Review, Revision, Edit and UpdateRevision, scattered throughout, involved removal of unnecessary pronouns, redundant phrases, more clearly, showing Dez's thoughts.
Stop and Think
She pulled her car onto the shoulder of the road. Turning it off, releasing her seat belt, she sat back and stared up the tree lined lane. From where she sat she couldn’t see the Beaufort Mansion. A pretty grand name for a plain brick home. Plain only in its design, a gigantic box constructed of bricks, mortar, wood and nails. A box that had contained the lives of families for over two centuries.
When Desperanza Eliot had walked into the Global Grand Bank branch on the early evening of March 25, 2020, she had no idea…..no idea at all…… that her life would become entwined with the lives in any grand mansion at all, let alone Hartley's well known Beaufort Estate. She was plain Dez Eliot. She worked at various jobs. She had friends and relationships. Except for one that had become very important: her sister, Emelina. Estranged from her sister for over ten years, there was no reason for Dez to think that she would do anything but work and go out with friends, go home to her humble apartment, do a sketch or painting, and go to bed.
But would her relationship with her sister and her sister’s estate stand the test of time? Dez smiled as she remembered all that had transpired in the past four months. Each event, even the encounters with a little ghost, had been the most enjoyable events of her life. She had grown fond of all the people of the Beaufort Estate. Cook, for her delicious, generous meals and snacks. Martha for her welcoming kindness towards Dez. Digby, doing so much more than just a butler. Samuel! His stories of how things grow, history of the estate and the affection he would never admit for Cook. She loved working in the orchard but did not feel that she had made much progress. And the apiary? Still no bees, on hold because she was not completely ready. The bees had been ordered but fortunately, the company had delayed the shipment more than once. Reacquainted with Matt Hamilton, an orchardist and apiarist, he was her 'go to guy' for his practical knowledge of orchards and bees. Knowledge she needed if she were to develop the Estate's orchard. Their relationship had blossomed into an easy friendship.
Dez had needed this stop and think at the roadside so she could grasp once more how she fit in to this world. Should she continue with the work on the orchard under the dubious title of Project Manager? She knew one thing for certain: she would not become estranged from Emmie again. Dez picked up her phone and was ready to call Emmie, but sent her a text instead. “We need to talk.”
“Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them,
but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them,
and try to follow where they lead.”
~ Louisa May Alcott
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