Page 134 of Just Like Starting Over
“Hey!” Ethan says, taking a step closer.
“I’m sure everyone in the company will appreciate that birthright outranks hard work.”
“You are impertinent…”
I commit the major sin of talking over my dad as I turn to Ethan. “What was your major at university again? Oh, right,you didn’t go. You opted for real life experience.” I snap my fingers. “And what are your gross annual sales at Cavendish Fruit Wines? How many employees do you have? How many seasonal labourers do you have? How much area under cultivation?” I’m playing hard but I’m done. Bringing Ethan in here to take over is just absurd and I’m not going to keep quiet about it.
“Don’t you belittle Ethan and his initiative…”
“What qualifies Ethan for this job?” I ask my father bluntly. “And what justifies your making him my superior? I have been here over ten years. I have a university degree and a graduate degree directly pertinent to this business. I have worked seven days a week for a decade, always giving more, always striving, and instead of giving me credit, you insisted I take on a second full-time job with no increase in compensation, andthenyou pick Ethan to be in charge of everything.”
“I have a plan…”
“That’s great, Dad. Good for you. I hope it all comes together for you.” I watch as his eyes narrow. “Because I have a plan, too.”
“You’ll work with Ethan to bring him up to speed…”
“No. I quit.”
There is a beat of horrified silence. Even Ethan has stopped smiling.
“You can’t quit,” my father says.
I head for my former office, claiming my belongings that are there. There’s not much. “Deirdre, could you work out my salary owing, including my vacation pay? I’m thinking I’ll be getting paid through February or so.”
“More or less,” she says, tapping her keyboard.
My dad is looking between us, fuming so visibly that I expect steam to come out of his ears.
“And maybe charge me for the laptop. I have a lot of personal stuff on it and need one myself.”
“It won’t be worth much now. It’s four years old.”
“Right, and Ethan will need the latest and greatest, so this one is no use to you. The company files are all on the cloud server.” I smile, turn and head for the door. I could dance out of here, I feel so much lighter. Ethan is gaping at me. “Good luck,” I say to him and his eyes widen. “Dad watches the bottom line to three decimal places, by the way.”
Dierdre has gathered her belongings and, in a remarkable coincidence of timing, is also heading for the door.
Dad begins to sputter. “You can’t do this, Michael Edward Cavendish. You can’t be so ungrateful and disrespectful…”
He starts to shout but I’m not listening. I walk Dierdre to her car, then continue to the house. It takes less than five minutes to toss everything I own into the back of the truck. Pretty much all the furnishings were bought by Candace when she first moved in, and left behind when they built the new house. Nothing’s mine. No one wants it, which was why it was okay for me to make use of it.
I’m ready to start fresh.
I take the few photos of my mom, though.
When I get into the truck, I can see Dad shouting in the office, hands flung skyward as he marches back and forth, so furious that the sound of his voice carries through the glass. Ethan looks spooked and rightly so. It’ll take hours for Dad to calm down now.
But I just don’t care.
I’m so glad I was able to respond reasonably to him. I’m happy I had an exit plan. Better yet, both were possible because Sylvia and I talked. I plan on a whole lot more of that in my life.
In fact, it’s a relief that I won’t have to try to make someone happy who will never be satisfied.
I feel free.
And that meansthere’s only one place to go.
I call Sylvia as soon as I pull out of the lot. “Have some time for me?” I ask and she catches her breath.
