The slightest wave of relief hits me until he goes on.
“That said, I’ll shoot straight with you.”
I shift in my seat. “Okay.”
“As your boss, I like you. As my little girl’s father, I’m not your biggest fan right now.” The words sting on impact, but I can’t fault his candor.
“I respect that, sir.”
“Alright then. So, things might be weird around here for a little while, but people go through stuff, they hurt, they grieve and, with time, they move on.”
Thankfully, I don’t sense any blame or ridicule in his voice, but that doesn’t relieve the guilt I feel for hurting Lauren.
“That’s fair,” I say before rising to my feet. “I won’t take up any more of your time. Thank you for meeting with me.”
We exchange a quick handshake on my way out the door.
Passing Bethany’s desk, I pull out my phone and see two missed calls from Drew. There’s no voicemail, but he sent a text message.
Drew
Emergency. Call me!
My heart labors. Drew and Gretchen leave for their trip today, but the wordemergencyhas panic flipping my stomach on its head as I jog back to my office. I press the callbutton the second I cross the threshold and the phone’s already to my ear when I shut the door behind me.
Less than half a ring later, Drew picks up. “Connor! Thanks for calling me back, man.”
“What’s going on?”
“Dude. It’s a lot. Um…” His voice breaks as he takes in a stilted breath, the unmistakable sound of tears coming through the line. I haven’t heard him cry since he recited his wedding vows.
“Fisher! What’s going on? Is everybody okay?”
Gretchen’s face pops forefront in my mind, every memory sweeping in like a deluge.
A week and a half ago, she told me she wasn’t ready to talk. It was a tough pill to swallow, but I’ll give her whatever she needs. If that’s time, so be it. I’ll wait. I texted her a couple times over thosefirst few days with friendly chatter—just trying to keep the line of communication open—but she never replied. I know a Gretchen hint when I see one, so I backed off.
But if something has happened to her?—
Drew’s voice cuts in, “Yeah…I mean, no, not really…um…” He inhales sharply and there’s nothing for me to do except wait. Wait as my best friend fights tooth and nail to say his next words. “It’s Reagan. She’s okay,” he quickly adds. I let out a sigh of relief as I sink into my chair.
“Listen,” he continues, “I can’t get into the details right now. I promise I’ll tell you everything soon, but I just need to be here with her these next couple of weeks.”
“Okay. Is there anything I can do for you guys?”
He says nothing at first. Only the rough sound of Drew’s hand running down his face cuts the heavy silence.
“I need a favor, Vining.”
“Of course. What is it?”
He sighs. “It’s Gretchen.”
“Gretchen?” I question and then awareness sinks in. “Oh, damn! Your trip.”
“Yeah.” The defeat in his voice sounds like he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“You can reschedule, right?”
