Georgia On My Mind by Marie Force

was doing it.
    Their laughter followed her up the hill to her car.

    At eleven o’clock, when most of the seniors had gathered for the day, she called a meeting of the core group, minus Good Gus, who hadn’t arrived yet.
    “Close the door, please,” Georgie said to Walter.
    The old men formed a subdued half circle in her office.
    “Now I want you to listen to me, all right?”
    Perplexed by her stern tone, they nodded.
    “I know you loved my mother. She loved you, too. Her work here gave her life meaning and purpose. Long before I ever met you all, I knew you from her stories, her descriptions, her affection for you.”
    When their emotions got the better of them, several looked down at the floor.
    “I, too, have come to care for you very much. You’re a fun group, and I enjoy seeing you every day. But this is not my life’s work. My life, my work, is in Atlanta , and I need to get back to it before there’s nothing left. I’ve worked very hard to get where I am today, and I can’t watch eight years of my life go up in smoke. The city is working to find a new director for this place, someone who’ll provide the kind of leadership you need. I’m not cut out for this.”
    “That’s not true, Georgie!” Bad Gus protested.
    “You’re doing an excellent job,” Henry added. “We say all the time that your mother would be so proud of you.”
    The others nodded in agreement.
    Georgie swallowed the lump in her throat. “I appreciate that—more than you know. But it doesn’t change anything. I’m leaving in two weeks, whether the city has found a new director or not.” Despite their despair, she forced herself to soldier on. “If they haven’t, they’ve said they’ll close the center. Since none of us want to see that happen, can you not run off the next candidate they send over? Please? I’m begging you.”
    They exchanged guilty glances.
    Their mumbles included, “I guess so,” “If that’s what you want,” and “We’ll try.”
    “Thank you. That’s all I wanted to say.” She watched them exchange another round of glances. “What?”
    “We’re worried about Good Gus,” Bill said. “He’s not here today, and no one’s heard from him. That’s not like him.”
    “Maybe he’s just taking a day off,” Georgie said. Who could blame him?
    Walter shook his head. “He’d never not show up without telling one of us.”
    “Did you call him?”
    Bad Gus nodded. “No answer.”
    “I asked Roxy to swing by his house,” Bill said, “but they’ve got some missing kid sucking up all their time, so she couldn’t do it.”
    “That’s Lloyd Turner’s granddaughter,” Henry said gravely.
    “Is it really?” Bill asked. “Oh man.”
    “So, um, about Gus,” Bad Gus said with a pointed look at the others to get them back on the subject.
    All eyes landed on Georgie. “What? You want me to go over there? No way.” She shook her head. “I’m not disturbing that poor man if he’s decided to sleep late or watch TV by himself for a change.”
    “But Georgie—”
    “But nothing. If you want someone to go over there, it needs to be one of you. You’re his friends.”
    “So are you,” Walter pointed out.
    She couldn’t deny that, but still, she wouldn’t feel right about going to his house. “I’m not doing it. Sorry, guys, I’m drawing the line. Call his son.”
    “That asshole won’t care,” Gus growled.
    “I’ll go over there after lunch if he still hasn’t shown up,” Walter offered, and the others seemed satisfied—for now—with that solution.
    “Can we ask you something else?” Henry asked tentatively, as if he sensed she was about to lose it.
    “Yes,” Georgie sighed.
    “You, um, you booked the entertainment for the social tonight, right?”
    “That’s tonight ? You said the last Friday of the month.”
    Walter pointed to the large wall calendar.
    Where in the hell had July gone? And where in the hell was she going to drum up entertainment on such short notice?