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She glances up. “Come in,” she calls.
I lean inside, one foot still out. “Just letting you know I canned Lenny, and he’s really fucking pissed off.”
She sighs, face falling.
“You couldn’t have done it how we agreed?” she asks.
“Nah, he’s a big kid. He can take it,” I say.
She laughs, shaking her head. Alright, that’s not the response I expected. “You know, at least I’m never bored with you around.”
“Not for a second.”
“Go on, get out.”
“Get out…where?”
She tilts her head. “You’d be in a lot better mood if you would go do what you’ve been wanting to do all week.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
She sighs, closing her laptop and resting her folded hands on it. “There’s nothing keeping you from Serena,” she says.
“If MET takes her on.”
“They will.”
“You’re really fucking confident. Jenna and Rita are picky.”
She smiles. “Guess who I ran into this morning at the coffee stand?”
“Serena?”
She frowns. “No, what would Serena be doing here? No, Rita was in town for a meeting at Houston-Best Records. She’d like to take your girl on.”
Something clicks into place. That last piece in the solution to my problem. I stand for a second, then slip into her office and sink down opposite her desk.
“Can I ask you a question?” I start. “As a friend, but as a friend in this industry.”
“Of course.” Her eyes are soft.
“What does that look like? Us, being together. Me doing this all the time, and her on the road.”
She thinks it through. I can always rely on Marion for a thoughtful answer.
“It looks like whatever you make it,” she says finally. “You’re gonna be busy. Sometimes, you’ll have to give more. Other times, she will. It’s hard, but if she’s what you want, you’ll find a way back to her every time.”
She holds out her hand. I put mine in it.
She’s right. It’s time to make a move, even if it’s not the right time.
I can’t live with regret if I don’t.
“Have I ever told you thank you?” I say. “For being there when nobody else could.”
“Oh, you would have done the same for me,” she says, waving her free hand.
I would have, but we both know that’s not what I mean. When it was only me, reeling from grief, alone in the world, Marion came along and put in a little extra effort to tear down my walls. She stepped in and held my hand while I dealt with the big hole torn in my heart when my parents passed. I don’t think I’d have made it without her. I’d have quit and gone home to be a wrangler.
