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Hands-on. Isn’t that the phrase I always use to describe myself? Hiding behind it like it’s a good thing.
“And it’s never bothered you before,” Nel continues. “Why now?”
“It’s not that it hasn’t bothered me,” I say, ignoring the second half of her question. “I just never realised until now.”
“Yeah, but what’s made you—”
Maya comes running back into the room holding a giant shark plush. It’s about three times bigger than she is and her face is a mask of concentration as she drags it into the room.
“I got it, Mama!” Maya declares, looking ridiculously proud of herself as she drops the plush to the ground.
“Thank you, sweet pea,” Nel says. “What do you say to Uncle Finn?”
“Thank you!” she declares as she beams. “Miss you, Uncle Finn.”
I have no qualms about spending three months in London for this project, but that right there might be what eventually does me in. I’ve worked hard to get where I need to be in my career, but being an uncle might actually be my favourite job. Ever since Nel broke up with Maya’s father two years ago and they moved back to New York, my niece has been a constant in my life.
Whatever free time I have between work and more work goes entirely to them. Spoiling her comes second nature to me, although Nel keeps trying to discourage it. Hence the look on her face that lands somewhere between irritated and amused as she eyes the giant shark.
“I miss you too, princess,” I tell her. “I’ll send you something from London soon.”
“Somethingsmallplease,” Nel says pointedly.
“I make no promises.”
“Are you coming home soon?” Maya asks, her big brown eyes wide and hopeful.
“Two months and three weeks.”
Maya holds up three stubby little fingers. “This many?”
I can’t help the smile that overtakes my face. “Something like that, princess. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“And you’ll still be back before Mom and Dad’s anniversary?” Nel asks. “We also need to figure out what present we’re getting them. 35 years is a big one.”
I nod. Their anniversary falls about two weeks after the launch of the club. If all goes well I should have handed the reigns over to my new property manager and be back in New York. “I’ll be there.”
“Great.” Nel leans back slightly and bites her bottom lip. “Maya, sweet pea, why don’t you go and see if Toast wants to play.”
Toast is their grumpy, one-eyed cat who only seems to like Maya. I still have a scar on my leg from the first time I met the little gremlin, and I’ve made sure to keep a safe distance ever since.
Maya jumps up, so easily distracted, and runs off to find the cat. Once it’s just us, Nel gives me a strange look. “Are you all right?”
My brows furrow in confusion. “Do I not seem all right?”
“No. Not really.” Nel doesn’t pull punches with me. She doesn’t pull them with anyone, to be fair. “When I picked up the call you looked like you were five seconds away from entering full-blown panic attack territory. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I just—” I shake my head, trying to make sense of the words in my brain before they come spewing out. “There’s a lot riding on this project. I need to get it right. I just…Maybe I don’t like the person I’m becoming to do that.”
Or is it just the person I’ve always been?I push that thought away. Don’t need to think about that right now.
“Do you think about anything other than work? I mean outside of me and Maya,” she adds quickly, accurately pre-empting my response. “What’re your hobbies? Who are your friends?”
“I have friends, Nel.”
“You have people that you send a Christmas card to every year becauseIremind you to do it. Work isn’t everything, Finn.”
This isn’t new ground for us. Nel and I haven’t had a real argument since we were teenagers, but if there’s one thing that gets us close to one, it’s discussing my work-life balance.
