Not go off the rails if I didn’t answer a text within an hour.
A few minutes later, I opened my door to find my parents in their typical weekday attire of dark navy suits. I admired their equal partnership in both the business and their relationship. That might have been the reason they’d invested so thoroughly in my relationship with Rosalyn—they saw it as a mirror of their own, and they were happy.
“Son, it’s good to see you.” The concern in my father’s deep voice belied his mundane words.
“Um, it’s nice to see you, too, but I’m confused by the barrage of texts. What’s with all the urgency just to stop by and say hello?” I took my mother’s purse and set it on the kitchen island.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Is there a reason you don’t want us to visit you?”
Her voice held the same note of unease as my father’s.
“No, of course not. But you’re acting like we don’t live in the same city. Or that it’s somehow unreasonable I would be away from my apartment. You didn’t need to wait me out at the coffee place until I came home.”
“But we’re not in your neighborhood very often,” my mother replied. “And today, we were, just by chance.”
Her last words came out so stilted, I knew immediately they were untrue.
“Rosalyn,” I stated flatly.
My father met my eyes as my parents sat down on the couch. “Yes, Rosalyn. She came storming into the office after lunch, very animated about how you refused to help with Wicklein.”
My mother pursed her lips as she added, “I believe her exact words were, ‘Your son is being a real dick.’”
I tried not to, but I couldn’t hold back a small chuckle. It was difficult to imagine Rosalyn speaking like that to my parents. She must have been extremely upset to be anything less than deferential.
“You’ve been acting off for a while.” My father remained stone-faced. “And now it seems it’s affected Rosalyn. What the heck has gotten into you lately, son?”
I took a deep breath. “Look, it’s exactly like I told you at Thanksgiving. And earlier in the year when I sold Yardhouse. And two years ago when I left Wallingford. And four years ago when I ended my engagement. I keep telling you, and you keepnot hearing me. I’m going to make the choices I think are best for me. Not always the ones you want me to make.”
“And one of your choices is to treat Rosalyn in such a way she comes unglued?” Mother asked.
I folded my arms, sitting down on the coffee table across from my parents. “Hurting Roz is not what I set out to do. She’s upset because I said things she didn’t want to hear. I told her I won’t help with her accounts anymore. I needed to set firmer boundaries. She keeps acting like she’s entitled to my time, like I owe her something. But I don’t. I’m sorry our relationship ended sourly. I’ll always be sorry for that. But she needs to let it go.”
“Son, why can’t you just help her on this one account? It’s not like you to be so ungenerous.”
“I disagree. It’s not just about Wicklein’s account, Father. Don’t you see? It’s confusing. I need to draw these lines. What we were doing before wasn’t working.”
My mother leaned back heavily against the cushions. “It seemed like it was working.”
“Giving Roz my time and attention—I think subconsciously, it was my way of making it up to her for breaking off the engagement. But it hasn’t done either of us any favors. It’s just gotten us to where she feels free to call me or text me and hurl insults, like that’s acceptable. Or this morning, when she showed up at my door without asking, and then got mad when I wouldn’t do what she wanted. I don’t even know how she got this address.”
My mother’s cheeks flushed, and I threw up my hands. “You gave it to her!?”
She ran her hands along her pantsuit. “It didn’t seem like a big deal. I mean, she’s your…your—”
“Nothing, Mother! She’s my nothing. I’ve told you so many times. She’s my ex-fiancée who also works for my parents. That’s it.”
My father held up his hands. “Okay, son. You need to relax. I won’t deny we’d hoped you and Roz would find your way back to one another, but I see now that’s not going to happen.”
“Of course it’s not going to happen! It’s been years. This is exactly what I mean. You guys need to start listening!” My parents frowned at my raised voice. But before they could complain, I asked, “Is that what all this subterfuge was about? Did you really come here just to get me to change my mind about helping Rosalyn?”
My father sucked in a breath. “No. We told her we think it’s a good idea for her to figure it out on her own. She’s one of the smartest young women I’ve ever met. If Wicklein can’t pull his head out of his ass long enough to see that, then he can take his business elsewhere. It’ll sting, but I can’t have him undercutting the woman who is the future of the company.”
I nodded despite my upset. At the end of the day, my parents had their priorities straight. And I appreciated Rosalyn would always have a place at Wallingford.
“So, if you weren’t trying to change my mind, why all the rush to come here? Waiting me out at the coffee shop?”
My mother folded her hands carefully in her lap. “Rosalyn made it sound like you might be in trouble. She said you were still in your pajamas close to noon.”
