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Ever since Hailey mentioned hiring a receptionist, I took note of each time I stopped to talk to a client who walked in, to invoice a customer, and to answer the phones. It was disruptive and time consuming.
Jake insisted the voicemail was good enough, but I thought it was impersonal and left open the possibility that the customer would keep calling around until another garage answered.
When I was done for the day, I prepared an ad for a receptionist, hoping Jake would agree to hire one.
I pushed away the idea that the receptionist would be even more helpful if I had to move back to Texas. I hated the thought of returning to a state where I felt like I didn’t belong.
I couldn’t imagine working for someone else again after being my own boss. I loved making my own hours and decisions that directly affected our customer base and bottom line. I knew working for someone else would be boring after this. But what choice would I have if Tiffany somehow won over a judge?
It was a real possibility, and I couldn’t shake the negative thoughts.
On Sunday, the garage was closed. I invited Hailey over in the morning, needing to be near her.
When I was with her, everything else faded away, and it was just us. The only thing that soothed me was being in her presence.
I’d told Hailey the door was unlocked, and she could come through the house because we were busy on the deck. I’d been looking for a distraction, and the neighbor’s low-hanging apple tree fit the bill.
Corey held a long pole so that he could reach an apple on one of the overhanging limbs.
“What are you doing?” Hailey asked as she stepped outside in an orange sweater over dark jeans and knee-high boots.
“Apple fishing,” Corey said proudly.
My heart contracted at the amusement in her eyes. Long, dangly earrings mixed with her brown tresses as she shook her head at him.
“We’re picking apples from the neighbor’s tree. The branch hangs over our deck, so the fruit is fair game.”
Her lips curved up. “If you say so.”
“Oh, it’s definitely on the up and up,” I said.
“It’s legal and such,” Corey added, sounding so much like me.
She laughed at our banter. “You are two peas in a pod, aren’t you?”
Corey’s looks were a mix of me and Tiffany, but his mischievous grin and the devious glint in his eyes were all me.
I only had a few more years before he was an adult, and I wanted to be there to experience each one. People complained about how difficult teenagers were, and I wasn’t sugarcoating it, but I wanted to be there for him.
“You want to try?” Corey asked Hailey.
I wanted Hailey with us. She fit in our little family.
Hailey took the rod, swaying a little because it was long and heavy. I stood behind her, steadying her as I helped hold the pole, directing it to one of the apples. I leaned closer so I could talk directly into her ear.
“Move a little to the left. There, you’ve got it.”
“Yes!” Corey exclaimed when Hailey snagged it. I helped her lower it to the ground.
I grabbed the apple from the end, throwing it into the air. “It’s the perfect apple.”
Smiling down at her, her eyes crinkling at the corners with amusement, I knew it was the perfect fall day with my family. I was going to enjoy today and not worry about the future. I’d pretend this was our life. That Jake was okay with us together, and we could do this. We had a future together. Nothing could stop us.
“I’ll just wash this up so you can eat it,” I said.
Corey grabbed the pole and started working on fishing for another piece of fruit.
Hailey followed me inside, and I washed off the apple, polishing it with a towel before handing it to her. “You caught it fair and square.”
