Page 11 of Falling Again
His father waved him off. “I know you can swing it. Trudy is a miracle worker with the schedule. Once she’s back from lunch, I bet I can get her to—” Anthony raised his hand to stop his father’s tirade.
“Trudy doesn’t need to work overtime to find me a vacation. We can pay people to take care of this for you, Dad.”
Never one to be turned down, Steven sniffed. “No. I want you to take care of this.”
“Why not ask Alice?” Anthony’s younger sister wasn’t married or bogged down with much responsibility at the moment, as she had just finished her second master’s degree.
Steven scoffed. “I love Alice, but I don’t trust her with the house.”
Anthony sighed, too tired to have a full conversation with his old man. “You want to prep the house for sale? Why not have a realtor take care of it?” He waved a hand impatiently in the air. “Don’t they have people for that?”
“That house has been in our family for two generations. Since we need to sell it, we might as well take care of getting it on the market.” Anthony rubbed the back of his neck, holding back a heap of remarks that would only get him chastised.
The house in question was the lake house that Anthony’s parents owned on South Bass Island, up north in Lake Erie. That home held some of his favorite memories, both as a child and with Natalie and the kids. The small island offered privacy and comfort, and had enough night life and shops to keep things interesting. Anthony had foolishly hoped to inherit, or at least purchase, the lake house from his father in time. Now that dream fizzled out faster than cheap fireworks.
Maybe this wasn’t my year, he thought ruefully. All his musings went back to Natalie and how much he missed her. How much he missed them. When he’d realized his dream of becoming mayor, and Natalie started N&G Planners, they had somehow lost their way to each other. He never thought it was possible for two people so in sync to lose each other, but here he sat—antsy and miserable.
“Did you hear what I said?” Steven asked, knocking on the desk to get his son’s attention. “I want you and Natalie to go together. Consider it an anniversary trip. Your mother and I will take the kids, and you both can get away.”
Anthony rolled his eyes. “You just got done telling me you want to sell the place and I need to clear it out. I would hardly call packing up boxes romantic.”
The mention of their anniversary hit Anthony right in the gut. Their ten-year anniversary was mere weeks away, and he’d done nothing to plan for it. Worse still, he knew that Trudy strong-armed Natalie into attending a ribbon cutting at the new children’s hospital. Not only did he not have anything planned, but he’d just filled his wife’s already busy schedule with his job. Anthony felt lower than low.
“Don’t worry about the logistics now,” his father said as he rose to his feet. Opening the door, Steven waved to Trudy who joined them in the office.
“Trudy, my dear.” Steven kissed her cheek. Trudy stifled an eye roll but smiled politely. Anthony knew she loved the Snyder clan, but she also had a low tolerance for crap. The woman deserved sainthood.
“I’m not letting you both in this office at the same time if it results in more work for me,” she huffed. “What’s going on?”
“Clear my son’s calendar for the last week in June. He’s going up to the lake house to take care of a few things.” His father nodded firmly, the decision apparently out of anyone else’s control.
Trudy opened her mouth to argue, but Anthony saved her. “Don’t even bother, Trudy. When the old man leaves we can figure it out.” Anthony stood and followed––practically pushed––his father toward the exit. “It’d be nice if you visited someday and didn’t give my lovely assistant and me a ton of work.”
Steven raised his hands in the air and led the way outside. “Come now, son. You make it sound like I sold you into slave labor. I’m offering you and your wife a week away from it all.” Anthony studied his father, and decided it was too much work to argue. He merely stuck his hand in the air and waved while his father got behind the wheel of his car.
Once it was just Anthony and Trudy, she cleared her throat. “You know you can have a vacation. You’ve been mayor for over two years, and you haven’t taken more than two days off. Even elected officials have lives,” she said as she strode back to her desk. Anthony was going to ask her to wait on clearing his schedule, but the phone rang, and Trudy’s attention was taken.
Going back into his office, Anthony noticed it was nearly five o’clock. His day had been so busy, and he had broken a promise to himself to call Natalie over lunch. Last night had been hectic, but laughing with her in the kitchen felt like old times, like a release. A release they both desperately needed.
Anthony loved seeing his wife laugh, and he used to pride himself on his ability to get her to smile even under the worst circumstances. How would she feel when he went home and told her their anniversary would be spent packing up boxes in his parents’ lake house? Would she welcome the break, or would she resent him for making the plans without her? He knew there was only one way to find out.
Trudy knocked on the door. Her handbag was clutched in her hand, and she offered Anthony a stern expression. “It’s five o’clock. Why don’t we both do something shocking and leave on time for once?”
Anthony laughed, knowing her suggestion made sense. He itched to get home and see Natalie and the kids. “You know what, Trudy? Let’s do it.” He reached over his desk to turn off his computer, leaving a couple emails unanswered. They could wait until tomorrow.
What couldn’t wait was seeing Natalie, talking to Natalie. Anthony knew coming home on time wouldn’t make everything better, but it was a start. And every journey started with one step. Anthony’s first step was out of his office and toward home.
