Chapter 9 #2
Who could have guessed that the Fisher patriarch who’d run such a tight ship, who’d been a harsh taskmaster both at home and on the job, would let things get so out of hand behind the scenes at the mill? To the point that it was teetering on the brink of disaster.
In hindsight, it was clear that Mom’s health issues had been more of a distraction than Dad had ever let on, resulting in disengagement at work—and a balance sheet on life support left behind for the next in command.
Namely, his son.
Martin raked his fingers through his graying hair.
What a mess he’d inherited when Dad and Mom moved to Arizona because of her COPD. It had taken every ounce of his time and energy to right the listing ship, to get the company out of the red, make it profitable again. And what a long, slow, and lonely slog it had been.
He wandered back to his desk. Dropped into his chair. Rested his elbows on the polished wood surface and rubbed his temples.
Maybe, in hindsight, he should have shared some of his struggles with Diane.
But admitting doubts and concerns suggested weakness, and that had never been acceptable in the home of his youth. You sucked it up and toed the line and took care of your family. You also presented yourself to the world from a position of strength. Always.
Yet it appeared that course of action had backfired.
Yes, he’d sheltered Diane and Lucas from his worries. Provided them with every material possession they could want. Cut Lucas far more slack than his hard-nosed father had cut him. Created a successful and in-control image at the mill and in town.
And what did he have to show for all his efforts?
A flourishing company—but a faltering marriage and a son who wanted nothing to do with him.
He exhaled.
The big house, the fancy clothes, the lavish trips he’d provided for his family may have demonstrated his success to the world, proven he had the chops to run the family business—yet according to Diane, that business had replaced her and Lucas in his heart.
But she was wrong. He loved them both.
Nevertheless, work had continued to dominate his life long after the company was back on solid ground.
Funny how success could create a hunger for more of the same. A desire to make your mark by soaring to new heights. To prove to his father that he was not only worthy of the job but better at it than his predecessors.
That mission, he’d accomplished. He’d saved the company for the next generation. Preserved the family legacy for his son.
Except his son didn’t want it.
So where did that leave him?
He stared at his reflection in the glass across the room again, the answer eluding him.
But one thing he knew.
If he wanted to save his marriage, he had major work to do.
Diane may have let him have the upper hand on the home front since he’d taken over at the mill, but that wasn’t the woman he’d married.
While the bride he’d promised to love and honor a quarter of a century ago had never been overly assertive thanks to the oppressive father in her life, she’d stood up for the principles she believed in.
It was one of the attributes he’d loved about her. Respected her for.
Until she’d given up confronting him to preserve peace in their household.
But the woman he’d married appeared to be back now.
And unless his gut was wrong, she wasn’t going to change her mind and come home to the status quo.
Slowly he rose. Walked over to the door. Flipped off the light.
There wasn’t much appeal in going back to the empty showplace house he’d built as a physical representation of his success after he’d put the mill back on the road to profitability.
The house Diane had never wanted. Nor had she cared about the designer clothes and fancy trips and expensive cars.
As she’d often tried to impress on him before she’d written him off as a lost cause, all she wanted was him.
The way he’d been when he’d wooed and won her.
He watched the debarker on the floor below strip the logs of their tough exterior covering, exposing the raw wood beneath.
Would it have made any difference in her attitude if he’d shared the difficulties at the mill with her? Let her know they were on the cusp of going under?
Hard to say.
But for a woman who’d grown up in a household where money was always tight, surely such information would have kept her up at nights, as it had kept him up. His decision to protect her from worry had seemed appropriate during the crisis.
It was harder to justify his increasingly surly attitude, however. Yes, stress had taken a toll. So had the problems with Lucas and his disappointment in his son.
Still, it was hard to pinpoint exactly when the downward trajectory of their marriage had become a runaway train.
All he knew was that Diane’s abrupt departure had rocked his world.
The question now was whether he could save their marriage . . . and the relationship with his son.
Or had both already crashed and burned, leaving him with nothing to salvage?