She nodded, and I could tell she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
“You two enjoy yourselves,” I said, knowing it was time to say my good-byes.
“Nice meeting you, Mick,” Priscilla said politely.
“Same here,” I told her.
I gave Margo a nod good-bye and she waved, and that was it.
Well, at least I had my check-in on Margo. I saw her breathing, living, and spending time with her daughter. In front of the sample of the shoe I wore, I waited for the clerk to get my size, and told myself to text a New York friend for drinks. A female friend.
Instead, I texted Margo.
I didn’t mean to make things awkward. Your daughter is a miniature version of you. It was nice to meet her. Enjoy your time with her.
I looked toward the women’s section, but they were long gone, and I assumed Margo gave in to the short shorts in an effort to get her daughter and herself out of the store. I only tried one shoe on, then told the clerk to wrap them up and was out of there.
Brian, my buddy from Wharton, texted to say he was at the hotel bar, and I let him know I was on my way. It had been about six months since I last saw him in Miami, where he lived with his wife and new baby. He’d gone into the commercial real estate business, and where better than in a place full of sunshine and dreams?
“How are you, tough guy?” I slapped Brian on the back as I grabbed the seat next to him.
He’d played football in undergrad, and earned the nickname Tough Guy because when he got drunk, he always thought he could beat up anyone in the room.
Brian scowled at me. “Are you ever going to stop calling me that? I keep myself to the two-drink-limit rule these days.”
“Scotch on the rocks, Lagavulin,” I said to the bartender, and then turned toward Brian. “That’s because your beautiful Amanda told me to remind you. Often.”
His head fell back in laughter. “Damn straight. I do what my woman says. Speaking of which, you ever gonna get yourself a good woman?”
I shook my head. “Not meant for it.” It had been my standard line since our last year of school. The guys knew my background, and they never pushed.
“It’s time you put what happened with your pops behind you. You’re not that guy,” Brian told me as the bartender slid my drink in front of me.
“To not being that guy,” I said and tipped my drink toward his. “It’s not for me, though,” I added, despite the niggling in my chest over Margo.
“I know, I know. Your businesses are your babies and all that.”
“That they are, my friend. And you know what? When I’m done growing them, I set them free with zero thoughts or worries about them.”
“Tell me what the latest deal is.”
I took a sip of my drink and felt myself unwind for the first time in days. With Brian, I didn’t need to worry about discussing details. We weren’t in competition, and we often called each other for advice. I told him about the Chicago deal being done, and my latest acquisition.
“Tomorrow, I’m checking out a struggling New York restaurant chain. I don’t really want to get into that business, but Jamie ... remember him? He was a year ahead of us ... he called me to look at it. He’s a business broker in Manhattan.”
“I do. He was the guy with the pet pig?”
“That’s him. Now he has a husband and a set of twins.”
“Can’t see that dude raising kids. You, yes. Him, no.”
That’s pretty much how the evening went. Business talk coupled with jabs at me.
I don’t know what kept me from telling him about Margo.Maybe her being married? Whatever this longing feeling I had for her was ... I needed to keep it to myself for the moment.
Margaret
Later that evening, I poured myself a small glass of red wine and sat on the edge of the tub as it filled with warm water.
