I didn’t just need an assistant or a manager for this art gallery.
I needed her to run this gallery.
“So,” I said. “When can you start?”
“Wait, are you serious?” Kelly asked.
She turned her head to look at me as her arms let me go.
“Very serious.”
“Mrs. McBride, it’s an honor. And I can start anytime you need me,” Kelly said.
“Perfect. Your training starts now. I’ll show you how the register works, and I’ll show you what I do to lock up. I’ll get you to fill out some employee paperwork so I can get it processed this week, and your first payday will be this Thursday. I pay out every two weeks,” I said.
“Oh, my gosh. Mrs. McBride, thank you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
She threw her arms around me, and I hugged her close again. I could already feel a burden being lifted from my shoulders. With all the ideas she had swirling around in her head, I saw her taking this place to new heights. I saw art classes with children and rehabilitation classes with those trying to clean up their acts. I saw Saturday night showcases and parties that raked in donations to make my classes free to the public. I led Kelly over to the cash register, walked her through things, and then performed a few practice transactions so I knew she could get it right.
Then, I started closing down the gallery and walking her through the motions.
I could almost feel my soft mattress against my skin.
Chapter 17
Bryan
Ellen was gracious enough to give me the day off so I could put the finishing touches on the house. I went ahead and ordered all the furniture I wanted to fill the home with and then met the delivery guys over there so I could help. I guided them to where the furniture needed to be and then shifted it around so it was in the perfect spot. I pieced together bed frames and fit the mattresses perfectly into them. I hung sheer curtains on the windows and placed accent chairs in their proper places. I even ran out to the local art stores and started pulling things for Hailey’s art studio, tubes of exotic paints and an easel and canvases of all kinds of shapes and sizes.
I wanted everything to be perfect before I showed it to Hailey.
I enlisted the help of Foreman Jack and his massive truck. I traveled out to the warehouse where I was keeping the nursery furniture I had made, and we transported it back to the house. Jack helped me carry in the crib, the dresser, and the changing table I had built with my own two hands. The set was made out of this beautiful blond cedar and smelled like heaven. We carried the set up the stairs and into the nursery for the baby and set it down, maneuvering it into different places until I had the layout I envisioned for my child’s first bedroom.
It was complete.
The house was finally done.
“I don’t like tooting people’s horns and shit, but this place looks great,” Jack said.
“I only did the decorating. And there’s still plenty of room for Hailey to come and put her touch on everything,” I said.
“I think she’s really gonna like this,” he said.
“I hope so.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing. She’s been so stressed lately, and with things I thought were buried in the past. I was going to hold off another couple of weeks so I could get the electricity and the water hooked up and running smoothly, but I’ve been thinking about surprising her earlier with it,” I said.
“It might help with the stress, having something like this to look forward to.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” I said. “But I don’t want to make a wrong move. She’s under enough stress already, so the last thing I want is to throw something at her she feels she has to accomplish, if that makes sense.”
“It does, but let me tell you something. If any woman comes into this house and doesn’t appreciate the time, effort, and love it took to put together? Then she’s not the woman you built this house for. A man doesn’t build a house for a woman without expecting to make it a home. And if she can’t see that, then there’s something bigger going on than some stress,” he said.
“Yeah. That’s what I’m afraid of, I guess.”
“Well, get unafraid. She’s growing a human being in her body. Get over yourself.”
“I’m concerned I haven’t done enough to support her emotionally. I feel like maybe she wouldn’t be so strung out with her emotions if I had done something more to help,” I said.
“Bryan, let me clue you in on a little secret. Women are gonna always have something they’re stressing over. It’s what they do. You wanna know why?”
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“Because women are programmed to think two things. One, that they have to make a man’s life comfortable. And two, that making it comfortable means shouldering as much stress as they can so we don’t experience it. I don’t know why. I’ve never claimed to be able to figure it out. But for whatever the reason, it’s how they operate. My wife has always been that way, and my two daughters who are now married operate that way. It’s one of the many ways they show us they love us. And yes, it might drive us bonkers. But in their mind, they’re really helping us.”
“But I want her to be happy, too. I don’t want her to be stressed. I want to take on this stress with her, Jack.”
“Well, when you figure out how to do that, let me know. Because I’m over fighting that fight with my wife, and we’ve been married thirty-two years,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said, chuckling. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You need anything else? Everything look okay with the house?” he asked.
“Everything’s wonderful. All I need to do is get electricity and water running in this place, but that’s on me. You know where to send the bill.”
“You’ll get it in the mail once I can draw it up.”
“I have no doubt,” I said, grinning.
I headed back out to my truck and took one last look at the house. Everything with it was complete. A couple of calls to the city of San Diego to get the necessities up and running, and the house would be ready to move into. I cranked up the truck and started wondering if there was any way I could start moving some of our things in now without Hailey noticing or suspecting anything was going on. The more I could take off her shoulders with this project, the more I figured she would appreciate it.
But my phone buzzing on my hip ripped me away from my thoughts.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Why in the world have you not called me?”
When the fuck was I going to learn to screen my calls?
“Hello, Mom,” I said.
“We haven’t talked in over a week. You and Hailey missed dinner three nights ago! Is everything all right? Is the baby okay?”
“Are you manic?” I asked.
“Is that some new terminology kids are using these days?” my mother asked.
“I haven’t called you because the last time we talked, I told you we weren’t going to be speaking until you apologized to Hailey.”
“No, you said we weren’t going to be having dinner until I apologized. But really, I don’t have anything to apologize about,” she said.
“Then we have nothing to talk about,” I said.
“Bryan, just listen to your mother for once.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Whether you understand it or not, you do owe me an apology.”
“Oh, this should be good. Why do I owe you an apology?” I asked.
“Because you’ve made me cry more times in the past month than I’ve ever cried in my entire life. Michael couldn’t even go over and have his conversation with Hailey this past weekend because I was hysterical. Your antics are getting in the way of your father having a budding relationship with the woman who’s going to be raising our grandchild. The least you could do is support me, so you can support his decision to be around.”
“I’m not even sure half of that made sense, but my stance hasn’t changed,” I said. “You apologize to Hailey for the things you’ve said to her, or dinner still doesn’t happen. And Dad? He’s a fully-grown man. If he wants to come see Hailey, he will. Whether you’re crying or not.”
“Your father would never abandon me in a time of need, Bryan.”
“Then you understand completely why I’m backing my wife,” I said.
“I have done nothing wrong. The only thing I’m guilty of is speaking my piece about this entire scenario. You are my son. Don’t I get an opinion in any of this?” she asked.
“To a point. But I have chosen the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, so your opinions are now moot. Hailey is under enough stress already, and I won’t have you causing any more of it.”
“Stress? Is the baby okay?” she asked.
“Hailey and the child are fine. I’ve already spoken with Dad, and I’ve explained to him that I’m worried about Hailey’s stress levels. I told him that if things between all of us don’t want to settle, then our time together will have to be minimized. It’s as simple as that.”
“Well, if she wasn’t on her feet all day with that blasted gallery and trying to rest for the sake of that child, she wouldn’t be in this position, and maybe we could have a family dinner.”