Joanie.

It never ceases to amaze me how tedious this process can be! Here I am standing in front of what could be simply be described as “notebook heaven”. There’s so many to choose from in an array of colors and sizes! What should I choose? The red holographic one that changes colors whenever it’s shifted on its side? Maybe the orange one with fuzzy sunflowers? Or the amazing suede, hunter green one? This view is mesmerizing and I know I’ve spent way too much time trapped in this beautiful trance. Just as I’m about to throw in the towel, I catch a glimpse of a little black notebook displayed next to the pink, glittery one. I reach for this notebook and immediately know it is the one. It’s small, matte black, with covers smooth like butter I’m afraid it may actually melt if I hold it too long! It’s the only one left. It was meant to be. I’m so giddy with joy when I get to the register that the cashier looks at me curiously. I offer a brief explanation and she smiles & tell me I made a good choice. My kind of girl! I’m nearly skipping out of the store, anxious to use my new notebook.

As soon as I walk through the door of my apartment, my cell rings. It’s from my job and as much as I want to send it to voicemail, I pick it up. It’s my boss. She wants me to come in to cover a shift. She knows I’ll say yes. I told her I could be there in an hour and I know she’s relieved. We’ve been short-staffed for the last few months and it’s starting to make its toll. I cover when when I can but, there’s only so many shifts I can work. I need the overtime but, it is exhausting!

Once I walk into work, it is pure chaos. There’s people in the lobby trying to check-in, get fresh towels, there’s even a small crowd huddled in front of the TV yelling at the football players on screen! I clock in as quickly as possible so I can help my co-worker check in the hotel guests. In about fifteen minutes, we’ve regained control of our lobby. Since we only have a few arrivals left, I start to move through the lobby checking things out. I walk down the hall and see an older woman sitting in the corner. I smile and say hello to her. She responds and immediately starts crying. I stop and ask her if she’s okay, that only seems to make her cry harder. I go to grab a box of tissues and offer them to her. She starts to apologize and I tell her not to worry about it.

“My husband passed away a few months ago and today is our anniversary” she said.

“I’m so sorry” I reply.

“It’s okay, dear. I’m sorry I broke down like this” she continues, “He was sick for a really long time. There was no cure or any treatment for his cancer, it was a rare one. So, his death was inevitable. I was just never prepared to lose him”.

I lean in to hug her and we embrace for what felt like eons but, it was just a few minutes. She tells me her name is Joanie & she’s in town from Washington visiting her daughter. It was her first time in Pennsylvania & she said she was in love with the town. I tell her we can talk more in the lobby and she stands to follow me into the open space. She talks to me for a while longer, telling me stories of her childhood and what it was like growing up in Washington. After a while, she starts to get quiet. She seems as if she’s lost in her thoughts. I begin to think about the notebook I brought with me. I go to the back office and grab the black notebook I bought earlier and hand it to her. I tell her she can use it to write down what ever she was wants. I tell her it’s good to write it out sometimes because that’s what I do. She was shocked & wouldn’t take it. I insisted and she reluctantly accepted. She stood up to hug me before going to her room.

“Thank you for the notebook, dear. I will definitely use this.” She says.

“You’re so welcome, Joanie. I’m here until 11pm if you still wanna talk” I reply.

“I’ll keep that in mind, good night honey!”

“Good night, Joanie.”

I was on autopilot the rest of my shift. I didn’t see Joanie again that night. I knew she would be in town a few more days so, I could see her on my next shift.

*************

A few days later I’m back at the hotel working another hectic shift. As things start to wind down, I begin to wonder where Joanie was and why I hadn’t seen her. I was anxious to know how she liked the notebook.

It was a little after 10pm when a woman walks through the door. She comes up to the desk and asks for keys to Joanie’s room. To which I ask if she was okay. She stated Joanie is her mom and that she passed away earlier that day. She had a massive heart attack and never recovered.

“I’m so sorry! I talked to her a few nights ago and she was such a nice woman.”

She gasps, “That was you?!”

“Yes?” I respond, a bit confused.

She tells me that Joanie was talking to her about me for hours and the notebook that I had given her. She wrote down some things that she was anxious to share the next time she saw me. She said she had to ask how to spell my name because she forgot and felt bad about it. She opens her purse and pulls out the black notebook and hands it to me.

“She would want you to have that back and everything that is in it.”

I was speechless and also wondering what she meant by that but, I manage to get out a “thank you”. I’m just trying to prevent the tears that I feel forming in the back of my eyes from falling down my cheeks. I quickly make the keys and hand them to her.

“Thank you for being there for her,” she says as she walks towards the elevators. I don’t see her again before my shift is over.

As soon as I get home, I take a hot shower to help clear my mind. I just keep thinking about Joanie. After I put on my comfy jammies, I grab the notebook and climb into bed. I’m slightly curious as to what stories she has in here. I open it to find pages filled with her immaculate cursive writing. I start to cry. I try to read some of her entries before I realize there’s a small envelope in the back. I open to the back cover and the envelope has my name on it. I open it to find a check for $20,000. It was from Joanie! On the back cover was a simple note written in that beautiful script of hers:

‘Keep being kind, honey. It’ll take you far and you’ll do great things.

From Joanie with love.’

Now, I’m hysterical. Who knew that one encounter would turn out like this? I place the envelope on my dresser and begin to lay down. I grab the notebook and lay it next to me. I rub my hand over its smooth cover and as I start to doze off, I can hear Joanie saying,

“Good night, honey.”

“Good night, Joanie.”