Chapter 8 Aunt Janet? #2
He leaned back in his chair quietly for a second before finally speaking again. “…Aunt Janet, would you maybe come by the house tonight?”
Her tone softened almost immediately. “That sounds serious?”
“Yeah,” Greg admitted quietly. “I think I need some advice.”
Janet was silent for only a moment. “Then I’ll be there. What time?”
“Genevieve usually has supper ready about five-thirty, would that be okay with you?”
“You bet. I’m betting this has to do with everything that’s happened since just after the reception.”
“You could say that. At least I didn’t get shot after this one,” he tried to laugh.
“Sounds like you are hurt just the same, my boy. I’ll see you then.”
Greg lowered the phone slowly after the call ended, staring at the desk for a moment longer than necessary. The office around him gradually returned to motion as Thomas poked his head back through the doorway. “So?” he asked carefully.“What’s the word?”
“I’ve invited her over for tonight,” Greg confirmed.
Thomas nodded once like that answered everything. “Good.”
Greg leaned back in his chair again, exhaling slowly. “I think I’ll finally figure out some answers.”
“That’s usually how Aunt Janet rolls. She shows up with either wisdom or humor to fix all the emotional property damage.”
“Sometimes both,” Greg muttered. Molly stepped back into the office carrying another packet. “Did we get everything over to Mallory?”
“Barely.” Molly smiled. “Janet and Lisa are working on the other request already. I need to get back down to David’s office. Are you good, Greg?”
“I’m steady, for now,” he answered. “This kind of work helps, takes my mind off my problems.”
Lisa grinned faintly. “That means her request for all the numbers then helped you focus your mind some.”
“It does indeed, Lisa. How’s Janet doing out there?”
“She’s good. I’ll lend her a hand with the second set.”
“Thanks Lisa, you’ve been a big help. I’ll thank Fred for loaning your talents for this.”
“Thanks, Greg. We’ll take care of the rest of these numbers. Why don’t you and Thomas take lunch?” Lisa suggested.
“You know what, that sounds like a good idea. Do you ladies want us to bring you something back?”
“Burgers with fries and Pepsi, please,” Lisa remarked. “For both of us.”
“We can do that,” Greg said as he got up from his desk. “Come on Thomas, we’ve been given our marching orders.”
“Right with you bossman,” Thomas said as they exited his office. “So, tell me more about your call with Aunt Janet.” He patted his shoulder as they walked along the hallway toward the elevator. “She threatened you less than usual, so I’m assuming she’s got a plan?”
“That’s why I invited her over. She’s known me since I was born, so, who else can help me sort through this mess?” he asked with a feigned shrug.
In the cafeteria they’d grabbed their meals.
At the table Thomas was regaling Greg with the memory of meeting Mallory on the intern recruiting trip.
“She could give a scolding look that said she knew you were up to something but she couldn’t prove it; basically affection from Mallory Jensen,” Thomas finished.
Greg finally let out a real laugh at that, brief though it was.
“She really liked Kelly though, he stuck out and she started just fawning all over his abilities.” Thomas smiled.
Then the quiet settled again and Greg’s expression drifted back inward. Carry. Veronica. The ring still sitting hidden in his desk drawer at home. The feeling of losing control over everything he thought he understood. Greg dropped his head into both hands, and muttered one word. “Carry.”
Thomas watched him carefully for a second before speaking quieter this time. “You really love her, don’t you?”
Greg didn’t answer immediately. His eyes stayed fixed somewhere past the far wall. “…That’s the problem,” he admitted softly. “I don’t think it’s just one person anymore.” That killed the mood at the table.
Thomas slowly leaned back. “Okay,” he muttered. “Yeah. That’s definitely Aunt Janet territory.”
Greg rubbed his forehead tiredly. “I kept thinking if I just gave it enough time everything would sort itself out naturally. Veronica, Carry… even Erica before that. I thought eventually the answer would just become obvious.”
“But instead everybody kept waiting for you to make a decision that it seemed was eluding you,” Thomas suggested.
“Everybody?” Greg moaned.
“Well, am I not right?” Thomas asked. “You thought you were clear, but I think that you were caught in a catch twenty-two, and you froze. It wasn’t what you were expecting.”
Greg actually smirked faintly despite himself. “Unfortunately… you are. Now the problem is that I don’t know how to fix it.”
Thomas stood, gathering the plates together.
“Well, for now, let’s survive Mallory and finish the supplement packet before she sends more emails after us.
” They made their way back to the office with the meals for Janet and Lisa, then went into Greg’s office.
“Why don’t we check on the Kurile Islands reports? ”
“Good plan.” Greg reached for the reports again, but his mind had already shifted toward the evening ahead.
Toward Aunt Janet. Because if there was anyone left who could somehow untangle this mess without making it worse, it was probably her.
And deep down, he suspected she already knew far more than he did.
Genevieve and Tilly greeted Greg warmly with hugs when he walked in from the garage into the back kitchen entrance. “We’ll have a special meal for Aunt Janet ready in about twenty minutes,” Genevieve announced.
“That’s good, girls. I know that Aunt Janet loves those little steak bites that you do up. And I’m glad to see you are doing the miniature potatoes roasted with baby carrots.” Greg smiled then softly kissed Genevieve, then Tilly on the forehead. “I wish Jill were here tonight.”
“She’s got a babysitting gig tonight, and so does Pam,” Tilly replied. “But at least they are making good money.”
“Can I ask you something, Mr. G?” Genevieve said softly, the look in her eyes showing sadness. “Did we do something that made Miss Carry leave?”
Breathing in deeply, he answered “No,” very somberly. “That is on me.”
“You loved her a lot,” Tilly observed. “We miss her being around.”
“So do I. That’s why I’ve invited Aunt Janet. I’m hoping she can help me find a way to fix what I have broken.”
“You?” Genevieve asked with a stunned look. “How did you break something?”
“It’s a bit complicated, but let’s just say that I froze at the very moment I needed to act. Now, I have to figure out how to move forward.” He pulled both of them back into himself in a group hug. “I love you girls as if you were my own daughters.”
Both girls started sniffing, trying not to cry. “We love you like you are our second dad,” they got out between soft sobs. “Try to fix this, please,” Genevieve pleaded.
“I’ll do my best.”
“I don’t want to see you start drinking again like you did when Miss Erica left you last year,” Genevieve said gently.
“Thanks for the reminder,” Greg soberly said.
“This pain isn’t the same as that one. I think this one I can deal with if I can just figure out how to move forward.
” He hugged them both again. “Please finish what you were doing before I interrupted. I’m going to relax for a moment in the living room after I’ve changed. ”
“We’ll have dinner ready, and,” Tilly added slowly, “we’ll head home after.”
Greg was relaxed, sipping on a glass of iced tea while sitting on his couch watching the news when he heard the car pull up in front of the house.
Genevieve and Tilly were still finishing the meal in the kitchen so he sat his glass down on the coffee table.
He shifted forward then pushed up off the couch to a standing position just as there was a knock on the door.
Greg moved over to the door deliberately; neither fast nor slow, but steady.
He opened the door to see Aunt Janet standing there with a soft smile.
He smiled back and opened up his arms to greet her with a big hug, which she willingly walked into.
They hugged tightly for about thirty seconds, Greg lifting and spinning her inside, before he released her within the house.
He shut the door and motioned for her to join him in the living room.
“So glad you could make it on such short notice,” he said slowly. “I’ve missed you since Thanksgiving. Won’t you make yourself comfortable?”
Janet moved over to take a seat in the Lounge Chair on the near end of the coffee table, setting her purse on the floor to the left of the chair. “So, you have some issues of the heart to deal with, my boy?” she asked in such a soft voice that Greg was completely disarmed.
“Yeah, I do. I know you were very happy seeing me with Veronica at Thanksgiving and for the Christmas Cruise, but,” he began slowly and somberly.
“I have to admit that I was growing very close to Carry during all the time we spent together here, especially during my convalescence after the drive by shooting.”
“I see. And that puts you in a bit of a pickle, doesn’t it?
” Janet asked. Greg just quietly nodded his head yes.
“Don’t get so sad, my boy. I know that Erica tore your heart to shreds.
It seems that two women were picking up the pieces and mending it.
Now, the question is, what does your heart tell you? ”
“That’s where it gets tricky for me. Thomas reminded me that both of these women are Kryptonite to me. I’m putty in their hands.”
“You’ve never had to deal with this kind of problem before, Greg.
No girl was going to approach Erica Stamson’s man.
I saw that at Christian Academy Prep. You were Erica’s man, through and through.
There was nothing you wouldn’t do for that young woman.
Regrettably, she did not love you back with the same depth of commitment that you had to her. ”
“She truly broke my heart, Aunt Janet.”