Page 32 of February (New Orleans #2)

“D ad, come on,” she said into the phone.

“Where is this coming from, Monica? I’ve been running Arnette since before you were born. You’ve always known you’d be taking over for me.”

“I know. And that meant that I never really thought of doing anything else.”

“And now, you are ?” he asked.

“Dad, I can’t explain it to the point where you’ll understand it. You came out of school and went right into buying companies. Like you said, since I was born, I was told that I would do that, too, when you retired.”

“I thought you wanted this.”

“I did. I mean, I thought I did, too. I always have. But I’m not sure my heart is in it all the way anymore.”

“So, the thing we’ve been planning and talking about for decades, you suddenly no longer want?”

“I don’t know how sudden it is,” she replied honestly. “I feel like coming down here and working with Southern Hospitality has just made me realize it, but it’s been there for a while now. I sit in hours and hours of meetings, sometimes until ten o’clock at night. I’m emailing people who I’m not in those meetings with whenever I’m not in meetings. I know that that’s what the job entails, but I also know it’ll be more of that if I take over for you in a few weeks.”

“And you don’t want that?”

“No, I don’t think I do. I like solving problems, Dad. I’ve been doing that here, and I realized that I missed doing it. I’ve helped Bridgette with her parents, and I know you’re still mad that they’re not selling, but it was the right decision for their family and for the business, and I helped. Bridgette did most of the work, but I helped.”

“You help here, too. You might have just saved Good Day with a few phone calls.”

“I didn’t save them. I put a Band-Aid on their bleeding wound. Their president is a moron, Dad. He should be let go for the stuff he did this year. Relying on us buying a company to save them was a bad move.”

“I know. I know. I’ll work on that,” he replied. “But, Monica, this was supposed to all be yours.”

“Darius is a great candidate, Dad. He has the best experience and pedigree. He knows Arnette enough, and I can take some time with him to help him learn the rest. If you can just give me until the rest of the year, I’ll have him ready for you to recommend to the board.”

“He’s fine, but he’s not my daughter. He’s not an Arnette.”

“No, but he’s a friend of the family, and that matters to you, or I wouldn’t be here right now, trying to save a tiny local greeting card company.”

“You should have been a lawyer, the way you argue,” he replied.

She allowed herself to laugh.

“I had a vision, Monica.”

“I know, Dad. But your vision isn’t my life. I wanted to live up to that for you, for Mom, and for myself, but I just don’t think I want it anymore.”

“Then, what will you do?” he asked. “Stay in your current role?”

“I don’t know. That depends on you, I suppose.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I want to stay down here,” Monica revealed. “I want to move to New Orleans at least part-time.”

“Move? To New Orleans? Weren’t you just griping about having to go down there when I asked you to? And now, you want to move there?”

“If anyone should understand, it’s you. You fell in love with this city when you went to school. It’s why you recommended Aaron go to Tulane.”

“Yes. But why would you want to be there part-time? It’s a beautiful city, but you don’t know anyone. Aaron won’t be there until August.”

Monica cleared her throat and said, “Actually, I did meet some people down here. I have a few new friends, and Sophie lives here, too. Do you remember Sophie?”

“No, but I think I remember you mentioning the name,” he replied.

“She used to work for us. She left Arnette about four years ago. I’ve met up with her a couple of times since I got here, so I have an old friend and new friends,” she replied.

“And do you plan to live at the Four Seasons?”

“No,” she replied with a laugh. “I’ll get an apartment at first and then look for a house to buy.”

“Buy? So, when you say part-time, you mean part-time forever? Or is this just because Aaron is going to school down there?”

“Partly.” She shrugged, even though her dad couldn’t see her. “I want to be able to spend time with him when he wants, but I’ll stay out of his way. It’s important for him to have a college experience without his mother always checking in and asking for dinners.”

“He’ll need somewhere to do his laundry, I suppose. I doubt Lily ever taught him how because she doesn’t know how herself.”

Monica laughed at that and said, “I taught him how to laundry, Dad, but I’d like to have a room for him here in case he needs a place to stay or even just a quiet room to study in.”

“So, you’ll be down there part-time. What does that look like, exactly?”

Monica took a deep breath and said, “Well, I’d like to spend three weeks here and a week in Manhattan for a while. If I need to be there for an important meeting, I will be, but, Dad, my goal would be to figure out if I want to move here full-time. Meaning, if things work out down here, I’d move here permanently and sell my Manhattan apartment.”

“So, this is really an experiment?”

“Sort of. But it’s more that I know you need me, and I want to be there for you and for Mom, but I need this for myself, too. So, I’m trying to toe the line. Dad, the truth is that, in New York, I only have Arnette. Don’t get me wrong; I have you and Mom, too, of course, and Aaron, but Aaron will be here for at least the next four years, and you and Mom will be traveling a lot when you retire. It’ll just be me in the sparsely decorated apartment that I only bought to piss off my ex-wife.”

He laughed and replied, “As much as it might not have been the best financial decision for you, I still think it’s hilarious.”

“Me too,” she said with a smile. “And, Dad?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know yet, but I might not want to stay on at Arnette.”

“After I retire?”

“No, I mean now. Well, soon.”

“Wait. You want to leave? Now?”

“Not today, but soon, I think,” she replied. “I meant what I said about Darius, though. I’ll help him however I can whether I’m still full-time or not.”

“Honey, you’d leave? Are you that unhappy?”

“No, Dad; I’m not unhappy at all. I just don’t think I’m as happy as I can be, and I feel like I’ve sort of seen the light since I got here, so I want to explore that.”

“Well, it’s not like you need the money… But are you sure? What will you do?”

“I don’t know yet, honestly, and I’m okay with that for now. Taking even just a few days away from work made me realize that I don’t need it how I thought I did, and I think I’d like to take a little time to figure out my next steps. I’ll stay on until you find my replacement and longer so that I can train them, but I’d still like to do at least some of that from here.”

“Monica, there’s got to be something you’re not telling me here,” her dad replied. “I get that you like it down there, that you made some new friends, want a new adventure, and all that, but if you’re quitting anyway, you can train someone from here. Help me hire them from here. Why the need to be there right now?”

Monica knew they would get to this eventually, and she was happy that she’d been able to get her main reasons and arguments out before they started on this path because she knew what he was going to say when she told him.

“Dad, I’ve met someone.”

“Someone?”

“Yes, a woman.”

“Sophie?” he asked.

Monica laughed and replied, “No, not Sophie. It’s Dale and Margery’s daughter, actually.”

“The Bridgette you’ve been talking about?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, hell. Monica, you slept with their daughter?”

“Dad!” She laughed. “I didn’t sleep with their daughter,” she lied. “I fell in love with her.”

“Can I say, ‘Oh, hell,’ again? How are you in love with the girl? You just met.”

“You fell in love with Mom and married her six weeks after you met.”

“Don’t go throwing that back at me.” Her dad chuckled. “Monica, you can’t give up your whole life for this girl. You just met her.”

“She’s a woman , Dad, not a girl. And I know that. I’m not, I promise. I know you won’t believe me, but I’m not. I’m in love with her. I know it’s hard to understand, but it happened, and I want to be with her. I also meant what I said about work: I’m ready for something new. I want to spend as much time with Bridgette as I can because I really, really want this to work, Dad. She’s different than anyone I’ve ever been with, and she loves it in New Orleans. Now that she’s taking over the company, she has to be here, anyway, and I can be here with her.”

“So, that’s why you helped her and not the company?”

“No, I helped her because I believe in what she’s doing. Yes, I also wanted this for her, but I knew we’d be just fine without Southern, and she needs it. She has this drive to take over for her parents that, I’m sorry to say, I don’t have myself these days.”

“Monica, you’ve just laid a lot on your old Dad here.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Yesterday, though, everything was so up in the air and complicated, and I just want things cleared up and in the open for all of us.”

“So, you’re there for a while. When will you come back? When do you plan to announce that you’re leaving?”

“I need to talk to Bridgette, but I was thinking I’ll be down here for the next month. I’ll work from here and start grooming Darius, if you want. That’ll give us enough time to get settled here, and then, I’ll bring Bridgette up for a week, if she can get away, so that you and Mom can meet her. We can announce then. I can pack while I’m there, and I’d do another few weeks here and so on until you have my replacement.”

“This is a lot to ask, honey.”

“I know.”

“If I agree to this, you have to promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to be the one to tell your mother,” he said.

Monica laughed. Then, she and her father ironed out a few more details, and by the time they finally hung up, she breathed in deeply. The weight of the world had just lifted from her shoulders, and it felt amazing. Monica was quitting the only job she’d ever known and giving up the only plan for her life she’d ever had, and she was smiling because this was what she wanted.

The day before that, she and Bridgette had made love all over her apartment, and Monica was still sore in places she’d never been sore before, but in the best way possible. They’d gone to get Po-Boys for dinner and eaten them back at Monica’s hotel. There, she’d packed an overnight bag, but before they left, they’d made love again, messing up the bed she hadn’t slept in. She’d left an extra tip for the maid staff, feeling bad, and they’d gone back to Bridgette’s apartment, where they’d just watched a movie and talked about nothing serious before they’d finally gone to bed.

That morning, they’d woken up early, and Bridgette had decided to run out and get them coffee from the place on the corner because it was better than what she could make them here. Monica wasn’t sure she’d really meant that, but earlier, she’d mentioned to Bridgette that she wanted to talk to her father to get things out of the way, so she guessed Bridgette was giving her some time alone to do that. When she heard Bridgette’s key in the door, she smiled, picturing this being part of her life now: Bridgette coming home from work and Monica being there to greet her and kiss her hello. It sounded so good.

“Hey,” Bridgette said when she walked in. “Did I interrupt?”

“Nope,” she replied as she stood up from the sofa.

“So, how did it go?” Bridgette asked as she placed a tray carrying two coffees and what looked like a small brown bag of pastries onto the kitchen counter.

“Can I tell you later?”

“That bad?”

“No, that good , and I want to celebrate with you before we have to leave for the office,” she said.

“Celebrate?” Bridgette asked.

“Yes. So, take everything off. You’re about to get lucky, Miss Musgrave.”

“Fuck,” Bridgette whispered in realization.

“Yes, that kind of lucky.”