Chapter 9 : Home is Where the Stress is

Ethan's POV

I arrived in New York late in the evening. I was too exhausted to call Mia but I set a reminder on my phone to call her first thing in the morning. Hector dropped me off at my building around eleven-thirty at night. I rode the elevator up to my apartment and climbed right into bed. Thoughts of Lily and Mia meeting filled my head as I drifted off to sleep.

I awoke early the next morning with a slight headache. I dragged my feet to the bathroom to look for aspirin. I swallowed two pills and proceeded to get ready for the day. Ryan and I had talked about getting together today to discuss other prospects in Greenbrooke.

I had just put on a clean shirt when I heard a knock at my door. I slipped on my house shoes and made my way to the door. Ryan was holding two cups of coffee when I opened it. He handed one to me and I thanked him as he came inside.

“How was your flight?” Ryan asked, taking a seat on my couch.

I sighed. “Awful.” taking a sip from my coffee. “There was turbulence the whole way.”

“Damn. Maybe you should buy a new private jet.”

“Shut up.” I shook my head as he howled.

“I’m starved.” Ryan said after laughing for what seemed like an eternity. “Let’s get something to eat.”

My stomach was growling, but I knew better. “We will, just let me check the email of the lawyers first.”

Ryan looked at me with worry. “Are you still going to do the major move and remove the board? That is risky man.”

“I need to know you are on board with this Ryan. I don’t want to start something and leave it half-way. That is now who I am.” I was hoping my threat was serious.

“Go ahead, you know I got your back. We didn’t get this far in the business if we didn’t follow your gut instinct.”

He knew exactly what to say. I smiled and checked the emails and true as they were, the documents were ready for me to digitally sign. A note from one of my lawyers explained the process. As soon as I signed the documents, a large chunk of my money was going to be spent buying the remaining shares and I would be able to go private completely. The firing and dismissal of the board would be next, all well compensated.

“Done, now we can go eat.”

Ryan whistled as we headed to the door. “Dude, what did they do to piss you off?”

“They questioned me and my motives,” I responded. It was the truth.

“I do that all the time!” His laugh was sincere.

“You earned yourself the right to do this, and you are one of the few people in this planet who I listen to.”

He grinned.

Hector took us downtown to a cafe with good online reviews. Ryan requested a table outside and we were seated on the patio a few minutes later. Ryan ordered an omelet and I had the waffles. We talked about work while we waited for our food to come.

“So I think there’s another place in Greenbrooke that will work for our plan.” I placed my napkin on my lap.

“Oh, yeah?” Ryan said with an eager tone. “Where?”

“There’s a plot of land at the edge of town with four abandoned warehouses.” I leaned forward. “We could totally repurpose them into a shopping outlet.”

“I thought the edge of town was underpopulated.” Ryan looked at me with skepticism. “I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to put a shopping outlet where no one travels.”

“Putting the outlet there would bring more people to that part of Greenbrooke.” I argued. “We could bring new life to the town.”

Ryan shook his head but said nothing. I could tell he was hesitating to speak his mind and I wondered what he was so worried about.

“What?” I said, somewhat annoyed.

“Nothing.” Ryan shook his head.

I gave Ryan a look that said I don’t believe you and he sighed.

“I just don’t get it.” Ryan finally admitted. “You’re usually a bloodthirsty shark when it comes to work. Why won’t you buy the library? It’s clearly the best choice. Is this really because of a girl?”

“No.” I said, defensively. “This is because I believe there’s a better option in Greenbrooke for our plan.”

“But there’s not.” Ryan said, plainly. “It just feels like your judgment is being clouded.”

“Listen.” I said, suddenly wishing I could tell him everything. “I know it seems weird, but I’m telling you that the library is not the place. I just need you to trust me on this.”

“Okay.” Ryan nodded reluctantly. “I trust you.”

“Thank you.” I said, just as our waitress approached with our food.

We both ate in silence for a while. I couldn’t tell if Ryan was angry with me or just simply trying to respect my wishes. Either way, things felt awkward between us.

“So this librarian.” Ryan finally started as he bit into a piece of toast. “You like her?”

“Well, it’s still new.” I replied with a smile. “But I think so.”

“You haven’t dated in years.” Ryan said, suspiciously. “Why now? Why her?”

“I don’t know.” I was trying to make it sound believable. “I’m just not interested in the kind of girls I dated in the past.”

“Why’s that?” Ryan asked.

“They’re superficial.” I made a sour face. “Mia’s down to earth. She’s a real person. I like that about her.”

“Well, just be careful.” Ryan warned me. “You hardly know her. She could very well just be after your money.”

“Mia’s not like that.” I said, coming to her defense. “She’s a good person. I can tell.”

“So you’re done with the high class women?” Ryan teased.

“They’re hardly high class.” I scoffed. “They’re just rich daddy’s girls with nothing better to do but drink and party.”

“I suppose you have a point.” Ryan nodded.

“Besides, I’m tired of women with no personality pretending to like me for my money. Mia’s the first unique person to catch my eye. She’s genuine and kind. It’s refreshing.”

“Well if that’s how you feel, then you should go for it.” Ryan said, and it finally felt like things were returning to normal.

“Really?” I said, a little shocked.

“If she’s really the kind of woman that you say she is, then I fully support it.” Ryan smiled genuinely.

“Thanks.” I was touched.

“Just don’t screw it up.” Ryan laughed. “Women like her are hard to come by. Don’t be an ass.”

“That’s the part I’m nervous about.” I sighed. “But I suppose it’s also what I’m the most excited for. I haven’t felt this way in a long time.”

“I’m happy for you.” Ryan smiled. “Love looks good on you.”

“I’d hardly call it love just yet.” I chuckled. “But I like where it’s headed.”

Ryan and I finished our breakfast and departed afterwards. Hector took me back home in silence, watching the people around as we moved along. An old man read the newspaper in a corner. His eyes never left the paper, not even when people had to squeeze past him to get by. A pregnant woman stood in the center of a train, holding onto a pole for balance.

We passed by a liquor store and I decided to get some more aspirin before getting back home. I called Mia while I browsed the aisles.

“Hello?” I heard a sweet woman’s voice say.

“Yes, hello.” I said, realizing it wasn’t Mia.

Mia and I talked about purposefully calling her on her home phone to establish that she was talking to someone. I just wasn’t expecting the first call to her house to be someone else.

“Is Mia home?” I asked, wondering who I was speaking with.

“She sure is! May I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Ethan.” I said. “Ethan Black. I’m a friend of hers.”

“Well, hello there Ethan!” She exclaimed. “I’m Mia’s mother, Hannah.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” I smiled, pleasantly surprised. She indeed sounded like a very nice lady, just like Mia described her to be.

“Hang on one sec.” She started shuffling around. “I’ll go get Mia.”

I thanked her and waited patiently while I shopped around the liquor store.

“Hey.” I heard Mia after a few moments of silence.

“Hi.” I felt my heart skip a beat. Interesting.

I was surprised at how excited I was to hear her voice. It wasn’t like she was actually my girlfriend. I supposed I liked the thrill of pretending with her.

“Did you make it home okay?” She began to ask, and I smiled knowing she already slid well into the girlfriend role.

“I did.” I answered. “I woke up with a migraine, but that happens some times when I fly.”

“That’s probably from the air pressure.” Mia replied. “You might want to chew some gum when you’re changing altitudes.”

“That’s a good idea.” It surprised me that I’d never thought of it before. “Where’d you learn that?”

“I don’t know.” Mia giggled. “Probably from a book.”

“So, how are you feeling about everything?” I asked, carrying my aspirin and a couple of Gatorades to the register.

“Fine.” Mia sighed. “I’m still nervous about telling my family. But I know I’ll have to rip the bandaid off, eventually.”

“Well, your mom seems lovely if that’s any consolation.”

“I know.” Mia laughed. “She’s probably the nicest woman I know. It’s part of why I’m so anxious about lying to her.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to do this?” I asked as the cashier handed me my receipt.

“I told you, I can handle this.” Mia was firm, and I nodded even though she wasn't watching. “I’m just still wrapping my mind around it, that’s all.”

“Okay.” I said, backing off. “I trust you.” Was that wise of me? To trust someone whom I just met? Something in my guts told me I could, the kind of feeling that got me this far in my world. I had to trust it.

Mia and I talked for a few more minutes before she had to go. She told me she’d be at the library the rest of the day and that I could reach her on her cell if I needed anything. We hung up just as I was approaching my building. Before I could even put my phone away, I got a call from Lily.

“Hey crazy girl.” I made my way to the elevator.

“Hey.” She replied. Her voice sounded weak and I was immediately worried.

“What’s wrong?” I was ready to drop everything.

“Nothing.” She said, coughing. “I’m just a little tired.”

“Have you taken your meds today?” I asked, now in big brother mode.

“No.” She said, through labored breaths. “I had chemo this morning, so I couldn’t.”

“I thought you just had chemo a couple weeks ago.” I was confused.

I knew everything about Lily’s treatment plan. It helped keep me sane to be in the know about everything happening with her health.

“I know.” Lily answered with a sigh. “The doctors are increasing my sessions to every two weeks.”

“What?” I felt completely blindsided. “Why would they do that? Has something changed with your health?”

“I’ll give you one guess.” Lily said sarcastically.

“Mom and dad.”

“They’re getting desperate.” Lily said through coughs. “They’re not ready to let me go.”

“Neither am I.” I suddenly felt weak. “You really shouldn’t talk that way.”

“Everyone’s telling me how I should and shouldn’t behave.” I could hear it in her voice, Lily was getting annoyed. “But I’m the one going through it all.”

“I know.” I tried to understand. “It’s just that we all love you.”

“I know you do.” Lily sounded weird with a scratchy voice. “But no one has even bothered to ask me what I want.”

“Well, what do you want?” I asked, nearly holding my breath as I let myself into my apartment.

“I want to get out.” She said, honestly. “I want to live my life, and spend time with my friends. Mom and dad are always hovering, I can’t do anything.”

“I’m sorry. Do you want me to drive up there? I could pick you up and we could go see a movie.”

I wanted to hear her say yes. I really wanted that excuse to go see her. “It’s fine. I know you have work and the doctor gave me strict orders to rest for forty-eight hours so I can’t go anywhere anyway.”

“Okay.” I said, feeling completely helpless. “Well, just let me know how I can help. I want to be there for you.”

“You are. That’s why I love you so much.” Her voice was low but sweet. My Lily.

“I love you too.” I said as my heart ached.

After talking to Lily I was completely deflated. I hated that she couldn’t live a normal life. I hated even more that I wasn’t home to protect her from our overbearing parents. I knew they meant well, but they were definitely helicopter parents.

I made a call to my lawyer’s office. A woman answered the phone and asked me to hold. When she returned, I asked her to transfer me to John Goodwin, my personal lawyer.

“This is John.” He answered in a professional tone.

“Hey, John, it’s Ethan Black.” I said, hoping he would be the answer to all my problems.

“Ethan!” He replied with excitement. “It’s good to hear from you. I hope you’re staying out of trouble.”

“Absolutely.” I assured him. “I was calling to ask if you could draw me up a contract.”

“What kind of contract?” John asked, suspiciously.

“It’s a long story.” I chuckled nervously. “You’re probably not going to like it.”

“Try me.” John said.