The Little Black Book

A tornado. At extremely high, destructive speeds. That was the exact metaphor for Rebecca's life.

In the past five days, her entire life had flipped upside down, around, and around, and she wasn't sure if she was standing or floating. It started on a Monday. A Monday, unlike any other.

It had been a hard couple of days for Rebecca in the job and love aspects of her life, and they both happened to blow up on the same day. Rebecca went into the office as she always did, ready to hit the phones. Her March sales were non-existent, and realistically, with the world in financial upheaval, the company's sales were in trouble because of the pandemic. Unfortunately, her three years of exceptional sales performance were not enough to keep her employed when it came to company cuts.

After she left her boss's office, she walked to her desk, grabbed her purse, coat, plant, and walked out. On her walk to her apartment, which she shared with her boyfriend of five years, she was trying to decide the best way to break the news to him that she no longer had a job. Rebecca was glad that a week ago, she sent her resume in for her dream job.

Entering her apartment is where she received the second shock of her Monday. Her boyfriend was home, and he wasn't alone. Rebecca walked to the bedroom, where she found her boyfriend in a compromising position with his boss. There was no energy left in Rebecca to make a scene. So, she left the apartment quietly, completely unnoticed.

Rebecca immediately called her friend Teresa, a newly licensed real estate agent. In a matter of hours, Teresa had found her a small, unfurnished bachelor apartment, and that's where Rebecca was hiding out on her air mattress, contemplating her next move.

Teresa interrupted her self pity party on Saturday . "Okay, listen up. You are not moping over that loser anymore. It was five years wasted, but it was a learning experience. Let's get you back on your feet. It would help if you had furniture," Teresa commented while walking through the open door, talking a mile a minute. "I brought a paper. Let's see if we can find an estate sale to hit up."

Rebecca sat on her air mattress, still her only piece of furniture with Teresa, and flipped through the paper. Rebecca had some savings, but her furnishings would have to be second-hand. After a few more minutes scanning the paper, Teresa found an estate sale at an old wartime house. Rebecca wasn't thrilled, it meant the furniture would probably be over 50 years old, but she dragged herself out of the door because, well, Teresa wouldn't have left her alone.

The drive was 15 minutes, and the house was charming but old. Rebecca and Teresa retrieved their masks and made their way into the house. They were there for over an hour, exploring each room, finding lots of trinkets. Rebecca did find a dining table and chairs, dishes, a couch, a day bed, and a dresser. She also purchased a mystery box of books. Since she left everything at her exes, she needed to replenish her entertainment.

They packed what they could in the car and called Teresa's boyfriend to come with his truck to pick up the oversized furniture. Rebecca drove Teresa's car home while Teresa waited with the other items.

Rebecca's mood was better, she did need to furnish her apartment and give it some character, and she was pleasantly pleased with her findings during the day. Rebecca hauled the boxes into her apartment, the last box being the books. She set them close to the air mattress and sat down. She was curious to see what books were in the box.

There was a little bit of everything in the box, some great material, Rebecca was happy with the selection, but one book had no title or author. It was a little black book. Rebecca flipped through the book, and it just had dates written in it. Strange, she thought. The back cover was bumping out, though. Rebecca examined the cover and found a little slit. She opened it up and was shocked when a bunch of $100 bills fell out.

She had just found $20,000 in the little black book. What did she do? She had to give it back, and then she noticed a note on the floor.

"Dear Friend,

Congratulations, you've found my rainy day fund. I've been the lucky owner of this book for over 50 years. I found it by chance when I was going through a hard time and continued with the tradition of writing down memorable dates in my life.

As I mentioned, this little black book found me at an exceedingly difficult point in my life. At first, it didn't look like much, but like you, I noticed something strange in the back cover and opened it to find $20,000.

That money helped me get back on my feet. So, my first memorable moment dated was the day I found the little black book. As years went by and I was stable, I decided to hide money in the book to help someone in the future as it did me.

I hope that this money will help you, and you will continue the tradition of the little black book.

Sincerely,

Previous Little Black Book Owner "

Rebecca stared at the letter in disbelief. Then she tucked the money back into the cover, grabbed a pen, and wrote down the date she found the little black book. As she was hiding the book, Teresa walked through the door directing two men with her furniture. Rebecca knew one of the guys was Teresa's boyfriend, but she hadn't met the second one before.

"Hey Rebecca, this is Colby, Ryan's friend. He offered to help move your furniture, which is good because I didn't think through this whole getting furniture business and moving it ourselves. Colby, this is my friend Rebecca," Teresa had a way of running on and on.

Colby moved closer to Rebecca and held out his hand, "Nice to meet you," he said with a smile. Rebecca felt like she lost her capabilities to speak. Colby was a handsome man.

Rebecca shook his large hand and smiled. "Thank you for helping."

"Not a problem at all. I'm always available to help a pretty lady in need." Colby winked then followed Teresa's boyfriend out the door.

"I'm going to order some pizza. The boys will be hungry when they're done moving furniture. Colby even offered to help set it up. He's single, by the way, Rebecca," Teresa stated with a smirk as she dialed a number to order the pizza.

Rebecca went to her phone and noticed she had a missed call. She checked her voicemail, and it was her dream job calling for an interview.

Rebecca had to shake her head and laugh at the turn of events. Monday, she thought her life was over, and five days later, on Saturday, after the discovery of a little black book, $20,000, and a handsome single man, her life was full of possibilities. Her tornado had ended, and now there was only sunshine.