Page 27 of Wishing for Love

NOT TO BE JEALOUS

“Hi, Dad,” Phoenix said when he answered the phone on Sunday. Elsie was coloring on the coffee table and he was watching football. Crystal was in her suite, he assumed. He didn’t always know when she left or not, as she’d go out the deck and down those stairs to her car on the side.

“How are things going?” his father asked.

“Good. Just relaxing now. I don’t get too many of those days.”

He just needed a day a week to unwind and since the plant was closed on Sundays, that was when he got some peace and quiet. It was the day he’d try to catch up on paperwork or work on other formulas, but now he had a child he had to spend time with.

He wouldn’t give up a minute of that for work. Not now at least. He’d figure the rest of his life out in time.

“That’s good to hear,” his father said. “Mom said that Crystal made Thanksgiving dinner for you.”

“Yes,” he said. “Elsie was used to spending it with me anyway. I wanted to at least try to keep as much normal as possible.”

Phoenix had one of the better Thanksgiving Days in a long time a few days ago.

Dinner with Crystal was nice and cozy and tasted wonderful.

Because she cooked it, he and Elsie cleaned up. He’d told Crystal she could have the rest of the day to herself because they’d eaten so early, but he noticed that she seemed almost bummed over that.

Maybe she wanted to hang out with them, but it was her day off. She didn’t need to watch Elsie when he was home, so Crystal had gone to her suite and he hadn’t seen her until Friday morning.

He’d worked the whole day from home, only leaving his office for food or a bathroom break. He got a ton of shit done and caught up without having too many interruptions.

Crystal had taken Elsie to the park and then done a bunch of arts and crafts in the kitchen. There were more beads and threads scattered everywhere than he’d seen before, but everything had been picked up and put away before dinner.

“Things are going well there?” his father asked. “With Elsie and Crystal?”

He stood up to walk to his office to talk. Not that he thought anything would be private or personal, but if it turned into that, he didn’t want Elsie to overhear.

“As well as it can be,” he said. “Better, to be honest. I’m almost afraid.”

His father laughed. “I understand. When things are going well you think there is a problem. Chances are there isn’t, but don’t take it for granted either.”

“I’m trying not to,” he said. “Work is still my biggest stressor. I’ll take that. Having Crystal makes a huge difference. It’s just balancing the time for Elsie too.”

He was being pulled into so many directions. He needed to be there for Elsie but needed to concentrate on his business that he was still trying to get up and running.

“Which I’m sure you’re doing a great job with. I talked to your Aunt Aileen earlier.”

“Oh,” he said. “I thought Mom talked to her on Thanksgiving.” His father’s only sister. Aileen Carlisle. Eight kids and the mother of a billionaire. All the kids were successful last he heard. He didn’t keep up to date too much on it, as he was living his own life and trying not to be jealous.

He could read about them in the paper if he wanted, but he knew his parents were still close with Aileen. Part of him felt bad that West became the father figure at eighteen when Sam Carlisle was killed overseas in the military. But they’d been living in North Carolina and his family had been in Florida. He hadn’t seen his cousins much.

It’s not like it was easy to pick up a family of eleven to travel even with the money to do it. His aunt had the same issues with her eight kids and being a single parent. Money had been an issue there though.

If his father had helped his aunt out over the years, he never asked, but he was positive it was offered.

“She did,” his father said. “But she called to tell me that West and Abby got engaged.”

“That’s great,” he said. West was five years older than him. He’d heard Abby was almost ten years younger than West and someone who didn’t like the life West lived. She liked to be out of the public view and in the slower lane. His cousin would have to figure that out, but it seemed as if he might have.

“Aileen is happy. There won’t be a public announcement just yet. Maybe the first of the year. Only family knows, but I know you won’t say anything. You don’t like anyone knowing West is your cousin.”

Phoenix sighed. “It’s hard,” he said. “I don’t need the attention or the comparison.”

“I know you don’t want to hear this and you hate asking for help,” his father said, “but maybe reach out to West. It’s what he does. See if he can offer any suggestions for you.”

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