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Though Iheard Erin talking about us getting together, Ihad no idea how serious she’dbeen about it. Iguessed Laura thought she’dbe letting her down if her dreams summed up to us fucking. While Erin imagined abig family, us included, Laura imagined… Ididn’tknow anymore.
“She’san angel, your wife,” Isaid, as honest as I’dever been. “Iappreciate the help. For now, I’dlike Laura to make up her own mind.”
“Sure, it’sbetween you two.” He rubbed his eyes and added, “Do you want some real advice?”
“Ithought you gave me some. Twice.”
“You’re not going to like this.” He paused and Igestured for him to spit it out. “You need to show you’re willing to make sacrifices if you’re asking her to do the same.”
“Iam making sacrifices,” Ianswered, indignant and getting more perplexed by the minute. The hour and hangover were fucking with my brain.
“Saying that you want to start afamily isn’tasacrifice. It’sawelcome change after years you said it wouldn’twork with your business, but it’snot asacrifice.”
“That’snot enough?” Iscratched my scruff. “Once we have arelationship that’smore than what it is today, things will work out. Like you and Erin worked out.”
His shoulders shook when he choked on his laugh. “You think things just magically fix themselves in arelationship?”
“Uh, with you two, yeah. Inever see you fight, neither of you is giving up your career for the other. Love’sthe answer, isn’tit?” You couldn’tbeat sealing an argument with aquote by Einstein.
“Wrong. Very wrong.” He still worked on keeping his laugh bottled up.
Thomas hardly laughed at people unless they were Erin or the kids. “What the fuck did Isay?”
“It’swhat you didn’tsay. Let me give you the short version of the sacrifices we’ve made since the kids were born. We paint less, simply because we have other, more important people to take care of.” He kissed Violet’sforehead, the very important person he was talking about.
“We have Bianca who manages our gallery, you know her, and you also know we have fewer shows. Wewantto do it all, but the alternative would be that neither of us would budge, and we’dhave our lifestyles without having our family.”
“You make it sound easy. And you still didn’targue about it.”
“Because by the time we had the babies, we already had astrong relationship and we understood what it’dtake without even discussing it. That’snot the case for you and Laura. You don’teven have arelationship.”
“Yes, we do.” At least Ifelt like we had one. Regardless of everything working against it, Ifelt like Laura and Ihad arelationship.
“No, you don’t.” He spoke slowly, his voice growing kinder for the asshole who was blind to the truth. “Seeing aperson once aweek, once amonth, isn’tasolid foundation for afamily.”
Ifrowned. “Sorry, but you said there was advice here somewhere. So far it sounds like criticism.”
“I’mgetting to it, although you should’ve figured it out by now.”
“Yes, Master Yoda.” Ibowed. “Please enlighten thy imbecile.”
“Hire more attorneys, a-hole. And maybe try handing them some of the work you do until midnight every night and on the weekends. If she sees you doing it, how you’re willing to be less stubborn for her, she might find it in her to do the same for you.”
“Uh—” Istuttered, and no words came, though Iwas thinking it over.
After four years of continuously running myself down, Icould proudly say Ihad reached many of the goals Ihad set out to achieve. My parents were clearly unsatisfiable, and my partner, Joel, had been begging me to make this move for months.
So really, why the fuck not?
“You don’thave to give me or yourself an answer for that this minute.”
Ialready had the answer. I’dhad it in me for too long.
Igot up before Ieven ended the call and headed straight to Laura’shouse.
