“Scott, I do want to be there at home more. Of course I do. I know what I’m missing. But I’m scared that if I go back, I’ll never be looked at as a high performer again. It will be back to the old Sara that they can underpay and underpromote. I don’t know if I can bring myself to be that person again.”
“Don’t be that person then. You know what a guy would do? He would ask for exactly what he wants. Demand what you deserve. Hey, you managed to do it on the task tracker. You clearly have it in you,” he teased.
“You know what, you’re exactly right,” said Sara quietly. “But what about the money? It is nice to have extra.”
“Sure it is. But if you get your way, you can make more in your old position. And I have faith in my little business. I think I can make a real go at it if you’re home more. There’s more to life than money, you know.”
“Okay, I’ll e-mail him back and see what happens,” Sara agreed. “But don’t get your hopes up—these things never work for me.”
HEATHER
From Heather Hall’s Twitter
Heather Hall @therealheatherhall · March 30
Jealousy contains more of self-love than of love #favoritequotes #Frenchwisdom #Francoisdelarochefoucauld
← Reply Retweet ♥ Favorite ··· More
ELIZABETH
They had returned from their weekend in the Dells refreshed and ready to go. Well, everyone except for Elizabeth. Every day that went by brought her to a new level of morning sickness. It shouldn’t be called morning sickness, she thought, it should be called all-day-and-night-without-reprieve sickness. She had started to carry extra air-sickness bags in her purse for when the lingering nausea overwhelmed her.
She wasn’t too bothered by the nausea today, though, because today was the day she was going to meet her baby.
She was doing a scan for genetic abnormalities, which was standard practice given her age. She had found a doctor who would actually do the scan himself and, according to her friends who had used him, detail all his findings even as he was performing the scan. She hated to wait for results, so this doctor sounded perfect.
She had finished the check-in process and the dreaded weigh-in in short order and was soon on the examination table waiting for her scan to begin. Dr. Musser came in and introduced himself. He was originally from Germany, and he had not lost his thick accent. Somehow, it was oddly reassuring.
“Would you like to watch?” he asked. It sounded like “Vould you like to vatch?” which made Elizabeth smile.
“Oh, yes,” replied Elizabeth.
As he began the procedure, her mood quickly shifted, and Elizabeth suddenly felt very nervous about the possibility that she was carrying a child with an abnormality. Or, much worse, a child that wasn’t going to make it at all.
The doctor turned the screen to her, and she looked wildly for any sign of trouble. After a few minutes, he froze the screen and said, “And what do you see here?”
Elizabeth focused on the screen and saw two roundish circles nested side by side.
“Is that what I think it is?” Elizabeth asked, starting to feel a little faint. “Is that twins?”
“Very good!” enthused Dr. Musser. “And now we will see if they are fraternal or identical.”
Elizabeth felt a buzzing in her ears. Twins! Her mind was rushing with a million questions.
“Yes, there we are. Two placentas, so fraternal then.”
“Fraternal,” Elizabeth repeated slowly.
“Yes, yes, fraternal. Two placentas, always fraternal.”
“So it could be one of each?”
“Of course. Or two girls or two boys. We can determine boys or girls in another month or so.”
So I might have three boys, thought Elizabeth as Dr. Musser began to take more measurements. That would be an interesting life. Or maybe one of them will be a girl. It would be lovely to have a chance to parent a girl too. It was all too much.
After another ten minutes or so, Dr. Musser said, “This is all looking very good. No signs of abnormalities. You won’t need to see me again, but I would suggest finding a hospital that specializes in multiple deliveries.”
“Of course, thank you, Doctor,” said Elizabeth, realizing she had forgotten all about her fears of the babies being unhealthy. They were perfect, and keeping them healthy was her job now. Her very next stop would be to gather every book available on twins. Forget the women’s advice books—there was a whole new genre she needed to devour.
“Okay, you are done then. These are the appointments I enjoy. Such good news for you! Please take care of yourself. You rest and give those babies lots of time to grow,” he said kindly as he left the exam room.
Elizabeth had a flash of worry as she thought about how she was going to actually rest and keep things going at work, but then she suppressed the thought. Today was a happy day, and she wasn’t going to let her work worries spoil it.
CARMEN
Carmen was back home after the whirlwind trip to San Diego.
Carmen might not be a bride, but she was going to be an MBA. She planned to be in the best shape of her life for this next phase, and she was forcing herself to go to one of those trendy exercise classes. The class went by quickly, and Carmen was grateful when it ended. The class never failed to transform, but the transformation never failed to be painful.
As she walked back to her car, Carmen’s cell rang. Elizabeth. She hoped that Elizabeth didn’t want to talk business. She wasn’t fully prepared with her thoughts yet after their last business conversation, and she wanted to avoid a misstep at this stage.
“Hi, Elizabeth. Hey, can I call you later? I just got out of class,” said Carmen.
“You are going to want to talk to me now,” replied Elizabeth. “Because we are having twins!” she screamed into Carmen’s ear.
Carmen laughed with joy. “No way!” she replied. “Maybe we should press pause on the whole law firm thing. This changes everything, doesn’t it?”
“No, we must certainly not press pause,” said Elizabeth. “But I agree it does change everything. Carmen, I’m ready to go all in. I owe it to these babies to get out of the firm sooner rather than later and into a place that will allow me to be a part of their lives. I’ve spent too much time thinking and waiting in the past. I’m not going to repeat that mistake.”
“You got it, boss, burn those ships,” said Carmen. “And by the way, if you made mistakes, they were all the right ones. Look how great everything has turned out for you. For all of us, really.”
“Agreed. Wouldn’t it be nice if Heather agreed too?”
“Fat chance,” replied Carmen.
“I don’t know. Have you been keeping up with the news about her and her company?”
“Yeah, that’s a no,” replied Carmen.
“Well, you won’t believe what’s happening to her,” said Elizabeth, and she started to tell her old friend all about Heather’s woes.
MARTHA
Her time in Paris had made Martha realize that she wanted to make an effort to move past all the anger and pain of the last year before she brought her new daughter home. She had thought that she could simply move past the friendship, move on with her new life. But in her quiet moments she felt a loss and a sadness she couldn’t shake off. This was not something she wanted to live with, to leave behind. She decided it was time to face her old friends and try to reconcile with them.
Martha thought her best move was to host a girls’ night in her new home on Cumberland. Definitely no husbands or kids. Things were tricky enough as it was.
Martha debated how to reach out to them for several days. Carmen she could just call, but Sara and Elizabeth, that would be trickier. E-mailing or texting them was out. Even calling them felt wrong. She needed to set a more serious tone without going totally over the top.
Martha settled on sending a very fancy invitation to them for a decidedly unfancy event—a housewarming slumber party. Really, how could they resist? she thought, even as she had
some apprehension about whether she was doing this right at all.
She imagined them finding the creamy invitation in their mailboxes and smiling when they realized it was from their old friend. Or would they smile? In truth, she wasn’t sure of how they would react at all. So much time had gone by. She and Robert had changed a lot in that time. Her friends had probably changed too. And it wasn’t like they could just pick up where they left off. Things had been left very badly.
Martha knew she couldn’t fix any of that, so she put her energy into making the evening a success.
Martha and Robert hadn’t moved in to the Cumberland house yet, and there was ongoing construction, but Martha decided that might make it interesting. A fresh space for a new start. She set up the library with candles and giant floor pillows. And booze. If this was going to work, there would have to be a lot of booze.
As the appointed time drew near, Martha felt a growing knot of apprehension in the pit of her stomach. She poured herself a glass of wine and considered that maybe this was all too little, too late.
Carmen was the first to arrive, and she gave Martha a big hug and said, “It’s going to be great tonight. You’ll see.”
“I don’t know, Carmen. I feel like I ruined everything.”
But then she saw Sara turn up the walk. And as she opened the door to greet Sara, Elizabeth pulled up in her BMW.
As Elizabeth exited the car, Martha noticed a very discernable bump and gasped. Sara smiled as she watched Martha discover that Elizabeth was pregnant.
“Elizabeth! I’m so happy for you!” Martha exclaimed.
“Martha, we are going to catch you up!” responded Elizabeth with a smile.
“You look like you are pretty far along. It’s so wonderful!”
“It’s twins!” trilled Elizabeth. “And there’s a back story you are going to love,” she added with a laugh as the four women walked into the house.
As the girls gathered for dinner, Elizabeth told Martha all about her pregnancy, and Martha told the girls all about Hope. As the dinner wore on, the conversation was polite and safe. No mention of Heather. No mention of Lucy. And no mention of the fight last September. But unless they planned to be familiar strangers, they had to discuss those things. Martha kept pouring more and more wine in the hopes that the small talk would turn back to real talk.
As they pushed aside their food and stretched out on the floor pillows, Carmen tried to help her friend by breaking the ice.
“Martha, this house is perfect for you,” she said. “I would modernize it personally, but it fits with your whole New England, stick-up-the-ass vibe.”
“Don’t be such a bitch,” Martha replied with some relief. “I’m all Wisconsin now, baby. And I’ve become much less intense over the years. All of us have, I think.”
At this, all four women fell into an awkward silence.
Martha dove in.
“I’m sorry. I probably overreacted that day at the bar. I love you guys. Heather was the one at fault. Us being apart doesn’t help the pain she caused. It just makes it worse.”
“Martha, you know I’m sorry about what I said about my job,” started Elizabeth. “That job might be history for me anyway. Carmen and I may be breaking off on our own now.”
“Wow,” said Martha. “I’ll need an update on that.”
Sara added, “I’m sorry too. Sometimes I can’t see past my own nose.”
Carmen finished, “Martha, you know I’m on your side one hundred percent no matter what. And I’m so happy for you and the new baby.”
Martha felt the knot at the pit of her stomach start to loosen.
“Do you think we’ll ever hear from Heather again?” asked Martha. “I do feel bad about her husband.”
“I have to confess, I sent her a huge bouquet of flowers,” said Sara.
“Me, too, believe it or not,” said Martha with a sad smile. “I am still my mother’s daughter in some ways. Even at my most bitter.”
“Well, you are both better people than I am. I just think all the years of her crap finally got to me. Anyway, it’s over. The days of free Heather swag and girls’ weekends are gone now,” Carmen declared. “But the four of us should start new traditions. Put the past behind us.”
“And the best are yet to come,” finished Elizabeth, rubbing her tummy.
Elizabeth was sipping a La Croix and enjoying watching her friends get drunk. Finally, she had the very best reason not to drink. She remarked, “You know, in a few months, we will have three new children and maybe a new business. It’s kind of crazy. Everything is happening all at once.”
“I wish Heather could have been part of this night,” said Sara sadly. “She’s not a bad person, you know. She just lost her way.”
“I told her all she has to do is apologize,” Elizabeth responded sharply. “She never will. She truly believes her book is a great act of generosity.”
“What a load of horseshit,” said Carmen with a laugh. “If our mistakes are what brought us to this moment, then I would make every one of them all over again.”
“Me too,” said Martha. “I’ll never regret staying home with my boys.”
“Me three,” chimed in Sara. “My life is a mess sometimes, but it’s mine and I love it.”
“Me four,” agreed Elizabeth. “I’m right where I always wanted to be. Well, I’m on my way. What did you say yesterday, Carmen? Oh yeah, we made all the right mistakes.”
“To all the right mistakes!” cheered Carmen as she raised her glass.
“To friendship!” replied Elizabeth as she raised her La Croix.
“Okay, enough screwing around,” said Sara, “it’s time for the movie. And we are not watching Heathers again, Martha and Carmen.”
“What’s your damage, Heather?” they yelled back at her.
It wasn’t the same, Martha thought, but it was getting a little better. Sara was right, though. It would always be a little sad that they had lost Heather. Or, rather, that she had lost them.
SARA
From: Phil Smith
Sent: Sun. 4/3 2:15 p.m.
To: Sara Beck
Subject: Re: Counteroffer
Fine. Consider it done.
Please note you may have to stay in your cube for a few months until I can arrange for a suitable office. And I don’t know much about that touchy-feely successor business, so you’ll have to bear with me on that score. Let’s agree no HR, OK?
See you Monday.
P
From: Sara Beck
Sent: Sun. 4/3 2:00 p.m.
To: Phil Smith
Subject: Counteroffer
Phil, I received your e-mail last week. I’m sorry my replacement did not work out and that you are in a tight spot.
I have really been enjoying my time with operations. That said, I am willing to consider returning to your team. Here are my terms:
1.5 times my old salary (I know exactly how much is in your budget now, and I know you can afford it);
VP title and all associated benefits, including participation in the company’s stock option program;
36 vacation days to be taken at my discretion;
Work from home option as needed, not to exceed two days a week; and
Quarterly meetings to discuss and implement a development plan for me as your successor.
Let me know.
Best regards,
Sara Beck
JUNE
HEATHER
From Heather Hall’s Twitter
Heather Hall @therealheatherhall ·June 2
Tune in for my interview with 20/20 for the truth about FLASH’s labor practices #factsnotspin #workinghardiswhatIdoforfun
← Reply Retweet ♥ Favorite ··· More
ELIZABETH
Elizabeth was terrified to think how big she was going to be by September. As it was, just about every person who crossed her path said some version of “You must be due any day now!” She wanted to hang a sign around her neck that said, “Not until Se
ptember and, yes, it is twins, thanks for asking.”
With every pound that she added to the scale, she felt more urgency to be ready to launch her firm.
She and Carmen had put the finishing touches on their business plan for the new firm last week. She felt like they were turning in their group project for economics class and leaving for summer vacation, but this time the work wasn’t hypothetical. It was going to be a real business. They were going to be owners. She loved that word. Owners.
They agreed that they would officially launch in late January to allow Elizabeth some time with her babies. She was confident in William’s ability to manage the baby factory, but she was still the mom, and she wanted to enjoy those first few months with no distractions.
Quitting was most definitely a leap of faith. She was going to be in a tough place if the new firm wasn’t successful pretty quickly, but she was feeling brave. Elizabeth’s goal for June was to tie up all the loose ends at work in the next week or so and then announce her intentions to Joe. She wanted to spend the last few months of her pregnancy resting to give her babies their best chance at being full-term.
Although she was already fantasizing about announcing her departure, she wanted to take the high road. And she was realistic. No matter what she said on the way out, she knew the firm would hardly skip a beat. She had seen too many people quit to think otherwise. She knew that Kenny in particular would be measuring for new drapes within minutes of her announcement and instructing Linda to transfer all her files to his office. He could have it, she thought. She was going to be on to bigger and better things.
All the Right Mistakes Page 19