AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That must have influenced him because he didn’t show up to work for the next couple of days. Where was he? All the employees said it wasn’t like him to miss work. In fact, in the last two years, he hadn’t missed but one day. Suddenly, I was here, and he missed several in a row. That didn’t look good. I hadn’t even seen him around his apartment.
Even though he hadn’t been to work, I received an email every day with tasks to do in his absence. All I could do was complete the tasks and sit around. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t complain about getting paid to do nothing, but you can only watch so many videos before you are just bored out of your mind.
Sitting at my desk, I got a sudden thought to look him up on social media. There was no trace of him anywhere. An adult man that didn’t have social media? That was odd. Everyone had social media.
I got this bright idea to make a profile for him. I wouldn’t catfish anyone or post, but he required one. How else was he going to socialize with people outside of work?
I went home, threw on some comfy pants, and took my seat on the couch. I couldn’t say Hudson’s mistake conversation hadn’t hurt my feelings, but was he not coming to work because of it? We were both adults. I wasn’t going to tell anyone about what happened. Was he concerned I would?
Chapter 11
Hudson
One thing I had to say about my family was they liked to stay close. They sometimes reminded me of the 80s’ family sitcoms. My parents tried to have us over for dinner every Sunday night to catch up, like so much happened in a week. It didn’t.
The thing I hated most about these dinners was that they would try to rile me up, especially my sisters. Most dinners ended up with me leaving before dinner was over. Yeah, that made me a dick but whatever. I didn’t care. I shouldn’t have to put up with that around my family. Sure, they had good intentions, but it was for them, not me. My family wanted me to be happy, but I was fine. So what if I wasn’t grinning all the time or running around with friends every night. I was content with my life the way it was.
My time in the military had transformed me. I could agree I was not the same person when I came back. Most aren’t. I left with both my legs and came back with one. Things like that tend to affect people. The first year with the prosthetic was depressing. I felt ashamed, didn’t want to go in public, and never left my house. I felt emasculated. Who would want to date someone with one leg? It wasn’t just the prosthetic; it was all the things I’d seen happen with my sisters, friends, and complete strangers. When you turned on the TV, there was always something horrifying happening somewhere. Whether the reason for that, it was constant.
I didn’t talk a great deal to my family about the reason I was this way, no need to take them down too, but fighting overseas took its toll on me. Most people focused on the good and tried to forget the bad. I was the opposite. I only saw the bad things happening because they overshadowed the good. The only good thing I hadn’t forgotten was the fact that I was an owner of a company.
While in the military, everyone couldn’t wait to get back home to their families. Most of them had wives and kids, but I didn’t. My life was the military. I’d never fantasized about going home as they did. That made me odd, I know, but at least I was candid. Military life provided me with structure. I might not know what was going to happen every day, but I was damn sure trained to handle almost any situation that was thrown at me. Each mission had an end goal. I would achieve that goal and then move toward the next one.
Before the military, senior year, I had to decide what I wanted to do after high school. I could go to college. Although up to eighteen, my parents had made most choices for me, they couldn’t choose the path I was going to take next. It was up to me.
I longed for structure again. I wanted to be told exactly what to do and how to do it. That was why I joined the military straight out of high school. Of course, my mom wasn’t thrilled. I joined anyway.
All my life I’d never really voiced my fear of not knowing what was coming next. What would happen to me tomorrow? Soldiers didn’t talk like that. When I got honorably discharged from the military, I had nothing. I didn’t go to college, so I couldn’t fall back on a degree. I couldn’t do anything extensive because of the prosthetic. That’s when the idea for Hudson Industries came in, and now here I was. The man I was today.
Honestly, my company was the best thing that ever happened to me. I could employ veterans who were like me, who didn’t have anything to fall back on besides their military experience.
It was the one piece of my life that made the best sense, and I was bypassing it because of Laurel. In a horrible mood, I made my way to my mother’s house, waiting to enjoy the smell of freshly cooked southern comfort foods.
“There you are! You’re late!” my mom screamed across the house.
“Can I help you with anything?” I asked, but I always got the same reply. She was not a woman that wanted help in the kitchen. It was her kitchen, leave her be. I made my way into the den when I heard, “Rolls are in the oven, Lorelai.”
Laurel walked into the den with a smile. I almost smiled right then, but why? This woman drove me nuts, but she always made me smile at the sight of her. How could it be both ways? Was I going crazy? My mom followed her out and asked, “Why don’t you give her a tour while I finish up dinner?”
Why did my mom invite her to dinner? Something was going on, but I did as she requested. First was my mom’s garden in the backyard. There was something about Laurel that riled me up but always calmed me down at the same time. I never knew what reaction she would elicit from me next. I wasn’t sure how I should feel about it. I needed to start up a conversation. There had been enough awkward glances and silence. “So how has Lacey been doing?” I wanted to know, but I also really wanted to talk to her.
“She’s good. Back at school. All the bruises and cuts are healed. That asshole hasn’t contacted her.”
“Asshole? Did you find out what happened?”
“He beat the daylights out of her.”
I didn’t know she was beaten. Poor Lacey. She was a sweet girl; she didn’t deserve that. “How is she handling it? She hasn’t been by.”
“She hasn’t told our parents. Doesn’t want to worry them.”
I couldn’t imagine what that would have been like for her. For someone you trust and have a relationship with to treat you like that. There was one of those bad things again. “Did she press charges at least? Please tell me she did?” I asked with genuine concern for her safety.
“He’s in jail and awaiting trial. I don’t know how she is going to face him, but I think after the trial, she will be able to move on and become herself again.”
At that point, we were interrupted by my mom. “Dinner is served. Come dig in.”
One thing about my mom, you come when you are told. She devotes hours to preparing the food; you never made her wait for it to get eaten.
