“Hey, can you head into the conference room?” Mark asks. It’s my first day back to work after our vacation. There were piles of papers on my desk and I saw on the calendar that Jackson is flying in again.
“Sure.”
“Thanks,” he replies, already gone.
I’m assuming something is going on because everyone is running around like lunatics. I grab my notebook and try not to notice the weird looks I’m getting. I wonder if I’m getting fired.
“What’s going on?” I ask as soon as I enter the door.
“There’s an issue with an account. Jackson is on his way here and then we’re heading out. It’ll be me, Jackson, and three other guys,” Mark says, still looking at a paper.
“Where are you guys headed?”
“Overseas,” he answers quickly and seems extremely distracted.
“Okay . . .” I trail off feeling a little out of the loop. “Did I screw something up?”
Mark’s head snaps up. “No, not at all. This is fairly normal. Our overseas accounts are always a little strange. This account is in Dubai and the Navy wants us to provide asset protection. They want us to come out and see what’s going on firsthand and give them an assessment on what we can do to ensure it doesn’t get fucked up. Muff wants to make sure you can handle the office while I’m gone.”
“I’m sure I can.”
“Okay, we’ll be out of reach most of the time, so you’ll have to be able to figure out anything while we’re away. I wanted to give you these files before I leave in a few days. Plus, go over a few of the financial things.”
It says a lot to me that they want me to handle the office in their absence. It doesn’t make sense why they’ll be unreachable, but far be it from me to understand everything that goes on here.
Mike knocks, “Charlie’s on the line for you, Twilight.”
Mark looks over at me, “I need to take this. We’re leaving in a day or two, but I’ll shoot you an email with everything in case things are hectic beforehand.”
“Okay,” I stand awkwardly and head out of the room. Mark is usually a pretty calm guy but he seems keyed up. I hope he’s being honest and that I didn’t do something wrong. I handled the Dubai account and made sure they had the manpower they requested.
Heading back to my office, I see I have a missed call from Aaron’s mom. It’s the first time I’ve heard from her in a year. She cut me and Aarabelle off completely, and no matter how many times I’ve tried, she never reciprocates.
I sent out Aarabelle’s birthday invitations the other day. Maybe she’s going to come.
I dial her number and someone picks up.
“Patti?” I ask.
“Lee,” she says my name with a sigh. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been an awful mother-in-law. I should’ve called. It’s just been so hard,” Patti starts to ramble and my heart aches for her.
“There are no guidelines on grief. I wish you would’ve let me grieve with you, but I understand.” I want to ease her mind. It’s a hard place to be and I can’t begrudge how she chose to live with it.
“I got the invitation with her photo. She looks so much like him.”
“She does,” I agree.
“How are you doing?”
We chat and catch up. She tells me she wants to come out for her birthday party and would love to talk again. I’ve missed her. She was like a mother to me since I was sixteen.
“Are you happy?” The question stops me short. I want to be honest with her, but I worry she’s going to hate me.
“I am. There’s a lot that’s happened in the past year, but I’m moving on. I don’t have any other choice.” I choose not to tell her too much. She doesn’t need to know about Aaron’s affair. I decide to let her memory of her son stay unsullied.
“I’m glad for you. I think he’d be happy too.” Patti sniffles but holds it together. “I’ll let you get back to work and I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
We disconnect the call and I sit back in my chair. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for.
The rest of the day passes without any issues. I go over all the files Mark emails over. Reanell texts me and asks me to meet her for lunch. She’s been so busy with the command side of the team that we haven’t seen much of each other. I’m excited to get to spend a little girl time with her, and since everyone in the office is nuts, no one will miss me.
I pull up to our favorite restaurant that serves breakfast all day. Citrus always has a wait, but we’re good friends with the owner. I called her and let her know we’d be coming, so she saved us a place at the bar.
“Hey, sexy mama,” Reanell says as she finds me on my stool.
“I’ve missed you!” I exclaim and pull her into a hug.
She hugs me tight and we act as if it’s been years rather than a week or two. “How’s everything? Vacation seems to have agreed with you.”
“Yeah, it was great.” I smile thinking about the time with Liam. It really was great. I know Reanell well enough to see the wheels turning in her head. I give it five seconds before she goes from chewing on her nail to berating me.
“Seriously? That’s all I get?”