Valerie sat in the campchair and watched the tip of her fishing pole. Brad caught a bass earlier and it swam around in the bucket waiting for a partner. “I never catch anything,” she mused. “I remember once I kept moving around because all you boys were catching fish right and left and I couldn’t even get a nibble.”
Brad didn’t have anything in the water. She had a feeling he did that so she could catch something. “You caught that stingray in Florida that time.”
“Yeah, fishing for flounder.”
Brad grinned. “Still. I never caught a stingray in my life.”
Valerie shifted the baseball cap on her head and grinned at him. “You might as well hold the pole so we can catch dinner before the sun goes down.”
He smiled a gentle, lazy smile that made her stomach do funny things. “I’m in no hurry.” He kicked his feet out in front of him and crossed his legs at his ankles. “How was work today?”
“Nonstop. I grabbed a sandwich from the deli and ate it in the elevator going from one meeting to another.” She retrieved the bottle of water from the cup holder in the arm of the camp chair. Condensation made the label fall off. She ran her finger over the remnants of glue. “I’m doing design work at home because the days are full of meetings.”
“Was it like that for you in Savannah?”
She thought back to her little shared office and the influx of work. “In cycles. I’m assuming this is similar with greater volume and more staff.”
“Sure. Lots of jobs are beginning. That’s a busy time for you guys in design and engineering. The project managers are winding down jobs, coming home, getting ready to get back out there. Everyone’s time seems to be busy at different cycles.”
He rubbed his eyes with his fingers, and she realized how tired he looked. “Except for you,” she observed. “You are in the thick of all the cycles.”
“Except me.” He sighed. “Poor little me who worked until nearly midnight the Sunday before Memorial Day so I could enjoy the picnic.” He raised his water bottle in a toast toward her. “All because I drew the short straw.”
“Wait, what?” Fishing pole forgotten, she leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees. “Did you guys actually still draw straws like when you were kids? You drew straws for your current positions?”
He laughed. “Did you not know that?”
“No, I just assumed you were picked because you were more gifted in leadership than your brothers. You’ve always been more organized, neater.”
He shook his head. “Dad wanted it to be placed in God’s hands, not his. He didn’t feel like he could make a fair decision. So, we drew straws. Later, he told me he knew it would be me. But, who knows, he might have said that to any of us.”
She studied his face, the seriousness in his gray eyes, the order he’d created around him even in a fishing spot on the river. “No, I think he knew it would be you. It did not surprise me when you were named president. I think anyone who knows you, who knows all three of you, expected it to be you.”
“Everyone but me.” He stood and walked over to the cooler, digging in it until he pulled out an apple. “I couldn’t believe it was me. It’s only been recently that I’ve relaxed and accepted it.” He settled back in his chair and took a bite of the apple, crunching into the crisp flesh. “You know, when dad and Mr. Mason first started Mason-Dixon contracting, they only wanted to build affordable houses.”
Valerie snorted. “You and I both know there’s builders making a killing from south of the All American to north of Lawrenceburg building little mini-mansions on the cheap and selling them for millions. That’s anything but affordable.”
Brad nodded. “That supply will keep coming down the pike as long as there is a demand, too. No end in sight.”
“Very different from the vision Mason-Dixon had, I imagine.”
Brad pursed his lips. “Mason-Dixon grew too fast. The demand outpaced their vision. Eventually, they split and both created huge names for themselves. They built so much of this city. Dad never planned on having thousands of employees over several states. He just wanted to build affordable houses. But he embraced it and he did it well. If I sit and think about it, I get overwhelmed with the responsibility. I don’t want to ruin his legacy.”
She stayed silent for several minutes before she said, “I seriously doubt you’ll do anything to ruin his legacy. But, as he officially retires and you fully take the reins without his presence, if you make changes or do things differently in various areas, that’s completely acceptable. Because you’re taking his legacy and turning it into your own.”
“Assuming I have children to whom I can pass it down.”
She picked up her pole and slowly reeled in the bait. “You don’t want children?”
“Of course, I do. Lots and lots of them.” He took another bite of apple. “But first comes love, then comes marriage.”
Valerie laughed. “Then comes baby in the baby carriage.”
“Bingo.” He finished the apple and tossed the core into the water. “Lots of folks get that out of order these days. I found it works much better when you do things in order. I’ll leave the timing for all of that to God, like always.”
They sat in silence for several minutes. Valerie couldn’t help but think about the things she’d done out of order in her life. She tried to push the thoughts away and not let any darkness into the sunny day. Finally, Brad asked, “Are you happy you came home?”
Standing as she checked her bait, she looked down at him. “I could have gone anywhere. Your dad would have put me in any Dixon Contracting office or written me a referral. This was where I wanted to come.”
