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“We have Christmas plans,” Turner said. “We don’t have time to waste on you, Michael.”
They followed their father out of the conference room, letting the door slam shut behind them. When it did, I sank into the first chair I could reach and put my head in my hands. What was happening to my life? How had things gotten so bad so fast?
I didn’t know how long I sat in the conference room. My head was pounding from lack of sleep and stress. Not only was my personal life in a shambles but, now, my business was falling apart, too. It was as if the entire universe had begun to plot against me overnight.
“Mr. Smart?” Marcy asked nervously. She poked her head into the conference room just as I looked up.
“Yes?” I asked weakly.
“I don’t know if you want to talk to anyone right now,” she said slowly. “But your mother
is on line one for you.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Marcy.”
Marcy hurried out of the room while I slowly pushed myself to my feet. There was a phone on the opposite end of the table. I made my way over to it, wondering how my mother knew I’d be at the office.
“Hello?” I said as I put the phone to my ear.
“Michael!” My mom’s voice was bright. I closed my eyes and tried to keep my annoyance in check.
“Hi, Mom,” I said. “How’d you know I was here?”
“I didn’t,” Mom said. “But I called your house and your cell first.”
“Oh,” I said. “Sorry about that. I’ve been in a meeting all morning.”
“On a Saturday?” Mom asked. I could hear the worry in her voice.
“Everything’s fine,” I said. “Just some last-minute issues with a tool package I have up in Alaska.”
“Oh, okay,” Mom said. She didn’t really understand my work. Mostly because she never tried to. “Well, I’m sure you’ll get it all worked out.”
“I’m sure I will,” I said. “So, what’s up?”
I wanted to get off the phone quickly. My day was already miserable, and I wanted nothing more than to go back home and hide under my covers for the rest of the weekend.
“I’m calling about Christmas,” Mom said. “Are you still planning to be here?”
“Yes,” I said. “Of course.”
“Okay good!” Mom squealed. “I’m so excited. Your father is, too. He’s been planning the menu for two weeks now.”
“You don’t need to go to any trouble,” I said. “It’s just us, right?”
“Well, the neighbors may stop by,” Mom said. “But that’s another thing I wanted to ask you. Are you bringing your new girlfriend along?”
I froze. I couldn’t remember telling my mom about Julie, but I knew I must have. My mom waited silently for my answer.
“No,” I said. “Julie and I aren’t seeing each other anymore.”
“Oh no,” Mom said. “What happened?”
Telling my mom about Julie’s connection to Josh would only make things more complicated. My mom, who adopted me when I was just a baby, was already nervous about my relationship with my brother. When Josh first tracked me down, Mom spent weeks trying to talk me out of meeting him. She was terrified that my biological family would somehow steal me away from her.
“It’s not worth talking about,” I said. My voice was weak. It took all my strength to keep talking. “We just didn’t work out. That’s all.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mom said. “I could tell you really liked her.”
