Chapter 28. Just Rewards
by Jessica Martin

 

       So, it was a success for the world, but I’d lost everything.  I’d gotten my just rewards.  And I was okay with that.  Whatever it meant.  I had no money; Global Missiles would probably continue in the killing business, because they could probably line up the best lawyers to show that One Day In Peace was celebrated throughout the world, even if it wasn’t called that everywhere.  But it would have to go on without me, because I couldn’t go back to doing that, ever again.  I had no idea what I would do, but it certainly wouldn’t be that.  I probably still had feelings for Art, and I’d lost him forever... but that’s okay -- he belongs with Samantha and his kids -- so I’m glad I had some small part in helping him to see that. 

       I’d been disgraced in front of the whole world.   But, I have a father now, and I have more of an idea of why Uncle had treated me the way he did.  And so, I can finally forgive him and move on.  

       And hey, there was peace on earth for a day, and I was watching it happen in each time zone with my closest friends.  As I sat there, I realized that there was one person who was missing, that I really missed. 

       “Heck, the campaign’s over,” I figured, “I can call him.”  It had been so long since I’d dialed his cell phone -- it felt like a whole lifetime ago -- that I almost had to look up the number. 

       “Hallo,” Troy answered.  My heart leaped.  It felt so good to hear his voice. 

       “Troy...” I whispered, my voice quivering.

       “Jess?” he exclaimed.  “You’re not going to believe this... I was just...” he paused and laughed.  “...thinking of you,” he said, still rolling in laughter.

       “You were?”  That made me happy.

       “Actually...” he paused and laughed again. 

       The doorbell rang.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Melissa get up to get it.  “Troy...” I stammered because his end of the line was silent. “Are you there?”

       Nothing.  I felt devastated. 

       “Here I am darling.”  His voice didn’t come from the phone.  I looked up.  There was Troy, holding a huge bouquet of red roses.  He looked wonderful.  I felt like I’d waited an entire lifetime to see him again.  I jumped up into his arms and tears of joy were streaming down my cheeks.

       “I brought you these,” he said.  “Global Flowers Unlimited’s very first bouquet of ‘Lady Martin Thornless Roses’ -- they’re twice the size and twice as red as any other rose.  We’ll be shipping out 100 million this Valentine’s Day.”

       “Huh?” I sighed, still holding him tightly.  I didn’t want to ever let him go again.  “Global Flowers... but the world was peaceful...”

       Troy laughed.  “Oh, we’ve been in the flower business for the past three weeks.  After all those polls in November, the Executive Board set the number-crunchers working.  The shareholders voted unanimously after we published the projections. Of course, we don’t just produce flowers.  We’ve got the world’s first Fusion-Recycler, for example.  Takes mountains of trash and ‘melts’ them down to their perfectly re-usable basic elements.  And a fleet of non-polluting cars running on a whole array of alternative energies, including solar, air, water and even used-organic-fat-free-french-fry grease.  We’ve got a hundred other products-for-a-better-world in the works, too.  Why, we’re making twice as much selling flowers and products-for-a-better-world than we did peddling missiles.  And we’re much happier doing it.”

       I hugged Troy even tighter, finally believing that fairy tales can come true. 


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Table of Contents | Preface | Ch 1

| Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 |
Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 |Ch 10 | Ch 11 |
Ch 12 | Ch 13 | Ch 14 | Ch 15 | Ch 16 | Ch 17 |
Ch 18 | Ch 19 | Ch 20 | Ch 21 | Ch 22 | Ch 23 |
Ch 24 | Ch 25 | Ch 26 | Ch 27 | Ch 28 | Ch 29

ONE DAY IN PEACE
A Novel about creating humanity's first day of peace
Robert Alan Silverstein

The People For Peace Project


$4.59 paperback
99 cent Kindle Edition


UTOPIAN DREAMER


May Peace Prevail On Earth