Free The Memory by Barbara Kaylor Page B

power is made perfect in you.’  So I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can live in me. For this reason, I am happy when I have weaknesses, insults, hard times, sufferings, and all kinds of troubles for Christ. Because when I am weak, then I am truly strong.”
    Elliot read the passage over and over.  Why had he remembered it so vividly?  Had he recognized it from a sermon he’d heard or was it more of a family favorite?  Something had made him turn to it.  Tears of joy gathered in his eyes. This verse was a connection to his past. 
    “My grace is enough for you.  When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you,” he read again. 
    Hungry for more, Elliot searched and found more familiar verses to study.  He’d lost track of time and fell asleep, sitting in the chair, his mind still keyed up.  Under the strain, he dreamed. 
    “You’re fired, Geneva!”
    “What? I just secured the account you’ve wanted for years. Why are you so angry with me?”
    “Your methods went against company policy. A severance package will be mailed to you.”
    “You can’t do this!”
    “I’m the president of this company. I can do whatever I want!”
    “I’ll file a complaint!”
    “I wouldn’t do that, Geneva. I have proof of your unethical conduct. If you go away quietly, it will remain in my files.  If not, I’ll be forced to produce it, and I’m sure you don’t want that.”
    “What proof? I demand to see it!”
    Elliot opened a folder and spread several photos on his desk.  “Here’s the proof, Geneva.  You were carrying on with your client, a married man.”
    “What? I—never—”
    “Pictures don’t lie.”
    “I can explain every one of those photos, Elliot.  Just give me a chance. Please don’t do this Elliot.  I thought we were friends.  You told me I was an asset to the company.”
    “That was before this!  Now please go.”
    “This is unfair!”
    “Get out, Geneva! Get out now!”
    Elliot thrashed from side to side under the power of the dream.  A strong emotion gripped him.  Still dreaming, he watched Geneva stomp out of his office in a blast of fury and pain.  His fists curled at his sides after she was gone. He slumped at his desk with his head in his hands.  Rage overpowered him.  Rage and— jealousy.  He was jealous.  Geneva had gone out with the rep from the account she was soliciting, and it enraged him. He pounded his desk.
    “You can’t work here anymore, Geneva! I’ve fallen in love with you!”
    Elliot jerked awake.  The memory consumed his mind and emotions.  He sat up, feverish.  It could have been a dream.
    No! He screamed inwardly. The fit of jealousy was too strong, the love in his heart, too powerful .  This had not been a dream. It was an extension of his only memory. He’d been angry with Geneva because she’d gotten too close to someone else. That’s why he’d fired her. It was the only way he could get back at her.  His actions had been purely selfish.  He couldn’t stand the thought of Geneva with another man so he got rid of her.  The deed had been wrong and unjust. 
    One mystery remained.  How had he found out? Where had the photos come from?  Geneva had defended her actions, saying she’d done nothing wrong.  Perhaps she hadn’t.  He’d not given her a chance to refute his charges.  He’d just sent her away.  Now, he knew why.  It didn’t make him feel better, but he did feel closer to understanding why it was this memory and none other that had survived the amnesia.  His love for Geneva ran deep.
    Fully awake and still dressed in his clothes, Elliot fixed himself a cup of black coffee and drank it down while watching the dawn illuminate the horizon in a splash of color.  He’d asked God for help and he’d gotten it.  The memory clung to his mind like a battle scar.  He showered and dressed in a clean set of clothes then sat outside on the porch to wait for Geneva to stir.
    As soon as he