Clouds Read Online Free PDF Page A

front door, locked it, and walked down the front steps to her Firebird parked along the curb. She was already thinking about selling her car to get out of its high monthly payments. She could buy a used car to bring down her expenses.
    What really irked Shelly as she started the car and pulled away from the curb was that, after working for five years, she had little to show for it. She didn’t even own this car. All of her salary had been swallowed up by high rent in Pasadena and living expenses. She had some money in an IRA and a little bit in a savings account, but that was it. She owned nothing and had very little to fall back on.
    All the way to the mall she thought about how she shouldn’t go shopping when she was depressed. Why put herself through that kind of temptation when she didn’t have the money and didn’t need anything? But she convinced herself that no harm could come from just looking. Besides, it wasn’t the lure of buying something that led her to the mall. It was her need to be out doing something. She needed to be around people and to hear the noise. It had been far too quiet at the house all day.
    Parking close to J. C. Penney’s entrance, Shelly locked her car and headed into the mall with a sudden desire for Chinese food. The first place she went was the food court to buy some mandarin orange chicken at the Chinese fast-food bar. Settling down at a table in the middle of the food court, Shelly drank in the sights and sounds of all the people. This was the tonic she needed. She realized she needed people and activity to feel balanced.
    Enjoying every bite of the chicken, Shelly forced herself to think about looking for another job. She had avoided that idea all afternoon during her baking fest, but the obvious hadpushed so far to the front of her mind that she couldn’t ignore it any longer.
    Perhaps she could hire on with another airline. The question was how much of her seniority would transfer over. Possibly none. Would she have to start at the bottom again and be right where she was now, taking any and all flights offered to her? What was it she loved about flying anyhow? She certainly hadn’t traveled on her own as much as she had thought she would. It had to be the people. She loved people.
    Now, what job would allow her to get her daily fill of being around people? As she examined the list in her mind, only a few possibilities rose to the top. A job at the mall was one option. Or she could sign on with a temporary agency and do secretarial work. There was always the day-care center at church, or sales of some kind. She dismissed all the ideas and consoled herself with the possibility that things might change at the airline.
    The next morning she felt even more hopeful when the airline called and needed her for the day. She flew to Portland and back and then was let go because the next two flights were canceled. That’s when something inside her snapped. She left the airport certain she couldn’t endure this kind of limbo living. Instead of driving home, she went to Meredith’s apartment.
    Meredith looked surprised to see Shelly.
    “Do you have anything to eat?” Shelly asked, walking past her sister and heading for the kitchen. “Whoa! What a mess!”
    “I’m packing,” Meredith said defensively, closing the door and picking her way through the maze of boxes. She followed Shelly into the kitchen. “Help yourself. There’s not much to choose from.”
    “Mind if I have this?” Shelly pulled a frozen microwave dinner from the freezer and tore open the box.
    “Go ahead.” Meredith cleared a space on the counter andpulled herself up. “So, what’s going on?”
    Shelly read the back of the box, then tossed the frozen beef and noodles into the microwave and pushed the buttons. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” She returned to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of some kind of pink beverage. “What is this?”
    “Pink lemonade.”
    Taking a cautious sip, Shelly leaned