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FOREST
The evening was nigh, and Ria returned home looking frazzled.
I waved and tried to tone down what would have been an ‘annoyingly chipper’ welcome to something more along the lines of ‘inoffensively pleased’. “Welcome home! Long day?”
She hung her coat, bag and scarf up on the coat racks by the door, then visibly slumped, her spine almost seeming to fold in on itself. “Oh my god, I’m exhausted. You have no idea. Well, you’re the ex-workaholic, you probably do.”
I nodded, knowing full well. Even if in my current work-free bliss it seemed like a distant dream. “Go on, give me the bullet points, then we’ll sit down to dinner and you don’t need to think about it for the rest of the evening.”
Ria nodded and crossed the room, turning her attention away from me but instead towards my chest. “Hi, baby!” She was addressing the real baby in my arms. She lifted Rowan up, cradling him to her chest. “Missed you, little guy.”
I watched the two reunite, my chest feeling very warm and proud. After all the drama, we had managed to reach something close to a normality I never thought I’d ever have. Strange how normality could become so appealing when your life was full of twists and turns. It was all I’d dreamed of.
After a short while, she turned to face me, jogging the baby in her arms as she paced the room. “Alright, bullet points. Well, you know I have to keep things confidential. But that big client, the biggest one, you know the one? Yeah, so they told their friend about it, and their friend ‘swung by’ during the meeting today. I had to say sorry, I’m fully booked, yada yada. But get this, the friend then starts trying to out-price my current client – their friend! And it escalates into a full on bidding war. I did not encourage any of this behavior, in fact I actively discouraged it. It was wild.”
I was enraptured. I loved hearing ‘business Ria’ stories. “What happened? Who won?”
“Oh, I wasn’t going to let the results of the bidding war stand.” Ria sighed. “I could tell it’d destroy their friendship. I’m too nice, obviously. I told the friend that because of their enthusiasm, I’d open a new slot up just for them. But since I’d be working overtime, I’d be charging a premium. They were so thrilled, they were happy to pay any price. Crazy.”
I was proud, but a little worried. “You’re going to be working overtime? I’m not opposed to more baby-time, but I do like to get some baby-and-Ria-time, too. And just Ria-time.” I waggled my eyebrows. Rowan laughed in Ria’s arms. “He understands.”
To my relief, she shook her head. “No, don’t worry. You know that slimy guy who negotiated prices with me, saying that his work was super important, ethical, was gonna save the world blah blah? I did some more research – well actually, I just asked Winston – it turns out he’s full of shit. So I’m gonna drop him, put the new client in his time slot. Profit.”
I was constantly in awe of the woman I’d married. “Ruthless. I love it.”
“And then... the meeting.” Her expression grew darker, her voice more ominous, almost like the voice her Grandmother used for prophecies.
Ah, yes. I’d somehow forgotten the meeting. Ria and the twins were still campaigning against Apollo. The evidence had been enough to get him initially arrested, but he had been released on bail and they’d been scrambling ever since to build a stronger case.
“Apollo’s in a sticky position, but the lawyers are still thinking he’s gonna find some way to wriggle out of it. The resources he commands are insane. Jenni and Helli are working all hours trying to hunt down more witnesses, but as soon as they catch a lead, the person disappears into the woodwork. Apollo’s good. I don’t know. It’s got to be good for something, after all this?”
I nodded. “For sure. You’ve kept him in the doghouse for a good long while. And he’ll have to tread more carefully from now on. If he gets sentenced, even for a short while, that ought to knock some sense into him. Ought to, but it probably won’t. Still, more eyes are on him now. Critical eyes. And that’s got to be a good thing.”
“You’re right. Thanks. How about you?”
I laughed. Following Ria’s fast-shooting executive summary of her high-powered day, mine was going to be supremely underwhelming. “Ro-Ro and I listened to some classical music and went for a walk. I saw Mandy for lunch. Answered some emails while Rowan napped. Had a nap with Ro. Drank a coffee and tinkered with some electronics. Er, that’s it.”
She patted my head. She was theonlyperson who could get away with doing that. “Aw, bless you. You’d make such a cute little house husband.”
“Don’t patronize me.” I winked, to make sure she knew I was joking, then grew serious. “I confess, if I had no other responsibilities, I’d happily let you be the breadwinner. It’s been really nice. But unfortunately, after you’ve got everything running smoothly, we’re gonna need to inch the percentages of labor closer and closer to fifty-fifty.”
She nodded with weary enthusiasm. “Believe me, I badly want to spend more time at home. I’m exhausted.”
“You’re enjoying the work, too, though?”
“I am.”
“Then we’re both happy.” I smiled. “Speaking of being a house husband, dinner’s almost ready. Shall we?”
“We shall.”
We linked arms like a Victorian couple and walked through to the combination kitchen-dining room.
After dinner, Ria leaned across the table and reached for my hand. “You know when you said I didn’t have to think about anything for the rest of the evening... did you have a distraction in mind?”
I raised my eyebrows, tracing abstract shapes onto her palm until she giggled. “Maybe. Your Grandmother’s coming over to take Rowan for a few hours.”
Ria groaned. “I don’t have the energy for even the shortest of conversations with Grandmother today. She keeps making bullshit prophecies about Rowan’s future. The worst thing is, I’m half-convinced they’re gonna come true. I don’t have the energy for a skepticism versus belief inner conflict today.”
