I feel sick. I could throw up.
I look around this home that I live in, at these people I’ve taken pains to get to know and move among – all of it feels like a trap, like there’s nowhere to turn.
The magazine is not coming together.
Lindy and I are constantly at odds. He doesn’t understand what goes into creating and building a business. Every day, you have to think about how to manage costs, how you’re going to make money, staffing, production and operations- all the things that no one sees.
For him, it seems, this endeavor seems to be a bit of a lark, almost a joke. I don’t think he cares if we’re taken seriously or not.
What I know is that I take it seriously – and I don’t like it when other people don’t. Ask Gordon.
I haven’t thought about him in some time. There was no air between us and our philosophies – we were in total sync with one another always. Until … Tracy.
Now I can’t get rid of her damned lawyer – he is nothing if not persistent.
There was a time when the three of us were very close and everything between us was positive. Money was never a concern, with the success of their company, money came easy. Thinking about those good times, now being overshadowed by today’s negatives, is affecting my psyche. Tracy and her lawyer are not giving up, they believe strongly that she’s owed money, and they continue to persist.
And then there’s this Silas person, another one on my back. I don’t know what he wants, but he keeps calling. Apparently he is exploring everything that occurred in Middle Valley before I got here – and I did just get here – so he cam understand how its changed.
It hasn’t changed fast enough for me, Lord knows.
My phone is ringing. It’s Silas.I don’t answer. I don’t need that just now.
Elyse. What a pleasant human. What an easy mark.
I dial her. but she doesn’t answer. I don’t leave a message.
No, this is something I should do in person.
The drive to the Hughes’ house is short, but gratifying. The air is still warm despite the calendar.
Of course, Buck goes with me. He’s always there. Pets are like that, a constant I can always count on. He jumps into the car, ready and anxious to go.
“Good boy, Buck, thanks for being there with me. We’re a team.“
I pull into the driveway. I ring the doorbell. She answers.
We stare into each other’s eyes.
“I need to see you. We need to talk.”
She beckons me to come in.
Jenny Page