Strength in Numbers

By Keith McNair

The darkest road is the one that is frequently less
traveled. Yet, it is only there that you will eventually
find the light.

Two women in a struggle against time, battle with fate for the protection of the love in their respective lives.

Gayle Grant, a mother, partner and companion would find that her inner strength would be challenged as she becomes even more to the man that has known for the better part of her l
ife.

Victoria Reynolds had experienced the joy of love once before that made life worth living. However, in what seemed to be in the blink of an eye, that love was taken away. Yet as
time heals all wounds, a new love would appear to claim Victoria's heart and soul.

We stand upon the shoulders of those that have come
before us, to claim the rewards that lay ahead. No man,
woman or child navigates the corridors of life alone, as
there are always strength in numbers.

Enjoy the latest novel by Keith McNair

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 24, 2010
• ISBN: 9781462816347

Keith McNair

Keith McNair currently resides on Long Island, New York and has been writing for over fifteen years. Mr. McNair also has a line of personalized greeting cards under the name Blaisandra Cards. Much like Mr. McNair’s previous novels, Split Decision and Fragmented Truths, Dancing in the Light was conceived, written and completed during his daily commute from Long Island to New York’s financial district.

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Copyright © 2010 by Keith McNair.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

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Previous novels by Keith McNair include

Split Decision

Fragmented Truths

Dancing in the Light

and

Dust to Dust

The strength of human touch is the power that

I have found in you. Allowing me to lean on you,

your kindness was given free and true.

Like a sister or a brother, you were always there.

Carrying me when I needed you and always showing

that you cared.

Words of strength and honor are often spoken, but

rarely ever kept. Yet your unselfishness and

compassion so much to me it has meant.

The strength of human touch is a feeling bold and true.

I’ve made it through a difficult time in life in no small

part because of you.

Victoria Reynolds examined the reflection in the full length mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door, and a slight yet coy smile appeared.

While Victoria wasn’t self righteous by any means, she did however take a moment to appreciate the fact that she was an attractive thirty-two year old black woman that had attained some measure of success in life. In spite of the fact that she gave birth to a beautiful child and everything that came with being a mother, Victoria managed to keep it all together well past her daughter’s growing pains and the pressures of being a career woman. Victoria had to admit that she Had it going on, as the saying went when it came to managing her home and career. However, there was that thing in life called romance which was lacking and for the past several months Victoria felt its absence more than usual.

Since Raymond passed away more than two years ago, Victoria had gone on a total of three dates. When faced with the truth, it was more about Victoria regaining her confidence versus looking for and finding love once again. As a matter of fact Victoria had convinced herself that falling in love again was out of the question. Her life at this point was all about family and career—irrefutably in that order.

Crystal was seven years old and when she wasn’t spending time with her grandparents, she occupied a large part of Victoria’s free time which in itself was a blessing. Crystal was bright, energetic and a joy to have around. Although Victoria spent several days a month out of town on business, thoughts of her daughter were never far away.

Victoria did not consider herself as the world’s perfect mother, but in her opinion she did the best job as humanly possible. Between the demands of her career and being a working mother, Victoria managed to avoid any major bumps in the road which was a trend that she would love to continue.

During her years in college, advertising and design were the two career choices on Victoria’s wish list and for a while she focused her energies on each path. However, Raymond convinced her that if she really wanted to make a mark in life she had to choose between the two and give it everything she had. He said that doing anything less was simply a waste of time. Raymond felt that failing to make a choice between the two may suggest a lack of individual focus and or conviction.

Although Victoria knew that Raymond meant no harm in his belief, there was something about the words he chose and the way he spoke that caused Victoria to take it as a personal attack on her abilities; not only as a career minded individual, but as a woman as well. However, Victoria imagined that there was some truth in what Raymond had said. It wasn’t so much about her directly, but any person who believed they were being pushed and pulled in two different directions. Yet in the frame work of reality, unless a life decision was made and adhered to something was bound to break.

As an attorney Raymond knew how difficult it was for minorities to make it to the top of any profession. It wasn’t always about achieving a high level of financial success; it was primarily about commanding and generating respect from your peers. It took Raymond more years than he cared to think about before becoming a partner at the law firm where he had dedicated ten years of his professional life. This was true in spite of the fact that Raymond handled and won many of the firm’s high profile cases, not to mention the revenue he generated for the firm through his efforts. However, that was all in the past and Raymond had professionally arrived where he wanted to be—but now it was about those individuals who wanted the same things out of life. Victoria recalled numerous conversations that they had where Raymond expressed his concern for those he’d known over the years that had the ambition and drive to become successful, but financing held them back from achieving their dreams. Raymond considered himself lucky enough to help, whether it was now or in the not too distant future. From his position the idea of opening his own office seemed more of a reality now than it had when he first started. However, Raymond never got to realize those dreams—as fate had other plans for him and his family.

It was not long after a heart to heart with herself that Victoria decided to focus exclusively on advertising, and from that day forward there were never any regrets to wear her down. During their marriage, Victoria and Raymond experienced problems that at times seemed to threaten the life they had built together. There were times when she felt that Raymond refused to listen and appreciate what she was going through. There were times when she saw the stubbornness of her father come out in him and the end result was their failing to communicate. They would dance around each other not willing to give in emotionally in spite of the fact that they knew they were acting foolishly. When a truce was finally established, they both would laugh at the other with each taking the lion’s share of the blame. Yet in spite of it all, Raymond was always there for her in mind and spirit. After the dust settled, they both realized that it was the trials of life that sometimes got in the way of happiness and not much else.

Raymond was the encouraging and driving force that allowed Victoria to keep moving forward and she loved him even more for that part of his personality.

Lucky in life, lucky in love, she thought. However, it was not until Raymond passed away that Victoria realized that there was no such thing as luck and a person was left to succeed by their own level of will power.

The radio in the background called out the time letting Victoria know that she was running ten minutes off schedule and her time spent with loving thoughts of the past had ended. Victoria opened the door to her bedroom and told her daughter that it was time to get moving.

Crystal’s room was down the hall from Victoria’s bedroom and even with the door slightly ajar she could hear her mother’s voice, but that didn’t necessarily cause her to grease the wheels of motion.

On most mornings Crystal required physical stimulation to get her body moving and today was certainly one of those days. She groaned and buried her head beneath the quilted blanket and sheets on her bed. It was a cold February morning and the temperature for the day was not expected to rise above twenty-five degrees. Crystal would love to stay home today but Mrs. Trent had scheduled a vocabulary test which in her opinion wasn’t the best way to begin the school week.

Com’on Crys, Victoria called out once again, this time shortening her daughter’s full name which she did every now and then.

You have to get up right now if you want a ride to school, Victoria called out.

Victoria made a mental list of the things she had to accomplish in the next several minutes. She had to finish getting herself ready, prepare breakfast, make lunch for Crystal, drop her off to school and then get to the office in time for this morning’s meeting. Cloning was an option Victoria thought to herself with a fair amount of humor.

Let’s go Crys, Victoria called out for a third time.

Crystal usually made a big deal when her mother offered to drive her to school, but today she had very little energy to call upon and it showed in her less than energetic movements.

A few moments later the smell of French toast and bacon filled the air. Beside the physical stimulation Crystal required to get her going in the morning, the scent of her mother’s cooking couldn’t be easily ignored even if she tried. Crystal’s tiny feet hit the floor and she guided them into her teddy bear slippers as if hypnotized by the aroma making its way up to her room.

Are you going to be home for dinner tonight or am I going to grandma and grandpa’s house? Crystal asked as soon as she entered the kitchen. In spite of her age, Crystal was a perceptive child that sometimes got her in trouble with her classmates and her teacher when she pushed things further than she had the right to do. Crystal watched as her mother moved around the kitchen in a blur of activity, putting away the container of milk, loading the dishes into the washer and getting the trash together. It seemed as if her mother was avoiding the question all together.

Mom? Hello. Crystal added.

Working late, right? Victoria responded. No I don’t think so, but sometimes you can’t judge one day from the next.

Com’on mom, that’s no kind of answer, Crystal countered.

Based on the hectic morning she was having so far, it would have been easy to snap back at Crys and tell her that any answer should have been good enough which should put an end to any further inquiries; after all Crys was the child and she was the adult. But that wouldn’t have been the right thing to do; besides there was a better and more mature way to handle the situation.

Let’s just get out of the house right now, get the day started and we’ll let the chips fall where they may when it comes to tonight okay? Victoria responded. There was really no need to exercise her sarcastic side, especially when speaking with a child. Dealing with adults on a sarcastic level was a different story and besides, it felt better.

Victoria arrived at RealTime Advertising Agency just after nine o’clock. Her office was located on the twentieth floor which gave her enough time to mentally prepare for the upcoming events of the day. There was an executive meeting scheduled for ten o’clock concerning a potential client who appeared to be on the fence and needed a little nudge in the right direction. The competition included one of the city’s larger, albeit not as well known companies, Eastwick, Inc. In doing her research, Victoria found that although Eastwick possessed the capital to take the client under their wings and provide the exposure that they were seeking, RealTime had the experience, track record and the connections to get the job done with a higher level of efficiency. It should have been a no brainer for Downing Sports. However, Victoria and her team still had to present an effective dog and pony show; perhaps one for the ages. Victoria realized that her staff had to put on a presentation that would blow the doors off any other agency on the street. In the last quarter alone RealTime was able to sign three new clients and for the most part things had gone pretty well thanks to her team’s efforts. Notwithstanding the fact that it took two flights to Chicago, one weekend in New Orleans and what seemed like a thousand teleconference calls in between. This was big business so success and delivery on a moment’s notice went hand in hand. In the big picture Victoria was smart enough to understand that meant everything. Never promise and under deliver was a motto she tried to live by. As far as the economics were concerned, with the companies coming on board RealTime netted just over twenty million dollars in revenue. Talk about having a pretty penny in your pocket Victoria thought. The idea that she and her team had a direct hand in making it all happen only served to boost her confidence when the next opportunity presented itself.

Downing’s specialty targeted athletic sportswear for the mature working and non-working woman. According to Downing’s prospectus their target age was made up of women between the ages of forty-five and older. The company’s executives believed that mature women were somewhat under represented, especially with the focus now being on the so-called X-Generation. In spite of fact that they were working women with family responsibilities, they also had health issues to contend with and being physically active was still an important part of their lives. According to Victoria’s research, this was something they were not ready to give up. Looking and feeling good about themselves, being smart and sexy was all part of their lifestyle. Ignoring those facts from a business sense could prove to be disastrous.

Victoria realized that the demand was certainly there and it was up to RealTime to feed it. For the mature woman, throwing on a pair of baggy sweat pants and an over-sized tee shirt wasn’t something they really wanted. It was born out of convenience more than anything. They want to go out in the world and be noticed just like everyone else. Going to the gym and joining workout clubs shouldn’t be thought of as being off limits based on a lack of style. If there was a look that they could call their own, then working out wouldn’t seem like a chore, but something they were looking forward to accomplishing. The mature set would look great and begin to feel better about themselves all the way around—whether they had the proper equipment at home or took time to visit their local health clubs. As one of the Senior Vice Presidents in marketing it was Victoria’s responsibility to make that happen.

Victoria spent the next two weeks speaking with women in Downing’s target arena hoping to get their opinion on the type of attire they felt most comfortable wearing when they were working out. Not surprisingly, she found that a large percentage of the women wanted a look that was fashionable and comfortable at the same time. This was a standard response across the board. They wanted a look that not only complimented their physical attributes, but one that said they were interested in taking care of themselves on a physical level. Along with everything else they were experiencing, which included biological changes, being part of the older generation didn’t amount to staying at home and baking cookies for their grandchildren. They were concerned with the way they viewed themselves and how society viewed them. Women that fell within that age group had every right to feel alive and sexy. Although medical science offered solutions, many felt that was only a quick fix and in the long run could potentially do more harm than good.

The representatives of Downing Sports were scheduled to arrive at eleven o’clock. Their home office was located in San Francisco, but they were looking for the right advertising agency to take them national and quite possibly reach out on a global level as well. Victoria saw this as an opportunity that couldn’t be passed up and based on their track record RealTime could make their dream a reality. RealTime had connections in several European cities which they could draw upon and Victoria had no reservations about calling in as many favors as it would take to get the job done.

The meeting started precisely on time. In attendance were Brian Brentwood, Tracy McGovern and Victoria’s right hand Karen Worthington.

During the discussion, a number of ideas were tossed around and the overall tone of the meeting was considerably upbeat leaving everyone in attendance feeling that bringing Downing into the family was a certainty.

Three hours later, which included a forty-five minute lunch break, working to make Downing Sports a successful company was a done deal. The next step over the comings weeks boiled down to putting their plan of action into reality. Victoria realized that with the team she had they would easily avoid being under prepared and over confident. After all was said and done, it appeared that everyone walked away with a sense of accomplishment. That included Downing’s Chief Financial Officer and their head of Research and Development.

At two-thirty Victoria called her parents, Wesley and Gayle and asked if they wouldn’t mind going over to her townhouse and wait for Crystal to arrive. It was a routine that they were familiar with and one that never appeared to be an inconvenience for them. Today, Victoria’s mother volunteered since dad had an afternoon doctor’s appointment that couldn’t be postponed.

Victoria told her mother that she should be home by five-thirty, depending on the traffic. Living in Brooklyn and having to travel to mid-town Manhattan everyday was sometimes a nightmare come to life, but mercifully today was different. Victoria knew that she could possibly reduce the commute by about twenty minutes if she used mass transit, but there was something comforting about being in her car. Traffic was always going to be a concern from one day to the next and there was no sense in getting upset about it—it was much like that saying about the weather. Besides, the drive home usually gave her time to wind down and switch modes from being a corporate executive, to being a loving mother to a wonderful child.

Victoria thought back on her childhood and the only drawback she could think of was the fact that since both of her parents had jobs; mom was a registered nurse and dad worked for the post office, there were times when a relative would pick her up from school or whatever afternoon activity she had going on that particular day. Victoria didn’t want that for Crystal, and on so many occasions she had to make the choice between being a mother and a working woman. She was particularly glad that the former usually won the battle most of the time. Being a single parent was one thing, but being a single parent with a position that could dominate one’s entire life was impossible to ignore. Victoria wondered how some women that had multiple children and a career to manage were able to survive without going completely insane. God bless them she thought. However, today was Friday and Victoria promised herself that there would be no unnecessary thoughts of the job to cloud her moments of bliss. Victoria was looking forward to the weekend.

A few minutes into her drive, Victoria’s cell phone came to life. The ring tones were loud and clear enough to be heard from the inside of her bag.

While she was stopped at a traffic light Victoria fished around inside and pulled out the phone.

Hello, she said.

Vicky, its mom. I was hoping to catch you before you left the office. How was my timing?

About ten minutes south of lousy, Victoria responded in a humorous fashion.

I guess you can’t have everything in life. I just called to let you know that I picked Crystal up, so there’s no need for you to rush, but don’t forget to pick up dessert for dinner tonight.

Victoria didn’t respond which was a clear indication that she forgot about spending the evening with her parents.

It sounds like someone forgot about dinner. Gayle said. But that’s all right, at least you don’t have to worry about baking a cake or anything like that, Rachel’s open until eight.

I’m sorry mom, I completely forgot about tonight. I’m not sure if it’s just a matter of juggling too much of or something worse, Victoria offered.

In my case it’s a little bit of both, especially when you get to my age.

Not likely, your mind is as sharp as any twenty-something year old around.

"So true, so true, but I wish you would remind your father about that fact, he’s getting more stubborn and difficult to deal with as the days go by.

You’d think that after thirty five years of marriage a wife’s law would be absolute."

Don’t worry about dad. I’ll talk to him tonight and if he doesn’t come around I know exactly what his weakness is, Victoria said with a sense of confidence riding on her words.

In unison, each woman spoke the same words, Homemade cherry pie.

Over the past three months Victoria traveled less and less. In that time span there was a single trip to the west coast over a weekend, with the best part being Crystal coming along. Mother and daughter had the opportunity to deepen their bond. Crystal spoke about everything that was happening in school; the good as well as the bad, and in her personal life. Victoria was surprised to find out that her daughter, even at her age had dreams and ambitions of her own, although that changed from day to day and month to month.

Although they had spoken about the passing of her father, Crystal confessed that losing her dad at such an early age bothered her and affected the way she behaved in school and at home. It was interesting to hear her young daughter speak so clearly