Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
I’m getting nervous just thinking about it.
“Oh boy,” I say to myself. I haven’t even managed to get a wink of sleep since my mom left. I check the clock; two hours have passed. My mom will be up in about an hour. I’d better try to get a little bit more sleep at this point.
My mother made us all a delicious dinner, and now we’re all eating together. The typical family dinner.
“How was your day, honey?”
“It was nice, Margie. I flubbed up on a project a couple days ago, but Brick was pretty calm about it. I was able to fix what I messed up, so I’m hoping to present it in a couple of days.”
“Oh, that’s nice. I know you’ve been worried about your work output, honey. I’m sure Brick will see that you’ve been working hard.”
“Hopefully. But like I said, he’s been different these past few weeks. Me and some of the other employees have been talking about it. We’re not sure what’s going on; it could be any number of things.”
“He’s not in a bad mood, is he?”
“No, just the opposite. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him. It’s a whole new side to him that I’ve never seen before. I know he and Robert have been working on some huge deal, but a lot of the details haven’t trickled down yet. I guess it could be that.”
Brick did tell me about an expansion deal he and Robert have had in the works for some time. It’s supposed to give them more of a competitive edge, as well as be the catalyst for the company to get more into the awards season. He gave me some of the technical details at the time, but I didn’t understand all of it, so we just kind of left it at the simple explanation.
“Are you sure he hasn’t found someone?” my mom asks.
“What do you mean?”
“Like a girlfriend. Maybe he’s just in a happy relationship, and it’s spilling over into his work.”
Oh shit. I don’t think anyone from his work knows about us, though. Brick and I stopped by his office last week because he needed to pick up some folders, but it was really late, and I stayed in the car, making sure to stay hidden. I don’t think anyone saw me.
“I don’t know. We don’t hear a lot about the bosses’ personal lives. I mean, sometimes Robert will bring one of his girlfriends to company events, but Brick never has. Plus, we haven’t had a big company gathering since the barbecue at the botanical gardens. I mean, it’s possible he’s met someone, but there’s no way for me to know.” My dad shrugs.
“Well, I like that explanation. He deserves a little happiness. He really is such a good boss.”
“I’d have to agree with you on that one, honey.”
My parents stop talking for a little bit to focus on their food. I feel relieved to know that there aren’t any suspicions floating around at the studio. Still, Brick and I have not been taking as much care as we should.
Thankfully, I’m seeing him tomorrow. It looks like we have a lot to discuss. This concern should probably be the first thing I bring up because it’s the most important.
“Now that we’re talking about it,” my mom starts. I look up to see her giving me an odd look. “You’ve been pretty upbeat recently as well, Tammy. Has anything been going on? Something good, maybe?”
“Oh, um…” I trail off because I don’t have anything ready to say. I’ve had months to think up a lie, but I never actually took the time to do so. Now, I am very much on the spot.
“Margie, don’t freak our daughter out. She’s probably just happy because she’s happy.”
“You have been coming and going a lot more. I mean, you’re an adult, and you can do what you want to do, but we haven’t been able to see you as much as we normally do. I just thought that maybe there was some good news on the horizon that had you all happy.”
“There’s nothing major going on, Mom. Just the usual. I promise if there was some big event, I’d let you guys know.”
“I know, baby. I know. I just want you to be happy.”
“I am.” My parents get back to their dinner. I look down at my plate and push the food around on it. I’m starting to feel guilty about hiding all of this from them. I’ve been living for so long in a bubble with Brick, where the outside world isn’t much of a factor. It’s probably part of the reason why we’ve been throwing caution to the wind a lot more often.
Maybe it is time to tell my parents. And maybe there are people Brick wants to tell. His mother lives in another country – he set her up with the best of retirements – but I know she doesn’t know. The deal was if my parents don’t know, he would keep it from his mom too. And if we’re going to be serious, then I’d like to meet her. There are just so many factors to consider. Too many factors.