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)
The blessing extended to Brick’s business as well. The expansion of his studio ended up being one of the best moves he’s ever made. This is the first year one of their documentaries has ever been nominated for an Academy Award. A bottle of champagne was popped that night. I also may have shown Brick how proud I was of him in…other ways.
“I’m sure everyone will have a great time,” he reassures me.
“Plus,” I continue, “Harlow deserves cute flowers.” I hold up some petals to my face, putting on a faux pout to make Brick understand the importance of my task.
“Well, I can’t argue with you there. That little girl deserves the world.” And Brick would give it to her if he had the chance. I put down the flowers I’ve been playing around with, placing them off to the side. I can work on that later. Maybe some time away from it will reinvigorate my mind.
“My mom called,” I tell my husband.
“Oh, are they still coming for the party?”
“Yeah, yeah. They wouldn’t miss it for the world. She just wanted to know if she could use our kitchen for the cake.”
“Of course she can. She doesn’t even have to ask. Where else would she bake it?”
"I have no idea,” I shrug. "I told her she doesn't have to ask, but she likes to double-check.” Ever since my parents moved down to Florida, my mom always asks about using our home whenever they’re in town. We’ve never said no, and as long as we have room, we will never say no, but she insists on getting permission every time. I guess our conversation on healthy boundaries really hit home for her.
Florida has been great for my parents. After Brick reached the decision that it would be best for my father to leave the company, he came up with a plan to make sure my parents didn’t lose everything. Once we all reconciled, Brick set up a nice retirement package for my dad. Even though my parents had realized their mistake by then, I was still kind of worried my dad might say no because he would see the package as charity. But Brick took my dad out for a fancy steak dinner and got him to accept the offer that same night. I'm still in awe over Brick's persuasion skills.
“Can your mom make it to the party?” I ask Brick. She has been on the fence because of some issues she’s having in Europe. Nothing major, but she thought she might have to come see us the week after Harlow's birthday.
“Yes. All of the grandparents will be together for the first time.” It's surprising, I know. The first meeting was meant to be at our wedding, but all of the planes flying out of Rome at the time had been grounded, and other means of leaving the city had been limited, so Sandra had basically been stuck. We’d offered to postpone our wedding, but she would have none of it, so we ended up live streaming the wedding to her. Thankfully, Brick has some of the best cinematographers in the biz. Our parents did say hi over the livestream, so I guess this is more their first time physically being in the same space.
“Here’s hoping they all get along,” I cross my fingers. It’s a bit of a joke because Sandra is amazing, and I know my parents will like her. And I’m sure she’ll like them as well. I've been making myself extra anxious over a child's birthday party. Yes, my child, but still.
“It’ll be great,” Brick reassures me. He moves some hair from in front of my face to behind my ear before kissing my forehead. “I’m going to head to the bedroom. Call me if you need anything. Just promise me you won't drive yourself crazy with all of this birthday stuff.”
"I can't make any promises, but I will try to calm down.”
"Okay, I can accept that. I'm going to head up now.”
Brick grabs his briefcase and walks away. He heads upstairs, leaving me alone. Usually, Brick would go straight to Harlow’s room to say hi, but she’s with Auntie Mamie for the night. I was actually hoping to reveal some good news to him but got caught up talking about Harlow's party instead.
I stand up. Planning can be put on hold for now. All of these materials will still be here when I get back. I quietly follow Brick upstairs, excited to have this conversation with him.
When I get to the bedroom, he is taking off his button-up shirt. He turns to face me as I step inside.
“Is everything okay?” he asks while pulling his shirt off.
“Yeah,” I nod. I know I came in here with a purpose, but seeing my husband’s exposed chest like that wipes all thoughts from my head. Well, all thoughts that don’t involve running my hands all over his beautiful god-like body.