As much as I wanted to abandon my desk and have someone find my resignation in a mysterious way, it was professional suicide in a small town. No one would want to buy from someone who screwed over one of the most beloved people in the town, and no one would want to employ someone like that either. Besides, I wasn't even ready to quit quite yet. Even though there was a world of customers out there that I had yet to reach, I couldn't swing just quitting my job, especially if Blake took my message to heart.

I wasn't sure what else life had in store for any of us, but I had to make the best of what I had. Sure, I was only twenty-four, and there were probably millions of old people who thought I had all the time in the world to figure it out, but that assumed a lot of things that I wasn't willing to assume. Sometimes life was too short to waste time in a place that wasn't right or with people who weren't meant to be.

As I sat at my desk, I took out my phone to send a text to Chris. He really showed up at the right time to tell me what I needed to hear and to help me when I needed a little extra support. I wasn't going to be able to repay him for that, especially when all we were was high school acquaintances.

Hey Chris. I just wanted to thank you for everything. It's done much more for me than you could ever know.

I thought for a moment. That didn't really seem all that convincing, and it definitely didn't even begin to express how much I meant it. I wasn't a poet by any stretch, and that couldn't have been any more obvious than in that text.

I frowned. Then what else could I possibly say to get my point across?

Next time you're at the Lakeside Daisy, everything is on the house. It's the least I can do.

That seemed like a major improvement, so I hit the send button and put my phone face down on my desk. I felt a little better now that I had done something to repay him after he helped me when my car took a shit and then got me a good deal (supposedly—I wouldn't know the difference) on a new one. It wasn't like I had anyone else who was willing to help me out when I needed it most.

I knew that I had told my parents that I was giving up the crafting dream, and now that I had changed my mind once again, they were probably going to hear about it through the grapevine. Word got around fast, and as soon as I left my job at the Lakeside Daisy, they would know. We were a hell of a lot more connected than we thought we were on the surface.

Well, then they probably should hear it from me on their voicemail. Maybe that would seem more genuine than the last message I left for them.

If there was one thing I really liked about the responsibility of having my own office, it was that I could do whatever personal stuff I wanted on the clock and no one would ever know the difference.

I picked up my phone again, pressed on my mother's scarcely used contact, and let it ring until I got to voicemail.

She was always bad at answering her phone even when we had things to talk about.

"Hey, it's Marigold. I was just calling to let you know that my last message to Dad wasn't a lie, but I decided that it's best for me if I continue to pursue what I'm actually passionate about. I know you guys always wanted me to go to school and move somewhere nicer, and maybe I should, but at the same time, I think I have the heart I need to take me where I need to go. It's gotten me in this office I don't want, for God's sake." I laughed to myself. "Anyway, you don't really have to respond to this. I'm not asking for anything this time. I already got myself a new car on my own. But I just wanted to make sure you didn't hear this from someone else. You know how we gossip here."

I wrapped up my message before I could think of anything else to say. Ever since I had decided that I wasn't the higher education type, they were disappointed that I didn't want to make a better life for myself. That was far from the complete truth, but life had changed since they were my age. Degrees meant success, especially in a town like ours. That wasn't the case anymore.

Maybe there was something I could learn from some business classes that I could apply to my life. I certainly didn't know everything when it came to making profits and managing expenses. I pretty much just knew crochet, with a whole lot of help from Pinterest.

I picked up the phone again to leave my mom one more message.

"It's me again. I was just thinking that maybe there's a business class I could take that could help me get my ideas off the ground. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?" I paused for a moment. No, MG, it couldn't hurt. "Well, I guess that's all I wanted to add. I bet I could get George to pay for them if I stick around here long enough."

A small pant of guilt flew through my stomach. I kind of missed the fun part of being a daughter—making sure my mom knew every thought I had, because she definitely cared about my stream of consciousness.

But all I could do was carry on with life and hope that I would finally make someone proud, even if that person was just myself.

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Hello there! I hope you're having a wonderful day, and thank you so much for reading!

So for this chapter's question, do you think it's important to make others in your life proud of you, or is the only opinion that matters your own?

I can be a little bit of a people pleaser, and I do like to make sure that I am not a disappointment to the people who love me. I also live my life the way that I want, but at the same time, I always have the thought in my mind that I want to make people proud with the choices I make and the way I act every day. Am I always successful? Definitely not.