Burdens of a Troubled Heart

“What should I talk about?” Ranell shoved his hands deep in his pockets and shook his head in frustration. “What good would it do for me to complain about a President of the United States who’s so obsessed with exacting revenge on his political opponents that he refuses to acknowledge that his ‘austerity’ measures are killing the business in this country?”

Mendoza shook his head slowly. He wasn’t buying Ranell’s explanation. “You are trying to carry a burden that is impossible to bear.”

“It’s my job to bear it!” Ranell cracked, lashing out at his friend. “People relied on me to make the right decisions, but I screwed up! I thought I could find a way through this mess the country’s in. I thought I could save GML. But now I’ve got over six thousand people stepping off into the abyss this damned government created!”

“Did you do your best, Josef?”

Ranell stopped and glared at Mendoza. “What difference does that make? I’ve been working fourteen-hour days, seven days a week, for over a year now. My marriage is on the rocks. My retirement will be wiped out, healthcare gone. I’ve got nothing left, Father. I’ve lost everything, and I guess I deserve it because there are six thousand other people out there tonight who will find out they've lost everything too. My best?” Ranell cursed, and then looked apologetically at Mendoza.

I don’t care how upset you are, Ranell inwardly scolded himself. You can’t cuss like that in front of a priest. Downcast, he mumbled, “If this was my best, it sure wasn’t good enough.”