But still he sat in front of his monitor, hands on the keyboard, frozen in indecision.
The limerick came to him without his volition.
There once was a man so lonely and tired
Who wouldn’t reach out for a love that inspired
He lay alone in his room
Filled with such sadness and gloom
Never knowing in his past he was mired.
Not his finest effort. The rhythm in the last line was off. But maybe the sentiment was worth considering anyway.
A few minutes later, he knocked on his boss’s office door.
“Come in!” Brent yelled.
Sebastián walked inside and closed the door behind him. “I thought I wouldn’t need the rest of my vacation, but I do. Maybe a few days next week, too. Is that doable?”
“Will you be able to finish your projects before deadline?” His boss didn’t look up from the paperwork on his desk. “Because if the answer is yes, take some more time. The office should survive without you.”
Especially since Sebastián had ensured his presence there didn’t leave much of a mark, except when it came to work-related issues.
“The deadlines won’t be a problem,” he said. “I’ll make the necessary changes to my time sheet.”
“Then you’re set.”
That seemed to be the end of the conversation. “Thanks.”
Just as Sebastián turned to leave, however, Brent raised his head from his work. “You never take vacation days. Is everything all right? Is your family okay?”
Normally, Sebastián would end this line of questioning without hesitation. Say he was fine and close his boss’s door behind him. And he still didn’t plan to parade his private concerns and emotions in front of his coworkers in what was intended to be a professional setting.
But Brent was a good boss and a decent man. Maybe he could be trusted with a little corner of his employee’s life.
Sebastián looked at the ceiling for a moment, his jaw clenched. Then he forced out the words. “I screwed things up with someone important to me. I want to fix the situation, if I can.”
Brent’s fingers stopped tapping his desk, and his brows rose. It was the first piece of personal information Sebastián had voluntarily revealed since his job interview last year, and he suspected the significance wasn’t lost on his boss.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Brent sat back in his chair. “Takeas much time as you want. If there’s anything you need from us in the meantime, just e-mail or call.”
“Thanks again. I will.” He reached for the door handle.
“Sebastián?” Brent’s face had softened, his expression turning sympathetic and warm. “It’ll work out.”
Sebastián wasn’t so sure. But he nodded anyway.
Believing matters.
ELEVEN
Sebastián sentthe text a week later, the afternoon before Lucy planned to leave Marysburg for a vacation and then her new job.Can we meet at my house tonight, after you finish seeing your super-cranky final client?
She responded within moments, as always. The woman was completely incapable of playing it cool or feigning disinterest.
Sure, she wrote.I’d already planned to stop by. I have a little something to give you before I head cross-country.
