Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Essie enjoyed the golf course clubhouse in the evenings. She especially liked being there for dinner out with her husband. Their one-year anniversary would be coming up soon, but she hadn’t lost a single bit of enjoyment in going out with him.
He lifted his glass of iced tea to take a sip and caught her watching him. He smiled. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said, smiling back. “Just thinking about how much I like going out with you.”
He laughed a little self-consciously. “I like going out with you, too. I also love your cooking, but you deserve a break from the kitchen.”
“I don’t mind cooking. I like doing it.”
“I know you do.”
“But I also like having someone else do the cleaning up part.” She put a hand up before he could protest. “Not saying you don’t help, because you do. But—”
“You do most of it as you go along. I keep telling you to just leave it and I’ll get to it after we eat.”
“Not the way I work.”
“I know.”
Still smiling, she gazed out the window.
Technically, the clubhouse was part of the Colony’s golf area, but it never felt like a place meant only for golfers.
The restaurant overlooked the eighteenth green, wall-to-wall windows framing the wide stretch of manicured grass where the last players of the day were lining up putts as the sun dipped lower in the sky.
The light at that hour was especially kind, turning everything soft and gold. She and Frank had a table by one of those windows, giving them a postcard view of the area.
Dinner had just arrived. Her filet was perfectly cooked, the center still pink when she cut into it. Frank’s porterhouse took up most of his plate, charred just the way he liked it. The smell alone had been enough to make Essie realize how hungry she actually was.
Frank picked up his knife, about to cut into his steak, when his phone buzzed against the table. With his business growing, and everything going on with Sophie, he had to keep his phone close.
He glanced down, distracted, then paused. He put his knife and fork down.
“Text from Chad,” he said, already reaching for it.
Essie took a sip of her water and watched his expression change for the worse as he read. The relaxed ease of the evening slipped away, replaced by something tenser. She braced herself. “Everything okay?”
Frank didn’t answer right away. He finished reading, then set the phone down beside his plate, the screen still lit.
“Our new office in Italy,” he said, shaking his head. “Apparently, they’re still having issues.”
Essie rested her fork against her plate. The expansion into Italy had not been smooth, she knew that, but Frank had assured her none of their international office startups had been. “What sort of issues?”
“Operational,” he said. “Staffing. Regulations. Things not lining up the way they should. There’s a whole list of things. Chad says it’s reached the point where it needs personal attention.”
She glanced out toward the green, where a lone golfer was lining up a final shot, not a care in the world about anything but his swing. “Personal attention sounds like it means you need to be there.”
He nodded. “That’s the implication. It will probably mean Chad, too. If I go, I’m going to take him. It’ll be good for them to meet him, and good for me to show them how much I rely on Chad.”
“It’ll give him more authority.” Essie nodded slowly. Italy wasn’t a short hop. And when Frank went somewhere for the business, it was rarely brief.
“It will,” Frank confirmed. “And someday, when I really do retire, there won’t be any questions about whether or not he’s qualified.”
They sat quietly, the easy rhythm of the restaurant continuing around them, low conversations, the soft clink of glasses, the gentle piano music filling in the background.
He picked up his fork again. “You can always go with me.”
“But then there’d be no one here in case Sophie needs something.”
Frank sighed. “You shouldn’t be responsible for her. You don’t need to be. She’s a grown woman. Even though she doesn’t act like it.”
“It’s okay,” Essie said. She meant it, too. She’d known well before the wedding what she was up against with Sophie. “I don’t mind.”
“You’re a good woman, Estella.”
She gave him a wink. “That’s why you married me.”
“Truer words have never been spoken.”
“Well,” Essie said finally, cutting into her steak again. “At least you didn’t wait until dessert to tell me.”
Frank smiled faintly. “I would have rather.”
She reached across the table for his hand. “We’ve handled bigger things than this.”
He laced his fingers with hers. “Still doesn’t mean I love the timing.”
“Not much you can do about that,” she said. “It’ll be all right. Things always work out.” They hadn’t quite yet with Sophie, but Essie had faith they would.
“Thank you.” He glanced back toward the green, now empty, the flags stirring slightly in the evening breeze. “I’ll make the arrangements when we get home. Flights, hotel, the usual mess.”
“Can’t you have Caroline do that?” His executive assistant was very capable.
“I don’t want to bother her this weekend. She’s at her granddaughter’s birthday celebration. Sixteen.”
“Big day,” Essie agreed. “So when do you think you’d leave?” she asked, already bracing herself a little.
Frank didn’t hesitate. “Monday morning.”
Essie took a breath. “That soon.”
“It’s only going to get worse until we get there,” he said gently. “And Chad’s text sounded frustrated. That’s not something I like hearing from him.”
“No, definitely not.” She took a sip of her water.
It was Saturday night. She’d have tomorrow with him, then he’d be gone for who knew how long.
She’d learned in the time she’d known him that this was how Frank worked.
When something needed doing, he got it done.
He was a man of action. It was one of the many things she loved about him.
“All right,” she said. “I can help you get packed after church tomorrow, then.”
Frank smiled at her, relieved. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
She returned the smile, even as her mind started quietly planning out what he’d need. It was a good thing she’d just had his tan suit dry-cleaned. “Just promise me you won’t try to handle everything at once when you get there.”
He laughed softly. “I’m not sure I can promise that.”
“I just don’t want you to rush through anything because you think you need to get back to me.
You do, of course, but I also understand that the business needs your attention.
I have the Queen Bees now. I’ll be fine if I need something.
Maybe I’ll even go visit Liliana.” It had been a while since she’d been to see her daughter, son-in-law, and the kids.
“That sounds like a great plan. Or you could have them here to visit, if you want. You know how they love the beach.”
“That’s true. I’ll talk to her and see.” She could give Liliana and Mat the master bedroom, the kids could sleep in the twin beds in the loft, and she could take the smaller bed in the guest room. She wouldn’t mind that.
They finished dinner. Outside, the clubhouse lights flicked on one by one, illuminating the perfectly trimmed landscaping and palms.
She’d miss Frank. That was a given. But she’d known when she’d married him that his business required his time. And if it was important to him, it was important to her.
His eyes narrowed suddenly as if an idea had come to him. “Essie, if it turns out we have to be there longer than we think, maybe you should come out and join us then. Especially if things with Sophie haven’t changed. What do you think? You’d be okay to fly alone, right?”
“Sure, but how long do you think you’ll have to be there?”
“I’ll have no idea until we get there.” He reached across to take her hand. “Just thinking it would be nice to have you over there for a little bit. We could even do an early celebration of our anniversary there. That might nice, huh? Just give it some thought, okay?”
She nodded. “I will. And no, I don’t mind flying alone. But maybe you won’t have to be there that long.”
“Maybe not,” he said. “But if it’s as bad as I think it is, it could be two or three weeks, minimum. I don’t want to take Chad away from his family for that long, but we won’t know until we get out there.”
Essie smiled. “Tasha will have something to say about that. Of course…” She tapped a finger to her lips as she thought.
“What?”
“Maybe if I end up going out there, Tasha and the kids could come with me. Make it a family trip. I’m sure Tasha wouldn’t mind some time in Italy. Especially if I’m there to help her with the kids.” Chad’s children were young and while Tasha was a very capable mother, young children were a handful.
Especially to travel with.
Frank nodded, a smile brightening his face. “That is a fantastic idea. I’ll talk to Chad about it on the flight.” He leaned forward. “In fact, it’s such a good idea, it deserves dessert. Did you see that chocolate mousse cake that went by?”
She laughed. “I did and I was already thinking it was something you’d probably need a taste of.”
Being away from Frank wouldn’t be fun, but meeting up with him in Italy? Especially with Chad, Tasha, and the grandkids? That would be something special.
Something that might cause Sophie to spiral again, but they’d just have to cross that bridge when they came to it. The world couldn’t be put on hold because of her.
A hard lesson, maybe, but one she really needed to learn.