“Right, I’m the substitute teacher today and they’ll try and get away with as much as they can.”
The housekeeper laughed. “They’re good boys though. Don’t you worry a bit, Mr. Mitchell. One day of bad food won’t kill Andre.”
It better not if Dave planned on living past Madeline’s backlash. “At least I did okay with Sam.”
“Well,” the housekeeper said, gritting her teeth, “the boys will probably get into a fight.”
“Why?”
“Because you gave money to one and not the other.”
“What?”
“Sounds silly, but to a seven-year-old and a ten-year-old, they’re constantly making comparisons and competing with each other.”
Dave drew in the longest sigh of his life. It can’t consistently be this hectic, he supposed. The office was much simpler to manage compared with each passing second in the Mitchell household. Dave leaned against the counter. One hour down and two kids out the door. Lucky for him, there were only two more kids and twelve more hours to go.
Chapter 32
The day dragged on. To Dave, it felt as if there were weights on the hands of the clock, forcing the hours to slow to a crawl. His glimpses of sanity came during his routine calls into the office.
“How’s it going, Dave?” Sherry asked.
“You don’t want to know,” he answered, actually not having the energy to recant his morning or afternoon. There had been hope in getting Tamara off to school. He could certainly handle one child and a kindergartener. Not so, he found out.
“At least you’re getting a break.”
“Are you kidding me? This is not a break. A break is having only three meetings at the office in the afternoon and none of those with the IRS auditors. That’s a pretty good afternoon. I can handle that, but here, oh no. Let me tell you how my afternoon got started. Tamara opened the makeup kit without permission. She had it smeared all over her face and the walls.”
“Oh my goodness.” Sherry giggled.
“It was a disaster. I had to rush and get the makeup off. She missed the bus, forcing me to drive her to school. I bet her mother never has to drive her.”
“Well, look at the bright side.”
“Is there one?”
“There is,” she pointed out. “At least you got to spend time with Tamara. I imagine that was very special to her.”
Sherry wasn’t aware of how much her comment had blessed Dave. He was centered again, charged and ready to go, at least that’s what he believed, until he heard the light tapping on his office door. “How’s it going at the office? Any forest fires?”
“Not really. Actually, it’s pretty quiet for a change, surprisingly,” she told him.
“Well, feel free to call me if you need me.” The tapping grew louder. Ignoring the knock was no longer an option. “Sherry, I have to go. It would appear that I have a visitor waiting outside my office.”
She laughed. “Have fun with your children, and I’ll call you only if there’s an emergency.”
By then, Don had opened the door and come into the office. “Thanks, Sherry, and I’ll check in later anyway.” His attention shifted to Don, who didn’t appear to be settling for less. “Hello, son, what would you like to do this afternoon?” Dave said as he made way for Don to jump onto his lap. Don’s blanket came along with him.
“I don’t know.”
Dave didn’t either. From what he remembered, food was a great pacifier. “How about a snack?”
“Yummy,” he replied, beaming too much.
Dave figured this might be one of those situations like he’d encountered this morning with Andre. Dad was letting Don have something his mother didn’t. He considered the consequences for a few seconds and decided one snack couldn’t hurt. Besides, if the tiny treat kept Don occupied, it was worth Madeline’s backlash. He stood and lifted Don to his shoulders just as the phone rang. He set Don down on his seat and grabbed the phone. It was probably Sherry calling with critical DMI news. He wasn’t going to miss the call and snatched it up. He was mistaken, hearing Madeline’s voice. “What are you doing calling us? You’re supposed to be lavished in relaxation and pampering.”
“I am, but you know I had to check on the children and see if they’ve driven you crazy yet.”
“I have it under control, piece of cake,” he said, barely able to spew out the lie and maintain a sense of honesty going forward.
“Sure. You’ll tell me anything.”
“Hi, Mommy,” Don blurted out.
“Is that my Don? Let me talk to him.”
Dave handed their son the phone. “Hi, Mommy, when are you coming home?” She must have said, “later,” because their son said, “That’s too long. Can you come sooner?” Dave felt invisible. He looked at the little man sitting in his chair. Traitor, he thought. Before his mother called, Dave was his best friend. They were getting ready to share a snack together. He guessed that was tossed to the wayside when his mother came on the scene. Dave’s feelings were wounded, but he understood.
“Bye, Mommy, I love you too,” Don said, handing the phone to his father.
“I’m cutting my shopping short and coming home early.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that, come on. The kids are taken care of, you don’t have to worry.”
“I can’t help it. Don’s little pitiful voice got to me. He misses me, and I miss him terribly. I can shop anytime. I’m coming home and that’s all there is to it.”
Dave didn’t press the issue any further. Honestly, her coming home was good. He might as well go into DMI and get caught up. The kids had made it painfully clear that he wasn’t needed at home, not as long as their mother was there. He’d spend the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening with his fifth child, the one that valued him the most, DMI. “Come on,” he told Don. “Let’s get that snack before I change my mind,” he said, taking his son’s hand and meaning nothing but lightheartedness with his comment.
Chapter 33
“Thank goodness it was Friday” didn’t ring true. Even the extra boost that should have come from the June sunshine didn’t help. Edward shoved the envelope in his pocket, with the check and pink slip poking out. He sat in the car with his forehead pressed against the steering wheel. He wanted to move, but to go where? His thoughts were scattered, not making much sense. Sherry deserved better. He sat for a while longer and then pulled his head up. He had a plan: the car lot, the bus stop, the bank, and then Sherry. Definitely her last. Their wedding date was almost there. Edward wanted as much time and money as he could get his hands on before going to her with his news.
Three buses and four hours later, Edward was at home and exhausted. Instead of taking the fourth and fifth buses, he chose to walk the last two miles under the summer sun and save a few coins. He rested, while going back and forth about what he was going to tell his fiancée. The phone rang. It had to be her. He wasn’t ready to talk, but had no choice. Edward answered the call and greeted his future bride.
“I thought we were meeting tonight,” Sherry said.
Oops. He was so distracted earlier that he’d forgotten about their date. They were planning to eat and then discuss the final wedding details.
“I stopped by a half hour ago and you weren’t home.”
“I’m so sorry. I’m here now. Where are you? Can you come back?” he asked.
“I’m at a pay phone down the street. I figured it didn’t make sense to go home if we’re still getting together, unless you prefer to meet at my apartment?” she said.
Sherry didn’t have to spell out her message. Edward knew she didn’t like his tight quarters, but it was a roof over his head. He couldn’t and wouldn’t complain. “I’d prefer to meet here,” he said. She probably thought it was some macho move to want them meeting at his place. Not true; his car situation was the sole reason for wanting to meet within walking distance of his room. Sherry didn’t know that yet, but it wouldn’t be long before she did.
In
less than ten minutes, she was tapping on his door. He wanted to hide from his reality, but the room was too small to hide his entire body anywhere. Might as well open the door, break the news, and deal with Sherry’s broken heart. Here goes, he thought, and opened the door. They did a quick hug and release combo.
“Come in, have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?”
“No,” she said, taking a seat, wearing a puzzled expression. “Why are you being so formal? It’s just me.” She giggled. If only he could keep her laughing after sharing his news.
“Look, Sherry, I’m not going to beat around the bush. I got laid off of my temporary job today.”
“Ah,” she moaned.
“The factory had to shut down for maintenance and cut over to a new line. They said I might get called back in a few weeks or a month, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“Me either,” she said, surprising him.
“Don’t you worry none. I’m back out there tomorrow looking for another job. The same way I got this one, I’ll get another one. You’ll see. Nothing is going to stand in the way of our getting married next month.”
“You can’t possibly be thinking about a wedding in four weeks. Where would we get the money?”
“I told you that I’ll get another job right away. We’ll have plenty of money.”
“Stop, Edward, who are you fooling? I don’t have the money,” she said, pointing into her chest. “You don’t have the money,” she said, turning her index finger toward him. “Which means we don’t have the money. If we don’t have the money, there’s not going to be a wedding.”
“Come on, Sherry, it’s not that bad. How many times do I have to tell you that I’ll get another job?
“Okay, when you get a job and have stayed on it for six months, then we can talk about a ceremony. Until then, I can’t deal with the stress of paying my bills and forking out a couple thousand dollars for a wedding.”
“Wait a minute. I’m paying your rent,” he said.
“You mean you were paying my rent. Remember that your unemployment won’t cover your rent, car note, and my rent too. We figured that much out those other ten months you were unemployed.”
“You’re wrong there. I’ll continue paying your rent.”
“How?”
“I dropped my car off at the dealer. They didn’t give me any money for it since I still owed them twelve hundred dollars, but they agreed to take the car off my hands. At least it’s one less bill for me, actually two if you count the insurance that I won’t have to pay. So you see, there’s plenty left for your rent.”
“You can’t be serious. We have no choice but to put the wedding on hold,” she said as her eyelids filled with tears.
“Nonsense, now let’s not get bent out of shape. We’ve been through tougher times, much together than this. We’ll get by.”
“Not this time, Edward. The wedding is off.”
“For how long?”
“You tell me,” she said, taking a tissue from her purse. “Our finances aren’t stable. We can’t get married on the hope of you getting a job. We have to wait.”
Edward dropped to his knees and let his head rest on her lap. “I don’t want to wait any longer. I want to marry you today. What if we scale down the wedding? You’ve always talked about going to the courthouse. I’m the one who pushed for the big wedding, thinking it’s what you wanted. None of that matters. I just want to be your husband more than anything else in the world. Let’s get married, tomorrow, right now,” he said, clinging to her.
“It’s too late. We’ve told our families and they’re expecting a ceremony. If we’d gotten married before getting them involved, then yes, maybe we could do something smaller. But you set their expectations very high,” she told him.
“They don’t matter. Tell you what, instead of having the wedding and reception at Louie’s Inn, we can get married in the park. A permit is, what, twenty-five dollars? We could spend a hundred bucks on flowers. We could have light refreshments with cake, cookies, and punch at home.”
“Are you kidding?” she said, shifting the weight on her legs, making it awkward for him to keep his head on her lap. “You couldn’t possibly consider having a reception in this tiny room.”
He pulled back to meet her gaze. “You’re right. We can use your apartment. It’s much bigger.”
“No ,we can’t,” she shouted, standing. “Don’t you get it? The wedding is off until our situation changes.”
“Don’t you really mean until my situation changes?”
She didn’t respond. She didn’t have to. He took a seat.
“Edward, we have to be realistic. We’ve been waiting on a miracle. At least I have and guess what, it’s not coming. We should have cancelled months ago instead of putting down a three hundred dollar deposit at the hotel. That money is as good as gone, money we don’t have. Humph, how stupid.”
“I understand, Sherry, I do, but I’m not giving up on us. I’m willing to set my pride aside and accept your offer to move in together. I haven’t been in favor of it in the past, but like you said, I have to be realistic.”
Sherry looked away and said, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea anymore.”
Her reaction came as a total surprise to him. She’d constantly made the offer as recent as two months ago. “Why the change?”
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t feel right.”
Edward might have been unemployed but he was no dummy. He got what she was saying loud and clear. Adjusting the ceremony was easy. That wasn’t the problem. She’d lost faith in him. He understood and would work tirelessly until it was restored. Sherry was his life, and he couldn’t lose her.
Chapter 34
Wednesday felt like Monday and Tuesday, each miserably draining. Sherry was grateful that she’d survived another day at the office without falling apart. She went to Dave’s office and knocked. He was reading at his conference table.
“Excuse me. Is there anything else you’d like for me to do today?” She hoped the answer was yes. Every night this week she’d intentionally stayed late to avoid having to be around Edward. His recurring disappointments and bouts with depression were tiring. She needed air.
Dave beckoned for her to come in. “What are you still doing here? We work late so much that when we can get out at a decent time we should,” he said, setting the packet of stapled papers on the table with his pen and pointing to the chair for her to take a seat. She did. “Madeline and my kids would love to see me by eight or nine every night.” He glanced at his watch. “Let alone seven; that would be a dream.”
“How did Sam do in the chess tournament?” she asked, wanting to talk about something positive.
“Came in second place. He was disappointed, but I told Sam he’ll get them in the next tournament.”
Sherry and Dave had spent a considerable amount of time together since she started last fall. They’d spoken about his family and her wedding. She no longer harbored the element of intimidation around him. They spoke freely, with her always remaining respectful of his position in the company.
She knew about Andre joining the soccer team, since he missed the cutoff for football, and how bumpy it was for him when he moved in with them. According to Dave’s updates in recent months, Andre was adjusting well, and Dave was glad. She knew about Don and his bunny blanket, the one that went wherever he did. She’d heard countless stories about Tamara’s Easy-Bake Oven adventures. Sherry didn’t have children, but would have loved to have a family like Dave and Madeline’s one day. She didn’t dwell on the notion, in order to avoid being reminded of her personal crisis with Edward.
“Enough about me and my kids, what about you? I’m sorry, what’s your fiancé’s name?”
“Edward Hanson.”
“You and Edward are approaching your big day. Are you ready?” he asked.
Sherry fought to contain her emotions. “The wedding is postponed,” she told him, holding back tears.
“R
eally,” Dave responded, shocked as she expected him to be, especially after seeing her glee for months. “I don’t know what to say. I know it’s a personal matter, but if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”
Determined to maintain professionalism and not break out weeping, Sherry shared the details of Edward’s unemployment history.
“I can appreciate your situation. Maybe I can help.”
“How?”
“You’ve done a fantastic job for me here. I’d like to help with a financial contribution.”
“Oh no, Edward would never accept money from someone else. He’s very proud that way.”
“I understand. So, what if I gave you a five hundred dollar bonus?”
“No way.”
“All right, then I can make it a thousand,” he said, squinting his eyelids.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that five hundred wasn’t enough. I’m grateful that you’ve offered to help. It’s far more than I could have expected. Dave, I can’t take the money. I didn’t earn it.”
“Not only did you earn it, you deserve more. When you joined my team, my secretary was on leave and my wife had started her sabbatical. It was an administrative nightmare around here for me. You saved me, Miss Henderson. So, I say that you deserve the bonus, and I’m having payroll cut the check tomorrow. Will that help?”
“Thank you, Dave, but I can’t take the money. I just can’t.” Ashamed and struggling with maintaining composure, she didn’t elaborate much more. At this point, it wasn’t so much that Edward would be upset about her taking the bonus. Sherry was the one who felt awkward. She would be taking advantage of her boss’s kindness to pay for a wedding that wasn’t making sense anymore. She wouldn’t take his assistance.
“Then what else can we do? You already work late most nights, but I guess we could squeeze in a few more hours, if that’s the only answer we have to help resolve your financial concerns.”
“That won’t work either.” She went on to tell Dave that Edward didn’t like her working late, and it had been an ongoing problem in the relationship.
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