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“No TV?” I ask.
“It comes up from the top of the storage unit if I want to watch something.”
He gently lowers me onto a chair and then manages to remove my jacket. “Do you want to stay here, or move to the sofa?”
“Here’s fine.” The slur in my speech is disturbing. How much sake did we have?
“I need to explain what happened in Vancouver.”
“Mmmm. Okay.” My eyes close.
“Micki, are you listening?”
“Uh huh. Listening.”
JL gives an explosive huff. All I hear are footsteps but I’m not sure where they’re coming from or going to. The sound could be from anywhere.
The scent of coffee permeates the fog. Something warm presses against my hands.
“Come on, Micki. Take a sip.”
Panic. Where am I? Who’s here? I don’t feel safe, and I rear back against the chair, my hands flail, and as I hit out, a voice yells, “Tabernak.” The sound of crockery shattering cements the utter chaos of the moment.
My eyes pop open. JL, coffee all over his nice white shirt, stares at the floor. A flowered mug is in pieces. Big pieces, little pieces, shards, chips. He bends and begins picking up the larger pieces. Moving toward the kitchen, he says, “Stay where you are until I get the rest of this cleaned up. I don’t want you cutting your feet.”
Why would I cut my feet? I notice my feet are bare. What happened to my shoes?
Broom in one hand and a glass in the other, he hands me water, then vigorously cleans up the remnants of the coffee mug. Now sober, I watch his shoulder muscles ripple while he works. Clinking signals he has dumped all the tiny bits into the trash. I sip my water and he makes more coffee.
Then I jump in with both feet. “I’m meeting with Rebecca early tomorrow morning.”
“Good news, I hope.”
“Not good and not news. When I got back, I was told Hayden Forbes-Cartwright will be the new partner.”
JL’s mouth drops open in surprise. “I was sure they would choose you. What happened? Was it the trip?”
“They rigged it. Two partners convinced most of the rest to choose Hayden. Doesn’t help that one partner is Hayden’s uncle.”
JL sits on the arm of my chair and strokes the back of my neck. “Why do you need a meeting if you already know?”
“To discuss if I should stay.”
“And Rebecca can help with this?”
I nod. “We’ll discuss the pros and cons of my staying until I find another job, hanging on until there’s another partnership opportunity, or just leaving.”
“The last sounds the least workable, financially at least.”
“It might be the most desirable.” I rub my palms against my eyes. So tired. “Hayden will make my life miserable, and I’m not sure hanging on is worth it.”
“But you’ll have no income, no insurance.”
“I can get an insurance extension for a number of months. And I have some savings. If I’m lucky, I’ll find another job within the next six months or so. Or I could threaten to sue for unfair hiring practices. They might settle, even though I doubt I could win a case.”
* * *
JL
