter going into their neighborhood. You didn’t do anything wrong. News is what sells papers. Is that what has you so blue tonight? He’s in the business. He should know that conflict is what sells papers.”

      Nikki thought again of Colin Wright. Of his big smile, and those deep blue eyes that seemed to reach to the depths of her soul. How could she explain her mangled emotions to anyone without seeming like a spoiled rich girl?

      Don’t do something stupid, Nikki. She’d had these low days before, and they always seemed to pass. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I thought I was going to be in trouble.”

      “Nah! You’re going to have to get a thicker skin if you’re going to survive in this business, kid.”

      Nikki laughed. Misty couldn’t be any more than five years older than she was. “Kid?”

      Misty blushed. “Sounded good to remind myself that I’m not the new kid on the block anymore. You’re not the first to have a tough time with a the requirements of the job. We all go through it time and again. Some days it’s really tough to be a good employee and a Christian when it’s obvious that some journalists live for sensationalism. That’s probably what Colin wanted to think.”

      Nikki looked at her friend’s bright face and returned the sympathetic smile. “Thanks, Misty. I feel like there’s just so much I don’t know about publishing.” Misty had taken Nikki under her wing from Nikki’s first day on the job. Even she hadn’t made the connection between Nikki and her grandfather, which would make it even more embarrassing that Nikki knew so little about the industry when people started figuring it out. She made a mental note to enroll in some journalism classes at the college next semester. She had put it off too long already. With a degree in business administration with an emphasis in nonprofit organizations, she’d thought Grandfather would find a job that matched her skills. Now I do sound like a spoiled rich girl.

      “Take a break, Nikki. You’re way too hard on yourself. I don’t know what burdens you’re holding inside, but it’s time you cast them aside. Life is too full of opportunities to dwell on what’s already past.”

      That would be wonderful advice, if she only knew how.

      “Nikki, in my office, please,” the managing editor said as he walked past, a platter of food in front of him.

      “Great, I told you I’d be in trouble.”

      Chapter Five

      “Close the door,” Paul said as Nikki stepped into his office.

      So much for Misty’s encouragement. Nikki had made a big mistake, and now they were going to fire her. Even her grandfather couldn’t rescue her now.

      “I understand Colin Wright called in and complained about the article on the home owners’ fight against the sale of the lot in their neighborhood.”

      She nodded, wondering if he’d overheard her telling Misty about it, or if Colin had talked to Paul himself.

      “I want to assure you that you wouldn’t have seen that story on the copyeditor’s list if it hadn’t been approved. Michelle is going to be out for a few more weeks and we think you’re ready to move up.”

      “Really?”

      Paul chuckled. “You can move your belongings into the desk behind Anne’s for now.”

      “Now? Tonight?”

      “Unless you have something better to do, Anne will start training you tonight.”

      Nikki stood and sidestepped to the door. “Of course not. Thank you.”

      She hurried to tell Misty, who smiled with that all-knowing attitude of hers. “Told you so. Before you know it you’ll be looking down from the corner office.”

      She laughed nervously. “Hey, maybe I can jump right over the reporter stage of the internship.”

      “Now you are dreaming,” Misty said, tossing her empty plate into the trash. “Enjoy the new job. I’ll miss your company.”

      Nikki found a box and moved the contents of her desk to the new one down the hall. She and Anne worked closely for a few hours, then she settled into the layout for the next night’s feature stories. Within the week, Nikki was working independently on the earlier shift.

      Four days later she was called to the managing editor’s office again. What could she have done this time?

      She folded her hands in her lap and waited, glancing over her shoulder now and again. She caught a glimpse of Paul as he barreled toward his office, around the maze of desks. He took a deep breath, seated himself behind his desk and shuffled through the papers piled on top without saying a word. He pulled one from the stack and handed it to Nikki. “This explains the assignment far better than I could,” he said gruffly.

      “Assignment?” That was a term normally reserved for the reporters, not editors.

      He shrugged. “I had nothing to do with the decision. Read it for yourself.”

      She read the memo with her name at the top and Grandfather’s signature at the bottom. Nikki’s heartbeat doubled, her voice faded to nothing. “But…why?”

      “Don’t ask me. Apparently I’m just the messenger around here. Chapman took Amanda off the story and put you on. I guess today’s your lucky day. You’ll be working with Gary. He’ll keep up on the fight for the land here