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“Ta, my girl,” D2 said as I handed him a cup of tea after. “When are you going home to that man of yours?”
“When we no longer need her here,” Mom said, stirring honey into her cup.
I sat beside her. “That’s right.”
“We don’t need you now.” D2 slurped his tea noisily.
“Yes, we do.” Mom paused before adding, “She can help with the garage.”
“Didn’t you get Serge and Tony out of retirement to cover for us while we’re laid up?” D2 bit into a chocolate cookie and smiled at me.
“I did,” Mom admitted.
“The business is covered then. And I’ve got daily meal service delivery. Therapists are coming to work with me every day. There’s even a cleaning service once a week to keep my place the way I like it. They could do your place if you wanted.” D2 levelled his eyes at Mom.
“Not likely.” Mom said petulantly. She wouldn’t let anyone touch her stuff, even just to remove a top layer of dust. Both D2 and I had tried to get her housekeeping help in the past. She said a clean place was the sign of someone who had too much free time or too much money to spend.
D2 nodded slightly at her predictable answer.
“So, there isn’t much Sadie can add to that troop of helpers. She needs to get back to that man of hers and to her good work at Mission Hall. I don’t want her mooning around here for the next few days because she’s missing him so much and has nothing useful to do.”
Mom grunted and took a chocolate cookie from the plate on the coffee table.
D2 slurped some more tea before he spoke again. “Sadie darling, pack your bags and get on the next plane back to the Coast.”
A weight lifted off me. “Seriously, D2?”
“Seriously. You were here when we needed you, when we were both in shock. We’re home now, and it’s time for you to get back to your life.”
“Don’t I have any say in this?” Mom asked.
“Of course, you do, Mom. Do you want me to stay? What would you like me to do?” I wasn’t going to force the decision on her. Simon said I should stay until they didn’t need me any longer and I didn’t want him to hear that I’d cut my visit short for no good reason.
On the other hand, their mobs of friends and former employees could do much more for them than I could, and they’d do it a hundred times better.
Mom looked at D2, who frowned back at her and then at me. I held my face expressionless and prayed she couldn’t hear my pulse pounding. I missed Simon so much.
“Go then, if you’re so desperate to get away from us.”
“Not desperate, Mom. But there isn’t much I can do here, outside of keeping you company. We both need more than that in our lives.”
Simon
When I read the message that Sadie was coming home that night, a smile split my face. I was already late for a meeting with a consortium of bankers, but I delayed a little longer and texted her back.
Can’t wait to see youI wrote and added the second emoji of the day. The second of my life.
I approached the bankers in an expansive mood and sensed they thought I was going to accept the terms and conditions of a new project they were pitching. But I didn’t. Sadie had made me soft but not that soft.
The minutes of the day seemed to stretch into hours as I constantly glanced at my watch, willing Sadie’s arrival to come faster.
By six in the evening, the office was empty except for me. I loosened my tie, put on my headset, and talked to dealers in Melbourne, Seoul, and Singapore. It was Saturday already in those cities, but people were still trading commodities. In Bulgaria, where recycling practices were almost nonexistent, one trader pointed me to a landfill that was thought to have more reclaimable metal than was being produced by active mines. I took notes and dictated action plans before combing the world for underpriced opportunities.
The harder I tried to think about business, the more my thoughts turned to Sadie. I imagined the way she smelled, the soft ring of her laughter, and the warmth of her body next to mine. She’d only been away five nights and it felt like years.
After a couple of hours, I headed home and went for a run. Afterward, I showered and shaved for the second time that day. Then I walked to a nearby restaurant, got a corner table by myself, and settled down with a rare steak and the best fries in town. Sadie and I would be celebrating that night.
17
