I Dream Of Johnny (novella) by Juliet Madison Read Free Book Online Page B

it wasn’t the fabulous, perfect life I’d wanted yesterday. It was a life, my life, and I was damn lucky to have it.
    I noticed the television, DVR, and Wii laying about, yet to be set up, and my shoulders sunk. “Oh man, I forgot about this!” I laughed at how easy it had been for Jonathan and almost wished he was here again to help me. I selected my brother’s number from the contacts in my phone and waited. No response there either. He never answered the phone if he was in the middle of something important, like a video game, or his favourite TV show. “Let the machine get it,” he’d always say.
    The machine. My machine. I still had to change the recording. I went to press the greeting message button then eyed the array of technology. “First, let’s get this mess sorted out.” I flipped open the Yellow Pages. What would one search for when looking for help with this sort of thing? Was there a job category for ‘setter-upperers of household entertainment appliances’? Hmm...a handyman, perhaps? I scanned the advertisements: painting, carpentry, lawn mowing, odd jobs ...was this classed as an odd job? And then I saw it. The ad I was looking for:
    Geeks R Us
    Brilliant!
    For all those tricky technology dilemmas, we are at your service, seven days a week. Affordable prices, hourly rate. Guaranteed same day service if you call before midday.
    I checked my watch. Yes! I called and was told my geek would be arriving in around two hours. Not as fast as the magic lamp, but not bad! And I knew just how I would pass the time, but first: the answering machine. I played the existing half-done message with low level coarse language and pressed DELETE. Then I pressed RECORD.
    “Hi, thanks for calling Mandy, from Mandy’s Magical Mobiles. I look forward to speaking to you soon. Please leave your name and number after the tone.”
    Beep!
    Done. Let my new life begin!
    Ninety minutes later I was putting the finishing touches on the design and templates for my fruit mobile. I couldn’t find a supplier of wooden fruit shapes so I’d have to carve them myself. I’d make apples, bananas, strawberries, pineapples, oranges, and grapes, and paint them to look as realistic as possible. In fact, I’d decided to create a whole range of food-themed mobiles and try to sell them to cafes and restaurants. Mobiles didn’t have to be solely in the children’s domain. And I had an idea I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of till now, till Jonathan made me the heart-shaped MANDY mobile — which sadly, didn’t survive the wish exchange —mobiles with children’s names on them. I found an online store that had some but they were cheap plastic; mine would be handcrafted and unique. I’d pre-make some with popular names and do custom designs for more unique names on demand. The first name I’d do would be ‘Jonathan’ and I’d use it as my example design on the website. Ooh! Bubbles of enthusiasm rose up inside and popped into spurts of bliss. I was in my element, and confident I could turn my money situation the right way round.
    As for the love situation, well, I simply hadn’t met the right man yet. Jonathan, despite his... shortcomings , had shown me some of the qualities I wanted and deserved: helpfulness, authenticity, honesty —oh boy did he show me honesty! —and kindness. If there was a man out there for me, I’m sure we’d find each other eventually, but there was no point stressing about it or forcing things. I’d meet him when the time was right for both of us.
    Ding, dong!
    Please don’t tell me it’s those charity collectors again ...but then I remembered I was expecting the tech guru. I’d been so immersed in my creative world I’d forgotten. I put my pencil down and went to the door, pulling it open. A stream of afternoon sunlight welcomed itself inside and I instinctively shaded my eyes with my hand so I could focus on my visitor.
    Deep green eyes focused back through thick glasses. Green eyes, just