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One item I had bought was a white dresser. Placed against one wall, it held an old lamp that was in my room when I was a very little girl. I carefully folded up each of the outfits and tucked them away in the drawers. Then I brought the bunny with me into my bedroom and placed it on my bed. I wanted to sleep with it while I was still pregnant so the baby would smell me on it when it was born. Running my hand over my belly, I murmured to the baby, telling it all about its family.30Nick“No, seriously, this program was designed just to make me look like an idiot.”
I laughed at Peter and shook my head. “I swear it wasn’t. I know it seems really confusing. It was hard for me to figure out at first, too.”
He looked up at me. “Seriously?”
I hesitated, trying to come up with something I could say that would make him feel less frustrated. “Well…”
I shrugged and Peter rolled his eyes, dropping backward in his chair and letting his head hang back. “That’s what I thought.”
Laughing again, I shook his shoulder playfully until he sat back up and looked at the computer. “Come on. You can do this. We’ll go over it again.”
“I’m sorry you’re having to spend your whole day trying to teach me this billing program because I just can’t seem to get it through my head,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got all the time you need. What matters is you figuring this out and getting comfortable with the program so you can use it. I promise once you do, it will feel like second nature and you’ll save so much more time every workday. Alright?” I asked.
“The pep talk is much appreciated,” he said. “I just don’t know if I totally believe you.”
I shook my head and smiled. “You’re going to be fine. Let’s just start from the beginning.”
A few minutes later we were going back through the basic process of using the new billing program I had just implemented in the office a few weeks before hiring Peter when I heard the receptionist giggle. A second later, I heard a big, bold laugh and knew my father was in the office.
I looked up just in time for him to walk past the open door to Peter’s office.
“Was that your dad?” Peter asked in an awed whisper.
“Yeah,” I said. “He’ll be back in a second when he figures out I’m not in my office.”
“That was Gus Freeman?” he asked, looking through the door and leaning like he was trying to see him.
I followed his stare, then glanced back at him. “Um. Yeah. My father is Gus Freeman.”
“I can’t believe it. He’s seriously right here?”
“That’s right, you didn’t get to meet him. He wasn’t at the race you went to, was he?” I asked.
Peter shook his head adamantly. “No. He wasn’t. And it was a big enough deal to meet all your brothers. I never thought I would meet him.”
“Of course you’re going to meet him. You’re one of us now, right?” I asked.
I was accustomed to that sort of reaction to my father. He was a local legend, so it wasn’t unusual for people to be a little bit starstruck when he was around. But I didn’t want Peter to be so shaken up by him being around. Dad himself barely even recognized that people knew who he was, much less that he had a considerable amount of local fame. He wouldn’t want Peter to be uncomfortable around him.
“There you are,” Dad said, poking his head into the office. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Hey, Dad, come in,” I said. “This is Peter. He’s the new junior investor Gabe and I hired to help us out around here. And by the way he’s been performing, I’m thinking it won’t be that long before he loses that whole junior title. Peter, this is my old man.”
“Gus Freeman,” Dad said, holding his hand out to Peter.
“I know, sir. It is such an incredible honor to meet you,” Peter said.
Dad smiled. “And I hear you’ve joined up the ranks of the Freeman boys. You even got yourself a spot at the bar.”
Peter nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good. Then I hope I’ll be seeing you around a lot more,” Dad said.
Peter looked like he was going to explode. His eyes went from me to Dad, then back to me, then to Dad again. He suddenly stood up. “I’m going to go get some coffee. Does anybody else want some coffee?”
“No, thanks,” I said.
“None for me,” Dad said.
Peter scurried out of the office and down the hall. I looked at my father and laughed.
“He’s a bit of a fan,” I said. “But he’s a really good guy.”
Figuring Peter would probably be hiding in the kitchen for a while, I followed Dad down the hallway to my office. I laughed when I saw two big cups of coffee sitting on the desk.
