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“No.”
“It’s Christmas, Gus. We’re your family. We should be together.”
“I can’t right now.”
She was at a loss for words, searching for something to say to convince him to come home. Things couldn’t go on like this. He needed to return to Michigan and make things right. She missed him and needed him back at Schultz, and she hated that he was staying away and missing important family moments. The impending tears stung her eyes, and she walked down the hallway into a nearby room.
“Are you still there?” he asked.
She sniffled, trying to hold back the tears. “Yeah, I shut myself in a conference room so I could hear you better.” Another sniffle.
“Sky, please don’t cry.”
“I hate that this is happening. I hate that you’re so far away. I hate that I got the job you wanted.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Okay, maybe I don’t hate the job.”
“Listen, I don’t begrudge you the position. You’re great at what you do, and you deserve it.”
“But—”
“Dad wants me to prove that I’ve changed, but he won’t give me a chance. I know I slipped up last summer and brought a lot of negative press to the company and the family, but I thought after four months, he might actually give me a shot. Being passed over again was a slap in the face.”
“I really believe Dad wants you home and in this company again. The more time that passes after that whole debacle with Milton, and the more he sees you’ve changed, the better things will get. You’ll see.”
“I wish I had your confidence in this situation.”
“Coming home for Christmas would be a great first step.” And she needed him there. She needed to be surrounded by her family right now when she was feeling so low.
“Sorry, Sky. Not going to happen.”
“Please, Gus. It won’t feel like Christmas without all of us here.”
“I don’t like disappointing you—”
“Then don’t.”
“But I have to do what I think is right for me. And right now, this is it.”
“Well, at least tell me you’ll be with Adelia for Christmas. I don’t want you to be alone.”
“I won’t be alone.”
She let out a resigned sigh and opened the door, no longer feeling like talking. “I better get back to the party.”
“Yeah, you should.”
“Merry Christmas, Gus.”
“Merry Christmas, Sky.”
Her tears were still close to the surface as she joined the party again. Her brother wasn’t coming home, and Franky had stood her up. Some Christmas this was turning out to be.
She typed out a message to Franky but hesitated to send it. Maybe he had arrived while she was off talking to Gus.
With a deep breath and head held high, she closed her phone and wandered through the crowd of partygoers, searching for Franky. He’d been known to arrive late for events in the past. The Roaring 20s gala came to mind, and she smiled as she remembered his getup and their dances. That seemed so long ago, and so much had changed since that night.