Page 6 of Falling Again
Rather than delve into her feelings, Natalie decided to medicate herself with more food—hence her weight concerns. She finished her first cookie and snagged a second. If she was being honest with herself, she knew she needed to cut back on CeCe’s treats. Her dresses and suits were getting too tight, and she didn’t have the free time to run or hit the gym like she used to.
CeCe picked up on her friend’s mood and ushered her boyfriend back to the kitchen. Walking over to the front door, she flipped the closed sign and joined her friends on a stool. “Spill it,” she ordered. “Something is up.”
Ginny nodded and finished her third cookie. “Natalie was just about to explain why she was worried about being a control freak.”
CeCe’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Wow. That is not what I was expecting.”
“What were you expecting?” Natalie asked, kicking herself for opening this can of worms.
Shrugging, CeCe took the last cookie and snapped it in half. She took a bite and thought while she chewed. “Don’t know. But this is a lot of self-reflection for a Monday afternoon. What’s up?”
Natalie thought back to her morning, and how quickly the craziness had become her new routine. Running around with the kids while Anthony was nowhere to be seen. But that wasn’t entirely fair to him. She knew he was overworked as well.
“Nothing. I’m fine. Just a rough morning that apparently wants to take over my whole day.” She wiped her hands with a napkin and pulled a few bills from her purse. “Lunch is on me, and I included a few bucks for those cookies.”
Before her friends could continue their line of questioning, Ginny’s phone buzzed with an incoming text. “Shoot. It’s Lynn. She forgot to include the full budget in her notes this morning. I’ll need to swing by the library for her other notes.”
Natalie looked at her phone and frowned when she saw a stream of missed texts from her mother-in-law. “Looks like Otis has a fever. I need to go pick him up.” She sighed and got to her feet. “Send me the full budget when you get it, and I’ll mock-up something from home. I’m sorry to leave you high and dry.” She meant it too. Lately she felt like Ginny was a one-woman show.
Ginny wouldn’t hear it. “Don’t worry about it. Go take care of Otis and give him a squeeze for me.”
“I will, thanks.” Natalie didn’t miss the look CeCe gave her. She may have missed the inquisition now, but her girlfriend wouldn’t hold off forever.
Natalie could only hope she’d have the energy to talk.
*
Anthony logged outof his computer and sighed when he realized it was after six o’clock. Yet again he was late for family dinner. Gathering his things, he headed toward the door and bumped into Max.
“Hey. Is now a good time?” Max asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “I got a call from James about joining the town council, and I wanted to ask you a few questions.”
Knowing he was already horrendously late, Anthony nodded and stepped back into his office. Motioning to an empty chair, he put his bag down and joined Max. “Take a seat.”
Max sat down and crossed one leg over the other casually. “I’ll be honest, I was surprised to hear the council was interested in me. I always felt like I rub you and Jillian the wrong way.”
Anthony grimaced. It was no secret that his role as mayor had a rocky start, sometimes at the cost of friendships and public opinion. Anthony was very much like his wife––they both tended to be no-nonsense with people. But Anthony knew he needed to get better with that attitude, especially since he needed the help.
“No, you’re right to question it. I’m sorry. I meant to call you myself, but time got away from me.” Anthony took a few minutes to go over the council and what Max’s potential role would be.
“I can’t promise you’d get Jillian’s vote, but I can assure that you have mine. The other candidates have all served before, mostly under my father. The last thing I want is to bring his regime back in.” For the most part, Jillian’s friends had good intentions, but Anthony didn’t want the town council to turn into a dysfunctional episode ofThe Golden Girls.
Max chuckled softly. “Sounds like we’re planning a coup.”
Anthony smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Max may have been joking, but his observations were close to the truth. Working with the council was never easy, and Anthony yearned to have just one stress-free interaction with them.
Stretching in his seat, Max snagged a glance at his watch. “Wow. I didn’t realize how late it was. Let me think about the council, but I’m sure I can spare the time. I’ll let you get home. Ginny said Otis is sick. I hope he’s feeling better.”
Otis was sick? That was news to Anthony. Not wanting to tell Max he didn’t know, Anthony took his cell phone out of his pocket and found a string of missed notifications from Natalie.
Otis is sick, working from home this afternoon.
Could you come home early today? Otis is asking for you.
Think you could pick up dinner?
Think you could pick up some fever meds? We just ran out.
Never mind, your mom brought everything over.
