Epilogue
Olivia
As I leaned down into the car to arrange the car seats, my hat was knocked askew, the broad brim too much for the small space to take. I grinned and tossed it onto the front seat. I'd put it back on when we got to our destination. For now, I had some bigger issues on my hands, like getting the three car seats to fit together in the back seat of the car. You would think that with as many times as I arranged them back there, the practice would have made me an expert at it by now. But I still struggled every time. Finally, I managed to get them, though.
“All right, hop in,” I said to Emma. She did so, buckling her seat belt. They were hyped up on excitement simply from going somewhere.
Meanwhile, Eric came out of the house with little 6-month-old Davey and handed the boy over to me. “Just changed his diaper, so knock on wood, we should be okay for a while,” he said, smirking at me, because we both knew how reliable that was.
Still, there was nothing that could bring down my mood today. It was one of the warmest days of summer, the perfect day for a picnic with my family. I couldn't wait.
Finally, all three kids were strapped in, and Eric had loaded everything into the trunk.
“Phew,” I said under my breath as we buckled ourselves in and he backed carefully out of the driveway. Getting all of the kids ready to go, dressed in appropriate clothing and wearing sunblock, and then actually herding them out of the house and into the car, was never an easy feat. Every time we made it, I sent up a small thanks to whatever bit of universe might be listening in.
Eric smiled over at me, but I could see a question in his eyes. I knew that there were some moments where we both wondered whether we had taken on too much, with three kids between us now. But this wasn't one of those moments.
I reached over and caught his hand where it rested on the gearshift, squeezing it lightly. Eric's smile broadened. He was far too cute for his own good.
The cemetery was quiet when we got there, and it was cool in the shade of the copious, leafy trees. Some people might consider it a strange place to have a picnic, but it was peaceful there, and a good place for reflection. We tried to come back at least a few times a year as a family, to visit Emily's grave as well as Mom's.
Well, it was quiet until the kids got there, anyway. I smiled over at Emma and Anne, as Emma chased the younger girl around. Emma might have the height advantage, but Anne was agile as a little colt. And, I suspected that Emma was letting her get away. She was a great big sister, and I loved watching the two of them play together: it reminded me of everything that I'd always wanted when I was growing up.
Eric helped me spread out the picnic blanket beneath one of the larger trees and then called over to the girls. “Remember to watch out for the gravestones!”
“We will, Daddy!” Emma called back.
“We will, Daddy!” Anne echoed.
I smiled at them and started unpacking the lunch. The beauty of my situation washed over me and gave me pause. I’d lost a lot in my life, but I’d gained a lot as well. I was grateful for just being me for a few minutes as I watched them.
“Do you want me to help you out or go see if I can catch the girls?” Eric asked, his voice pulling me from my reverie.
I glanced over to where Davey was happy lying, staring wide-eyed up at the leaves. He was being no trouble at the moment, so I smiled at Eric. “Go catch the girls, if you can,” I told him. “We'll be fine here.”
“All right,” Eric said, bending over to give me a quick kiss. Then, he raced off after our two girls. I grinned, listening to them screech with laughter.
My heart swelled with love for all three of them, plus Davey. To this day, several years after our wedding, I was still so glad that we'd been able to put aside our differences and build all of this. I had never been this happy in my life, and I didn't know if such happiness would have been possible without the four of them in my life.
Eric returned not too long afterward, one girl slung over each shoulder even though I knew Emma was probably getting a little too big for that to be comfortable. It was hard to believe that she would be seven soon. Then again, it was equally hard to believe that Anne would be starting preschool in the fall.
I felt a little pang of sadness at the thought of her not being home to keep me company for much longer, but then again, I now had Davey to keep me occupied. And keep me occupied, he certainly had! He was a lot fussier than Anne had ever been, and as if on cue, he started to make unhappy noises right them.
“Right, I'll feed the girls, you take care of the little one,” Eric suggested, already started to scoop potato salad onto each of the plates.
I smiled gratefully at him as I scooped up Davey into the crook of my arm. I still didn't know what I would have done if I hadn't had him there beside me every step of the way. Anne hadn't been anywhere near as fussy as Davey was, but that didn't mean that she'd been without her challenges. One of these days, I was going to have to find a special way to show Eric how much I appreciated his help.
Not that we don't already show that to one another every single day, I thought as he happened to look up and smile over at me.
“Eww, you guys are being gross again,” Emma said, covering her eyes, and her younger sister followed her lead. Davey started giggling, probably thinking that we were about to play a game of peekaboo, and I had to roll my eyes fondly at the girls.
“Eat your lunch,” I said.
“Yes, Mom,” Emma sighed.
We ate our lunches, Eric taking over bottle duty midway through so that I could get a few bites in as well. Then, the girls were off again.
I shook my head. “You'd think that running around like that so soon after eating would make both of them sick,” I commented. Eric laughed as he lay Davey down gently into his chair. The baby, for all his usual fussiness, yawned and drifted off to sleep after a moment. “You're a miracle worker,” I said, nodding toward the boy.
“Is that what they're calling the boys these days?” Eric teased. Then, his face turned serious. “Come on, let me work one more miracle on you,” he coaxed. “Turn around.”
I did so and groaned as he dug his talented fingers into the knotted muscles of my shoulders. “Fuck, that feels good,” I said, glad the kids were running around so that I didn't have to worry about my choice of language.
“When we get home, I'm going to watch after the kids for a little while, and you're going to go upstairs to take a nice bubble bath,” he said.
“Mm,” I hummed, letting my head drop forward as he continued working. “I can't let you do that, though. Three kids on your own is a lot.”
“Well, good thing Emma and Anne are going to be exhausted and will probably fall asleep watching a movie,” Eric said, smirking, and I laughed at how well-thought-out his plan was.
“That would be nice,” I said.
“There's a nice bottle of wine in the cabinet with your name on it, too,” Eric continued. “I'll bring you a glass.”
“God, I don't know how I got this lucky,” I sighed as his fingers worked at a particularly tough knot.
“I don't know how I got this lucky,” Eric retorted. “Three beautiful, healthy kids, and a beautiful, talented wife as well? I must have won the lottery.” He leaned in and kissed my neck, and I shivered, feeling a surge of pleasure go through me. We hadn't had the chance to take much time to ourselves lately, what with Davey being as prone to crying as he was, but I was hoping that we'd get the chance to spend some quality time together soon. For now, though, it just felt honestly amazing to have his fingers working the kinks out of my shoulders.
All too soon, the girls were running back over to us, faces flushed with exertion.
Anne climbed into my lap, cuddling close, and I let her do that even though it was fiendishly warm. “Mommy, can we get ice cream on the way home?” she asked.
I looked over at Eric, raising an eyebrow at him. “That's up to Daddy,” I told her.
“Why is it up to me?” Eric asked before giving me a look. It was almost humorous how he wanted me to make the decisions regarding the kiddos. It was good cop/bad cop of course, but it was his turn to play bad cop. As if.
“Because you'll be the one driving the car,” I said sweetly.
He laughed. “It has been a while since we had ice cream, hasn't it?” he asked.
“Yes!” Emma said. “Like, ages and ages and ages and ages. I don't even remember the last time.”
“I highly doubt that,” Eric said mildly, but I could see the grin tugging at the corners of his lips. “If we can all agree on a flavor, I don't see why not,” he said. The girls cheered, unfortunately waking up their brother, who started to howl.
I smiled at Eric and reached over to scoop up the boy. “I'm going to take a little walk,” I told him, getting to my feet with the boy still in my arms.
“All right,” Eric said. I could see from his look that he was concerned and wanted to check that I was all right, but whatever he saw in my answering expression must have reassured him, because his frown lines soon smoothed out. “We'll be right here when you get back.”
I wandered down the aisles of graves until I reached the one that I had visited a dozen times before: Jeannie Sable—Loving Wife, Mother, and Grandmother.
Of course, she had died before she got to meet either Anne or Davey, but I had been adamant that they put that last bit on her tombstone regardless. For now, I knelt down beside the grave, reaching out with one hand to lay down the flowers that I had brought with me. Daffodils, Mom's favorite.
“Hey Mom,” I whispered, even though it had been a while since I'd felt her spirit there with me. “This is Davey, your first grandson. He'll be 7 months old next week. Isn't he a beauty?”
I had tears in my eyes, just saying the words, but I was happy to have this illusion of her meeting the boy.
Suddenly, a soft breeze blew, and when I looked up, there was a bird perched on top of her gravestone, its head cocked to the side as it considered us. It hopped up and down for a moment and then flew off, prompting Davey to clap his hands in delight.
I couldn't help but smile as I got to my feet again, making my way back over to the rest of my family.
“Are you all right?” Eric asked, pulling me into his arms as we reached him and the girls again.
I smiled up at him. “I'm better than all right,” I told him truthfully, just happy to be together with him and our children.
They, or more likely Eric, had already packed up the remains of the picnic, and I nodded toward the car. “Let's go get that ice cream,” I suggested.
The girls cheered again, but this time, they did it more quietly so as not to upset their brother. “Last one to the car's a rotten egg!” Emma whispered loudly.
The two of them took off, giggling again, and I smiled. Life was good. Really good.
“I love you,” I said to Eric as we walked back to the car, my heart on fire and my joy bubbling over.
He slung an arm around my shoulder, holding me close.
“I love you more,” he answered.
EXECUTIVE
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Noah
“Today is a very special day for Stone Medical Supplies,” I said into the microphone. “Four years ago today, I started this company with a dozen employees. And now look at us.” I raised my hands out to the hundred and fifty employees standing before me. An explosion of clapping and cheering filled the room. During lunch, a hired crew transformed the lobby of my building into a wide-open space with two bars, several food stations, and a DJ booth. I still felt the warmth inside of me from when I saw the faces of my employees when they saw what I had planned for them this afternoon. They deserved this party. And the cost wasn’t a deterrent. I’d made enough pounding the pavement over the years to be able to open my own business, providing for myself, my family, and everyone in front of me. I made eye contact with as many of them as I could, hoping that I could convey my appreciation for each and every one of them.
“After leaving Big Pharma five years ago,” I continued, “this company was a risk. But delivering quality medical supplies face-to-face to our customers in St. Paul was a dream I’ve always envisioned for us. And while you might not see the significance of four years versus a bigger milestone, I wanted to be the one to tell all of you that we’ve tripled our figures in the last quarter, the highest this company has ever seen!”
People whooped and hollered.
Pride swelled within me, and I waited for them to calm down before I went on. It took them a minute. Friday Fever had kicked in, plus the open bar and food had given my employees more enthusiasm.
“I don’t want to keep you too much longer, but in all sincerity, this company wouldn’t have thrived without every single person standing in front of me. I know the future of this company is in good hands with all of you and I hope this party shows my appreciation. Enjoy!”
I placed the microphone on the stand and walked into the crowd as they cheered. I clapped for them as well. Then it was like a horserace for the food and drinks. Most of them took off for the bars, which was why I chose to have two of them.
I cued the DJ to start the music, and he started up with a pop song I recalled hearing on the radio recently, though I couldn’t remember the boy band. A few of the women jumped up and down hearing the song, and I grinned at seeing them outside of their serious expressions when behind their desks. I liked seeing my hard workers cut loose.
“Thank you so much for all this, Mr. Stone,” Emily Getreur said, coming up alongside me. She was the head of accounting and really needed some downtime. With the increase in figures, she’d stayed late with me and a few others to get our numbers in on time for the quarterly reports.
“You’re welcome, Emily. How are your daughters?” I asked.
Emily’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. She loved to talk about her twin daughters and their various school activities.
“Oh, they can’t wait to graduate later this year,” she said.
“Be sure to have them complete the essay for the Stone scholarship,” I said, further promoting the four-year tuition-free scholarship dedicated to employees’ children. My pay packages were competitive, but I knew what it was like to have debt.
“Oh, they will!” she said.
“Enjoy yourself.” I moved through the crowd, and several employees thanked me for the party. And as much as I wanted to mingle with them, I had Gina coming by soon. And as much as I was close to my employees, I knew they would be able to enjoy themselves a little more without the boss nearby.
Speaking of the adorable devil, Gina bounded into the lobby, shooting through the crowd as if fired from a cannon.
“Daddy!” she cried, running right past me toward the stairs to the second floor.
Gina’s nanny, Layla Porter, looked like a drowned rat as she shuffled through the crowd calling for Gina. She tugged at the tips of her short graying hair as she scanned the crowd. I glanced out the window. I didn’t realize it had been pouring outside. With Gina’s excitement, it looked like she’d forgotten her coat and Layla had forgotten an umbrella.
“I got her!” I called to Layla over the music.
Layla’s head snapped in my direction and recognition flooded her face. She waved at me and stopped walking to catch her breath.
I tried not to cringe at her. She looked exhausted. A sinking feeling weighed in my stomach. I pushed it aside and bolted after Gina before she took her first step onto the stairs at the far end of the lobby.
“Honey,” I said, and she turned around.
Her big brown eyes widened, and her crooked grin spread ear to ear. “Daddy!” she exclaimed and attached herself to my leg. “I missed you. Is this party for me?”
“No, honey,” I said with a smile. “Let’s go upstairs, and you can tell me about your day,” I said, lifting her up and holding her against my hip.
She rubbed her tiny hands over my chin. “Scruffy, Daddy.”
I smiled. “You don’t like it?”
“Umm, I guess.”
I dug my face into her neck and growled. Her cries of laughter rattled my ear drum, even over the thumping bass music from the DJ booth.
Once we reached the top of the stairs, she took off into my office at the end of the hallway. She had her own corner with a desk and art supplies which she called “work.” Sometimes I wished my job involved crayons and colored paper.
I glanced down the stairs and saw Layla slowly ascending. She looked more weathered lately, and this was the perfect opportunity to speak with her about how she was getting along with Gina. She’d called me earlier in the day and asked if she could talk with me. Since I wasn’t going to leave the building before the party, I asked her to come in with Gina. I wondered if that had been a bad idea. Lately, she and Gina remained at home for most of the day. Gina had plenty of toys and a massive swing set outside, but she required a lot of activity to tire her out. Layla wasn’t a spring chicken, and bringing Gina to the park or anywhere else was a handful.
I had a bad feeling about this conversation, but I wasn’t one to shy away from it, especially when it was about my family. If Layla wasn’t the best for Gina, so be it. But a part of me wanted to be wrong about this, even though my intuition was rarely wrong.
“Mr. Stone,” Layla said.
“Layla,” I said, waiting for the floor to drop from under me.
“I think you know what I’m going to say,” she said. “Your daughter is a beautiful child.”
“But energetic?” I offered.
“Very,” Layla said when she reached the top of the stairs. She leaned heavily on the railing. “It’s not her fault. I remember my own children at her age. But I’m not a woman in my twenties anymore. I have grandchildren of my own. Ones who I can give back to my children when I’ve had enough. I’m getting too old for this.”
“I understand,” I said, putting on an impassive expression while inside I wanted to scream. It had been hard enough to get Layla on board after meeting Gina. I’d had to convince her that Gina was only excited because Layla was new in her life. It didn’t take long for Layla to get to know the real Gina as my little ball of never ending energy.
“I can stay on until you find a replacement—” Layla said.
“That’s not necessary,” I interrupted. Layla had held her tongue long enough about the subject. Whether out of politeness or the fact that she knew the end of the quarter was my busiest time. “I’ll have her over the weekend, and I’m sure we’ll have several applicants by Monday.”
“I’m sure you will,” she said. “I’d like to say goodbye,” she said.
“Of course,” I said, leading her down the hallway to my office. All the while, I couldn’t help but bite my lip about the whole situation. Come Monday, what the hell was I going to do with Gina?
An hour later, Layla left with her final paycheck. She and Gina had colored for a little while, and Layla brought up the topic of her leaving. Layla was such a patient and kind woman, which was why I’d hired her in the first place. When she opened the door to leave, the sound of the music from the first floor flooded into my office.
Today was supposed to be smooth sailing with the party. And now I had Gina and no nanny. I could care for Gina, I was her father after all, but with the company doing so well, I needed someone to keep Gina busy at least until she was old enough to go to school. I considered sending her to preschool early, but I wanted to hold off until she was at least four. I had the means to have a nanny, and I wanted to preserve her childhood as much as I could.
“Daddy, sit,” Gina said and patted the child-sized chair next to her. I shoved away all thoughts of my nanny woes for now and focused on my daughter.
I kissed the top of her head and sat in the chair, leaning forward, so I didn’t put my full weight on the legs. I didn’t know the effect of Layla leaving would have on Gina so that coupled with the possibility of breaking her chair might be the deciding factor in a total meltdown.
“Here, take a purple crayon,” she said, handing over the crayon.
I took a stray coloring page and started to fill in the picture with my purple scrawl. “Honey, I want to talk about Layla.”
Gina sighed. “I know you like her. I don’t.”
I stopped coloring. “You didn’t like her?”
“She nice, but she’s too slow, Daddy,” Gina said.
I pressed my lips together. Layla would have agreed with her at that moment. “So, you’re okay with her leaving?”
“Yeah,” she said, concentrating on her coloring. “I want to come to work with you. I miss you. You’re too busy.”
I frowned, feeling the familiar pang inside of my heart that I felt each morning when I left Gina at home. Hearing it from her made the feeling even worse. More than half the time, I saw Gina sleeping more than awake since I left early and arrived home late over the last several months. Sure, we’d hit record breaking sales, but at a very personal cost.
I reached over and lifted Gina and placed her on my lap. She grabbed my thumb with one of her hands and held it while she filled in my coloring page.
I wrapped one of my arms around her and pulled her close, inhaling her scent. She was the most incredible thing in my life. It wasn’t the first time I was in utter disbelief that I’d made such a beautiful thing. I needed to show her how special she was to me. I needed someone who she liked and who loved her back, just as I would if I had the time to watch her all day. This time I would have to find someone younger who could give Gina everything she needed and wanted at this age. I needed someone who could keep up with her too.
Where was I going to find someone like that?