Family Pieces (9 page)

“I’m sorry, K.” He separated her hands and stood up, walking toward the kitchen counter to grab his keys.

“PLEEASE!” She gave him her best puppy-dog look. The look that once made him bend over backwards for her.

“It’s work. You’ll understand someday.” He kissed her forehead as he finished tucking in his shirt. His voice patronized her as if a college student couldn’t possibly understand the pressures of an actual real job.

“We barely talked while I was gone. I miss you. Are you sure you can’t stay? I do have an alarm clock, you know?”

“I’m sorry, Karsen. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He turned and shut the door behind him. Karsen’s heart sank as she blankly processed what had just occurred. The dimly lit room around her was dead silent and she suddenly felt an overwhelming awareness that she was completely alone. She lifted her body heavily out of bed and secured the deadbolt on the front door. The floor creaked as she crept back into bed. She lifted the covers over her head and curled up into a tight ball. As she fought back tears, she tried to put her lonely thoughts out of her mind.

Monday morning started early. At five o’clock, Addison’s alarm blared. She felt in the dark for the snooze button. Her eyes squinted into small slits trying to see the numbers.
Five more minutes
, she moaned as she dropped her head heavily back onto her satin-cased down pillow. Even her, a self-proclaimed type A-driven career woman had a hard time getting up in the morning.

Beep. Beep. Beep
. The annoying sound blared again. This time, Addison took a deep cleansing breath. She pushed herself up in a single sweeping motion, stretched her arms overhead then dropped them toward the clock, turning it off.

Her mother’s surgery was the first of the day. Addison promised her dad she would come by beforehand, even though she had managed to squeeze in a visit the night before. She figured it was also an excuse to get to the office early, not that she ever needed one. She typically arrived before everyone else, setting the precedent that long hours drove success.

Addison arrived at the hospital and quietly entered her mother’s suite. Her mother’s eyes were closed as she rested. The room had a sterile, smell of bleach and, although better than your typical hospital room, still seemed bleak. Believing in the power of the self-healing mind, Addison often wondered how anyone recovered in such a depressing environment.

She placed one hand over her mother’s and the other gently on her forehead. “Mom,” she said in a soft voice, “You awake?” Her mom’s eyes struggled to open. For the first time Addison could recall, she looked vulnerable.

“Hi, honey. Glad you came by. Doctor says I’ll be out of here in two to three days.”

“You’ll be fine, Mom. This cancer doesn’t know whom it’s up against.”

“I’m not worried about the surgery as much as I am the chemo afterwards.” She closed her eyes again.

“Just rest. One day at a time, Mom. Let’s get through today. Tomorrow we’ll deal with later.” She kissed her forehead where her hand had just been.

“How’s she holding up?” A deep male voice startled Addison.

“Hi, Daddy,” Addison said, turning toward the door as her father came in.

“I’m doing fine, dear,” her mother mumbled.

Bryce Reynolds looked over-dressed for the hospital in black dress pants and a stiffly pressed collared-golf shirt. His hair had turned gray years ago, but he still looked younger than his age.

“Good morning, Addy. I brought you some coffee. Thought it would jump-start your day.” He handed Addison a Styrofoam cup with a plastic lid from the hospital’s cafeteria. Undoubtedly not her first choice, but she couldn’t turn down the caffeine. “How’s that company of mine holding up, anyway?”

“You mean my company, right?” Addison smiled, giving her father a wink. She knew the one thing he was most proud of her for was taking over the magazine. One would think he handed her the throne of England. Or maybe that was just her perception. He’d spent all his time and energy building the company for so many years, leaving only remnants of time for her. She sometimes wondered if he would be as proud of her if she’d chosen a different career path.

Addison waited with her dad until a nurse rolled her mother into the hallway to ready her for pre-op. “I love you, Mom. You’re going to be fine.” Addison reassured her as she kissed her on the cheek goodbye.

“I’ll call you when she’s out,” her dad promised as he stood alongside the gurney, holding her mother’s hand.

“Thanks,” she said. She knew her stomach would be in her throat until he did.

Upon her arrival at the office, Addison busied herself to keep her mind occupied. She started by tackling the flashing red light notifying her there were messages. Most of the messages were the usual business associates; Emily had called three more times.

Addison learned early to only touch each message once. Effective, productive individuals always act. You return the call, delegate to a subordinate, or toss it into the circular file. She’d been tossing Emily’s messages for days. Avoidance was another technique she had perfected as a way to handle her personal affairs. Addison wondered at what point she’d lose Emily. There certainly would be a limit to how much abuse she would take. They’d been friends for nineteen years and she’d never told her she was adopted. How she slipped now escaped her.

Addison clicked the speakerphone button and reviewed the voice mails one by one:

Hhmmm…Russell might be fun for a while.
Addison caught herself and stopped one button press shy of losing his number. Russell was the CEO of one of New York City’s largest real estate development companies. A self-made multimillionaire, Addison had always been impressed by his generosity at her mother’s charitable functions and he seemed to keep his relationships out of the public eye. Success aside, he was handsome, sexy even. Although they had met briefly a few scattered times in the past, it wasn’t until their most recent meeting at her mother’s latest charity ball that she felt he was attending to her a bit more blatantly. They’d talked most of the evening. She knew he was one of the most intriguing businessmen she’d ever met and still she couldn’t help but wonder like a schoolgirl how it would feel to have his strong arms wrapped around her. She pended a reminder to call him in two days. Whether she called him or not, a successful career woman can’t look too desperate.

“Good morning, Marjorie,” Addison called out, seeing her arrive.

“Good morning. The usual today?” Marjorie poked her head through Addison’s doorway.

“No, thank you, I’ve already sent Jacob.” Jacob had been arriving early and staying late, working hours that challenged even Addison’s.

“Just thought you might need a double shot today,” Marjorie joked knowing that sending Jacob had been the norm the last couple days.

Marjorie returned to her desk and Addison returned to her e-mail. They both anxiously awaited her father’s call.

“How’d the surgery go?” Marjorie beeped in to Addison as soon as she hung up with her Dad.

“Well. He said the doctors are still determining what treatment plan will follow, but it looks like they were able to get everything before it spread.”

“Good news.”

“Great news!” Addison said for both confirmation and her own reassurance. Relieved, Marjorie grinned and returned to her desk.

A few minutes later, Marjorie’s head poked through the solid oak door again. “Addison? It’s Emily.”

“Yes. I got her message. I’ll call her today. I promise.”

“No, she’s here. What should I tell her now? That you’re off riding elephants in Asia?”

“What the hell?” Addison’s hands clenched and her eyes widened. “Tell her I’m not here,” she hissed, visibly flustered.

“Um…she can see we’re talking. How about you’re teleporting to the Enterprise as we speak? Or perhaps base jumping from the window?”

“Shit! Shit! Shit!”

“Addison, she’s your friend. What’s the problem? You can’t avoid everyone every time you have an issue. Seriously – grow up!” she said in a forced, hushed voice.

“Fine,” Addison said out of pure frustration. She should have known Emily would show up sooner or later. “She has five minutes. You can let her in.”

Emily’s sandy-blond hair was pulled tidily into a sleek ponytail. The days of butterscotch highlights had been lost to diapers and formula. Her make-up, a simple palate of natural browns, gave her an innocent girl next-door appeal, different from the polished, executive look of her friend. As she entered, her face was expressionless.

“I’ve called at least ten times. What the hell, Addison?”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been incredibly busy. You know, Mom’s surgery, the magazine. I hardly have time to eat let alone socialize.”

“Oh, bullshit! You’ve handled more than that and juggled dating three men simultaneously. You’re avoiding me. Better yet – you’re pushing me away. I won’t have it, Addy. You’re my closest friend, and I won’t let you do this.”