Her Aunt Carol’s recent death was a great loss and yet it proved to be a blessing. Who would have thought her old-maid aunt’s executor would appear from out of nowhere and present Anna Dawn at the gravesite with proceeds from an insurance policy that she didn’t even know existed. $40,000 wasn’t a fortune, but enough to get her out of the small university where she was piece-mealing together an Associate’s degree and into a quality university for her Bachelors. No, not a fortune, but enough to give her a chance. Enough to maybe make a few dreams come true.
Still, who would have ever thought she, a Texan, born and bred, would end up here, in the Rockies of Colorado? With her inheritance, she could have chosen to go to college anywhere in her home state. But Anna Dawn wanted a fresh start. It was time for something different.
For several weeks over the past months, she had explored the websites of many different colleges, being especially interested to find one where botany and music, her two great loves, could matriculate hand in hand with best advantage to both. She selected seven or eight possibilities and submitted requests for more detailed information.
As soon as the packet about Colorado State University in Fort Collins arrived, three things immediately caught her eye. One was that a top cellist, retired from the New York Symphony Orchestra, was on the music faculty. The second was that the botany and agricultural departments were ranked among the best in the country. But the clincher was the front cover of CSU’s packet. It showed, simply, a shot of the garden in front of the University Arts Center. Anna Dawn fairly gawked when she saw it. It was beautiful and stirred her botanist soul. The colorful array fairly shouted to her that Colorado State University was where she was supposed to be for the next two years.
Anna Dawn Hamlyn was not a person easily swayed nor one to make up her mind quickly. She continued to go over all the other possible choices for several weeks, but the initial feeling about CSU did not subside. In fact, it grew stronger. At last, Anna Dawn concluded there must be a reason she felt so good about this choice and gave in. She applied, was accepted and even given a scholarship. The next thing she knew, she was packed and on her way to Colorado.
Now, here she was, settled in with a nice apartment, her studies all paid for and a secretarial job to boot. Who could ask for more? Why then, did Anna Dawn harbor mixed feelings as she gazed out the window at the lights of Fort Collins? Excitement was there, surely, mostly for her forthcoming courses of study. Wouldn’t it be grand to study cello under a master? And she could hardly wait to delve into the classes on botany! Perhaps, then, it was the new job with James Omega that had her on edge. She didn’t know why, but there was something disquieting about it; something that set off an uneasy, tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“I’ll be the best secretary he ever had,” she promised herself aloud, convincing herself she had nothing to fear. “After one week, James Omega won’t know what he ever did without me!”
Except for the rustling curtains lifted by the wind, nothing replied to her comment. The apartment was much too quiet and the pizza was taking forever.
Anna Dawn reached for her cello and pulled a kitchen chair to the small wooden deck set outside a pair of sliding glass doors in the living room. The wind at the window now sought her hair and teased it against her face.
Anna Dawn paid it no mind. She settled on the chair and set the instrument in its familiar position between her knees. Gently, lovingly, she wrapped her arms around its body and caressed it with the bow. The cello sang back to her with a low alto voice, responding to every nuance of her fingers. She closed her eyes and let it sing.
A new home. A new beginning. The grief and loneliness of losing Aunt Carol and leaving behind all she had ever known would surely pass with time. She would not allow herself to feel alone anymore! She would be happy here! Happiness, after all, was a decision. This was the beginning of a new life, and she would make sure it was everything she wanted! Apart from a little, nagging tingle that erupted whenever she thought about her new boss, everything seemed peaceful and right.
Anna Dawn bowed and swayed, her fingers dancing. Her music rose and fell with the night wind at the curtains and floated upward to the stars.
Dr. James Omega requested only a modest office. He said he did not want to make waves by pushing anyone out of the offices they were used to and he wished to minimize in any way drawing attention to his arrival at CSU. However, he did insist, to the woman in the administration office who arranged such things, on an efficient, part-time, secretary and at least one window.
“That's no problem, Dr. Omega,” she said with the words from President Hewitt, Give him whatever he asks for!, still ringing in her ears from a phone call that morning. “We have a nice office, with a window overlooking the quad, just waiting for your name on the door.”
Omega's first day on the Colorado State campus as an official member of the faculty was one of the last few days of spring term. Carrying only a briefcase, he headed hesitantly along one of the walks that dissected the greens. He found himself caught in an onslaught of students scurrying out of the surrounding buildings in a frantic pace to get to the next class. Omega paused, letting the flood pass as his eyes surveyed the unfamiliar domain. A few students looked at him with a hint of recognition, but either they did not believe their eyes or they were too shy to stop and say anything.
Omega drew in a breath of anticipation and began a brisk pace toward his destination, thinking how much he loved biology buildings. He loved the laboratories smelling of chemicals, the foyers displaying prehistoric skeletons, the inevitable menagerie of stuffed animal life and, most of all, the lecture halls filled with students. He felt comfortable in biology buildings, and stimulated and alive. He had been in many and, just like people, each one seemed to have its own personality. This particular building was cream-colored brick, four stories high, with white-framed windows. It looked like it meant business.
He looked up at the edifice with reverence. James, old boy, welcome to your new home. He paused, taking in the moment, squinting into the bright sun, then squared his shoulders to the task and hurried up the front steps with long, eager strides.
He entered the building and, giving the elevator only a passing glance, climbed the stairs at a brisk pace. There were three sets of stairs, each with twenty-four steps (he counted, taking them two at a time on his way up); but it was actually a short climb for him. He arrived at the top of the fourth floor landing with a spring in his step and even breath, a feat many of the students themselves could not have managed.
He found himself looking down a hall on his right, which he followed to its very end until he came to a halt before a heavy, dark-stained wooden door.
“415...,” he read the stenciled numbers on the door aloud. Moving his eyes to a 3 X 5 card taped below the number, he noted a sign, written neatly with black marker:
Dr. James Omega
Biology
“This must be it,” he said, and opened the door.
The space that greeted him was divided into two offices, the rearward being the larger of the two. This room's walls were lined with shelves—all filled with stacks of books and various pieces of equipment. Central in the room was a reception desk, upon which sat a running computer, a meticulously organized stack of papers and, Omega noticed, a small bouquet of fresh lilacs sitting in a glass of water. The secretary, herself, however, was not to be seen.
“Judging from her desk, I believe I got a good one,” he mused aloud. “Lady Joy would approve of her on the basis of the lilacs alone.”
