The Cause

"You want to follow me?" He asked pointing her away from the rooster who was now crowing and seemed very content with making noise than worrying about being tied to the pole.

She started to shake her head at the handsome man until he chuckled at her reaction and said, "Don't worry. I know you're a volunteer. I'm a head volunteer, so I get to show all the new people the ropes."

She nodded and then smiled as he led the way as he continued his conversation. "There are a lot of people here that need our help. Thank you for being a part of this by the way. I just hope we're not too late. We're losing them to the drug more and more by the hours."

“Yes. Can you believe a simple thing that claimed to be the best weight loss pills in the drug industry did all of this?” She said as she followed him to a table covered with medical supplies.

He stopped, then turned toward her, lowered his voice and said, “To be quite honest, no. I think there’s something else causing all of this, miss. I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch your name.”

“It’s Hope Conwell. And please tell me more.” She whispered.

The Woman in the Mirror

She applied the face cream with a gentle touch and stared back at the woman in the mirror. It would be a long time before a man ever loved that face again. If he ever could. She let out a deep sigh and placed the lid on the container of cream.

At least the fire hadn't destroyed her completely and the child had been okay. The child was what really mattered. He'd been playing in an abandoned building when she got the call on her radio. She'd been the first at the scene and when she'd heard the child screaming for help, she knew she couldn't wait for the firetrucks to arrive.

She'd entered the building without hesitation, without a second thought and found the child huddled in the corner, surrounded by a thick blanket of smoke. She'd seen the orange blaze of the fire nearby, but had never noticed the beam above her until it was too late. By the time the beam had come crashing down she'd glanced up just as the fire seared into her face. But at least she'd gotten the child out and that was all that mattered.

Now as she looked back at the woman in the mirror once more she saw a slight smile and gasped. The scars that had bared its markings across her face were slowly fading before her eyes. The lips that were once a partial hideous scar were beautiful and smooth. It was as if that fire had never touched her face. How could this be she wondered? How?

She touched her face knowing full damn well someone had to be playing a cruel joke on her. This simply was not possible.But just as the woman in the mirror had looked, her face showed no signs of ever being burned by a fire.

What had she done to change her destiny. She hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. She went to the flea market and had purchased the beauty cream from the old lady. She hadn't meant to really, but she needed to get out of the apartment and her love for flea markets seemed like the best thing.

But then when she saw the elderly lady smiling a gentle smile as she walked past her booth she decided to stop. It was strange because she'd walked past every booth but hers, afraid that someone would stare at her or jump back in fear. But the elderly lady had the kindest eyes and seemed sweet, so she'd stopped and browsed at her beauty products.

"You have such a lovely face, dear. Why don't you try this one." The old lady had picked up the jar of beauty cream and offered it to her. "I don't think so. I don't think I need it." She'd said to her. "Nonsense." So she'd purchased the jar just to please the old lady and brought it home.

And it was just then that she realized that she'd never really taken a good look at her purchase. God. For all she knew it could be some form of acid that could eat away her skin. She knocked that silly notion away from her mind and picked up the jar. It read, Miracle Cream. For the Hero Who Saved My Grandchild.

Secret Shopping

"Are these the best diet pills you have for sale?" The plump girl with red hair showed the pharmacist a box she had picked up from the shelf.

"I believe so." He replied without looking up. "Are you sure?" She asked him again. The pharmacist looked up from his work and at the girl who was pestering him about a question he really had no time for. Diet pills weren't a real drug. It wasn't his business.

"Yes." He finally told her.

He watched the girl let out a heavy sigh and then she said, "Thank You. My boyfriend wants me to lose weight or he's going to dump me. And I don't think I could take that, ya know?"

The pharmacist frowned. Why on earth would she be revealing her personal life to him. He had more important things to do than to listen to her chatter on about her life.

"Well, thank you." She said with a slight smile.

"Yep." He replied and then went back to his work.

He watched the girl walk away with the pills in hand and smiled. Silly broad. Didn't she know that he had a more important duty than to answer some silly question like that. He looked back down at his work until he heard footsteps approach and someone clear there voice. When he looked up he smiled. It was his boss, Mr. Conklin.

"What can I do for you sir?" The pharmacist asked him.

"I need to speak with you in my office immediately." His boss replied.

The pharmacist nodded and closed the pharmacy window which told customers he was not available. Then he followed his boss into his office and waited nervously. If Mr. Conklin was calling him into his office it usually meant there was a problem. He suddenly wondered if he filled an order incorrectly or if he'd forgot to put paperwork in someone's order.

" We had a secret shopper in our store today." Mr. Conklin began. "She just reported her findings about our pharmacy department."

The pharmacist swallowed the lump that had just formed in his throat.

"The obvious reason I called you in here Rick is because you lack customer service skills. This is a small town and the only pharmacy we have in this town. I can't have its reputation ruined, so I'm sorry to say, but I'm going to have to let you go."

Rick nodded unsure what to say. He'd never considered the idea that some chunky girl could have such an important role in his career. A secret shopper? No way! No way!

"I'll let you finish out this work day. I wish you the best of luck in your future." His boss was saying, but Rick wasn't really listen, despite his nod. He was wondering just how the hell some girl could get him fired so easily. How she could ruin his career. A career he'd worked so damn hard on. There would be hell to pay. Oh yes, there would be hell to pay!

Rare Gold Coins For My Father-in Law

My father-in-law has a fascination when it comes to collecting gold coins. It's fun to watch his reaction when he shows my husband and I his collection, and of course it's interesting to see all of the wonderful gold and rare coins that he has.

Since the holidays are already vastly approaching again this year, I was thinking maybe we could get him a rare coin he may not have in his collection. I noticed that Monaco Rare coins has some interesting coins that I know my father-in-law will love. Like the, Certified MS-63 Saint Gaudens $20 Double Eagles. I also noticed that Monaco has silver dollars available as well. And they have a special on, Uncirculated Morgan Silver Dollars. How cool is that?

They even have a Best Price Guarantee. I don't know about you, but I don't know of any dealer around here that has that sort of a guarantee. I like knowing that I am paying a good price on something like this. They'll also keep you up-to-date on the latest in rare coin deals, etc. Awesome.

Even if you're just looking to sell some rare coins you may have, Monaco can help. Check them out. And Uhh Ohhh.... My husband is hooked!!