Free The Big Bang by Linda Joffe Hull Page A

grin as she stretched across the Reformer machine. From there, who knew what exercises were in store?
    For the first time in months, she awoke in the morning before her alarm. She went downstairs, fully expecting to find Steve slurping his coffee like he was in a hurry to go somewhere besides the recliner, and the girls foraging for their usual breakfast of a Red Bull and a PowerBar. Instead, they’d all left early: Steve probably for an early tee time he’d sleep off the rest of the day, and the girls for a makeup test or bring-your-grade-up extra-credit session.
    Still…
    She decided to show The Universe she meant business by substituting her morning toast for egg whites and heading to the gym for a workout during the 8 A.M. time slot she planned to someday enjoy with Justin.
    Or, maybe, his name would be Julian.
    Start with something small, like willing a checker to open up the line for you on a busy day at the grocery store and see what happens.
    Of course, Justin/Julian wouldn’t be small.
    As she eased into her well-deserved, post-workout bubble bath, she turned the page to a chapter entitled, “Money! Money! Money!”
    Half an hour later, filled with
gratitude
for what she already had and what would soon be hers, having
imagined
closings in the pipeline, checks in the mail for real estate and all her sideline businesses, and feeling truly
happy
, knowing that was the fastest way to bring in as much money as she could imagine, she put the book down and closed her eyes again.
    “Bring it on.”
    With a contented sigh, she refreshed her bath with more hot water, grabbed the remote, and flipped on the tub deck TV while she awaited her good fortune.
    Martha Stewart’s face filled the screen.
    An omen for business acumen and financial redemption if ever there
was one.
    ***
    Maryellen Griffin loved Mondays.
    She loved pulling into the lot of the Melody Mountain annex branch of the public library, walking past the Quiznos, veterinary clinic, and U-Frame-It that shared the L-shaped strip mall. She loved the sound of her key in the lock, the click of the lights, the colorful blip as she turned on the computers, and the overflowing return bin she needed to reshelf. She loved that budget cuts stipulated only one senior staffer for the first two, gloriously quiet, nearly patron-free hours at the start of the week.
    Stowing her purse and a post-Easter brown bag lunch of celery sticks, grapefruit wedges, and half a chicken breast in the drawer beneath the circulation desk, she sat down and turned on the staff computer.
    Maryellen especially loved the Monday after Easter. Another year would pass before the stress of organizing an egg hunt, shopping for a dress to complement Frank’s purple robe, or listening to his
the Lord wants you to have what you want if you give money
sermon she’d committed to memory six Easters ago when he was called to make the leap from full-time parishioner to part-time pastor. By scheduling herself for the opening shift, she’d not only miss this year’s rundown of each check amount and who from, but possibly the initial transition into Memorial Day planning mode. Best of all, she managed to slip out of bed, shower, dress, and get out of the house before Frank woke up and rubbed up against her for morning sex. He’d be more insistent, rougher, and certainly more vocal than usual tonight.…
    Tell me how good I was yesterday.
    Tell me how bad you want me.
    Tell me you want it as much as they want me to build them a big church.
    Tell me how big and hard I am.
    Tell me
…
    She sighed.
    Even though she was alone, she did a quick scan of the tables and stacks filling the space once slated to be a Dress Barn. Satisfied no one was looking over her shoulder, she double-clicked on Internet Explorer and, like every Monday, typed in the website for the Denver Public Library. She clicked on
about the library
for the scroll-down menu and went to
jobs.
    She liked the suburban public library system, and the