Love Without a Home. Shari Mong

ection> LOVE Published in 2014, by Gypsy Publications The National Coalition for Homeless states that approximately 40% of homeless men are veterans and they estimate that on any given night, 200,000 veterans are homeless and 400,000 will experience homelessness during the course of a year.

      CHAPTER 1

      Elisa Drinnings walked into the conference room of Pose Magazine. She had worked for Pose Magazine as a designer’s assistant in college and worked her way to Chief Editor, and nothing was finalized until she said so. She looked chic in a Chanel pin stripped suit with a matching hand bag. She had gone to The Art Institute of New York to get her associate’s in fashion design.

      Her fashion drawings while in high school got her recognition and landed her in New York, one of the fashion capitals of the world. Her drawings had been turned into reality and worn by Pose’s models. She graduated from Troy High School and applied to The Art Institute of New York. At 37, she was still stunning. Many wondered why she had not modeled for Pose Magazine, but Elisa’s main focus was more along the lines of drawing and the business side of fashion.

      She had pursued her education further and got her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing. An education along with skills, wits and a good eye pushed her to the top. She expected nothing less from her subordinates and was not afraid to voice her like or dislike for their work. She had auburn hair and violet eyes. She had creamy white skin. She got her Irish good looks from her mother’s side.

      Her sister, Cara had dark hair and dark eyes; she got that from their father who was Native American. They were only two years apart. Cara was their father’s favorite. However, Elisa and her mother Mattie had always had a close relationship. Their father had worked for GM when things went downhill, he got laid off. With no job and the bills piling up, Mattie and Lloyd Drinnings fought more and more. One night, when Lloyd came home drunk, he started in on their mother, while the whole time Elisa and Cara listened and cried.

      Mattie told him that she found him coming home drunk unacceptable. Lloyd Drinnings left and never returned. Mattie held two jobs, a receptionist at a doctor’s office and cleaning offices at night. There were many times where Elisa and Cara had to be home alone and fix their own meals.

      The money that Mattie made barely covered the bills, rent and groceries. One night, Elisa was sitting in her mother’s room, watching her cry, and said to her, “Mother, I promise you, I will always take care of you.” Elisa kept her promise when the money from her drawings came in; she had sent her mother her earnings. Elisa also kept her promise when Mattie was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. Elisa hired a Hospice nurse and she would come home to see her mother.

      By then, Cara was in Hollywood and had not even bothered to keep in contact with her mother. Cara still blamed her mother for their father leaving. Elisa could remember her mother’s words on her death bed, “Please, Elisa I know that Cara has blamed me for her father leaving, but you two are sisters and all you have is each other. I hope that one day Cara sees that I did my best to give you both a better life. I would love to have my daughters here so I can say what I need to say to both of you. The doctor has not given me long. Call Cara and ask her to come.”

      Elisa was crying and kissed her mother on the forehead. Elisa walked out of her mother’s bedroom to call Cara. “Hello,” said a tired and wispy voice. “Cara, it is me Elisa. Mother wants you to come home and see her; she is dying and does not have very much longer to live, days only.”

      “Oh Elisa, I would but I have this movie I am working on and I tried too hard to get a part in it. I am the lead actress. They need me here.”

      Elisa was fuming. “Our mother needs you here Cara, that damn movie can wait.” There was silence on the other end. Finally, Elisa spoke up again. “Mother asks for this last request before she dies, Cara. She wants both of her daughters here. How can you only think of yourself?”

      “Oh Elisa, don’t put this guilt trip on me,” Cara spat. “I am not the one who caused daddy to walk out on us.”

      “She made him do no such thing.” Elisa returned. “He made that choice on his own. Mother did everything she could to give us everything we needed and wanted. I know many nights we had to feed ourselves, but it was because of the sacrifices she made for us. It was not easy on her, either. She had to do what she had to do. Give her this, please.” Elisa could not believe that she had to beg her sister to come and see their dying mother.

      Elisa heard a sigh on the other side before Cara spoke up again. “Fine, I don’t want you making me feel guilty for the rest of my damn life. I will try to make it on the next flight out.” Cara hung up abruptly before Elisa could get another word in edge wise.

      One week later, their mother passed away and Cara had not made it back. Elisa had stayed with her mother to the end. Her mother cried and cried every night for her sister Cara to be there. Elisa had called Cara back with the news. “I am so sorry sis, my director would not let me off to come and he said if I did, then I would lose the part in this movie.”

      “Well you can tell your heartless director that he can go screw himself. You have put your needs over us Cara, I will never forgive you. You can have all of the fame and fortune you want, but you will never have me back in your life. For all I care, you can stay out in California. I will not bother to tell you when and where the funeral is. You are not deserving of that. You are no longer my sister and you are dead to me.” Elisa slammed the phone down and just sobbed.

      Her body was racking with sobs as she sat on the couch. She put her hands over her face. She could not believe that her own flesh and blood would not even come back to give their mother her last wish, to have both of her daughters there when she died, and tell Cara her final words, hoping for Cara to forgive her.

      Mattie died knowing Cara hated her, blamed her for their father leaving and could never forgive her. Elisa knew their mother died sad but at least she did not die alone, Elisa made sure of that. It was raining the day of the funeral as Elisa stood there only hearing half of what the preacher was saying. True to her word, Elisa never called her sister Cara about the funeral and Cara made no attempt to come or call.

      The last time her and Elisa spoke was the day that Elisa slammed the phone down and told Cara she was dead to her. That was five years ago. Before her mother died, Mattie had given Elisa a letter for each of her daughters. Elisa still has them locked away to this day. Every once in a while she would get hers out and read it. She would begin sobbing all over again. Cara would never know her mother’s final words nor did she deserve to.

      Elisa put her briefcase on the table at work. Her fellow designers, her photographer Carl Drixel, and her assistant Sissy Epson were there. Sissy and Elisa had worked together, Elisa made Sissy her assistant when she became Chief Editor. Elisa knew Sissy was dedicated, hardworking and efficient, and Sissy was happy to be Elisa’s assistant. Elisa sat down and began to speak. “I will be going over the third quarter profits. The last two quarterly profits were good, but I think we can do better. So far, the fall fashions for Pose magazine have propelled us. Next, we have a spring fashion show in Paris coming up in April and we need to get down to business on that.

      “We need to come up with a theme, and I of course will have the final say. You designers will show me your work and from there I decide what fashions would be fitting of the spring show in Paris. Whomever designs I choose to use will accompany me along with my assistant Sissy here to Paris in April.”

      Brian Drugan, one of her designers for Pose Magazine, had accompanied her to London last fall for their fall show. He was hoping that he could accompany her to the spring show this April.

      “Of course, you know that is only seven months away so you all better get busy. We must continue to stay on top of our competitors and make this spring show the best, and even better than the last. I want this show to be talked about in the fashion world for months and even years to come. It is the middle of September; you have until the middle of October to get your designs into me.”

      She was flipping a pen around in her hand. Ellie Drisk was another designer and wanted to go to Paris in April. She worked hard last year for the fall show but was beaten out by Brian. “Carl