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It wasn’t a major issue but it did put a bit of a fly in the ointment. Still, I knew I could find another investor. I had plenty of time and the building work hadn’t even begun yet.
“Can I ask why you came to this decision?” I said.
The investor ran his thumbs over the hat in his lap nervously.
“It’s of a… personal nature,” he said. “You see, my wife and I… Well, we haven’t been seeing eye to eye lately. In fact, we haven’t seen eye to eye since we got married. She always said I work too hard and I should spend more time with the kids. But now the kids have grown up and left and my wife is busy living her life and doing her thing… and now I’m slowing down, I have the time to spend with family… but now they don’t have the time to spend with me.”
I was looking at the shadowy reflection of myself, I realized. He was me… if I hadn’t met Bianca who changed my outlook on life and my work ethic.
“I just don’t have it in me anymore to work all the hours in the day,” he said. “Making money… it has lost its flavor somehow. I’m not sure how to explain it.”
“You don’t need to explain it,” I said. “I understand exactly what you’re talking about.”
Mr. Snix moved his eyes over my desk, piled high with paperwork. A visible relief came over him and his shoulders relaxed.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, I suppose you do. We businessmen are very much alike, aren’t we? Perhaps we have the same issues and flaws. Our dedication to work, for one.”
Something occurred to me then.
“We’ve worked together for many years,” I said. “But we’ve never really sat down and gotten to know each other, have we?”
“No. That’s another issue with people like us. We don’t have friends. We have acquaintances.”
I chuckled.
“That’s definitely true,” I said. “I suppose we can never expect to get to know someone if we don’t spend time with them.”
“Which is what I need to do with my life now,” Mr. Snix said, slipping his hat back on his head. “Can you believe I have grandkids? I don’t know where the years have gone. I know their names and I could have a pretty good stab at their birthdays, but I don’t know anything else about them. Their interests, their dreams.”
“You’ll learn,” I said. “If you’re willing to give it time.”
Mr. Snix smiled, his lips curling into a hopeful grin.
“Yes,” he said. “I suppose I will.”
He groaned as he pushed himself up with his hands on his knees.
“Getting old sure isn’t fun,” he said. “Make sure to enjoy your youth while you’ve got it.”
I laughed as I met him on the other side of my desk.
“I’m not as young as I used to be either,” I said.
“But a damn sight younger than this old man,” he said.
I led him to the door as he hobbled toward it. I opened it for him. I felt compelled to say something, to give him a little hope.
“Not that you asked for it, but let me give you a piece of advice someone once gave me,” I said. “To have the kind of relationships you want with your loved ones, they don’t need your money or your business or your big house. All they need is for you to be with them sometimes. Just give them your time. That’s the magic ingredient.”
Mr. Snix smiled at that and nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “I can see how that makes sense. My wife did try to warn me this would happen but I have a thick head and never paid much attention.”
“All men are the same,” I said. “But keep trying with your family. They will find time for you eventually. Just approach the way you work to the way you want to spend time with your family and you’ll get what you want.”
He smiled that hopeful grin again.
“Yes,” he said. “I suppose you’re right.”
