“This wasn’t how I pictured you two would be today.” Tessa looked at the space between Greg and me with such puzzlement. We hadn’t spoken to each other when we entered the room and we made sure to sit on opposite ends of the couch again.
It wasn’t even because of how yesterday went or family dinner night, it was work. For the first time in five years, Greg and I had had a huge disagreement over a client, so big that Max had to come down to settle things, and Greg was still pissed that Max had taken my side. The client was one we had seen soar in the beginning with sales and then drop. She wasn’t keen on marketing and didn’t want to be. Her philosophy was, “If they want it, they’ll find it,” which didn’t help us at all, so I proposed to set her royalties smaller, so that they would spread out for her longer, rather than giving them to her all at once or month by month, which is more traditional.
But no, smug asshole that he was, went ahead and contacted the client. She agreed to what he wanted. Now I’m pretty sure it’s the last that book we’ll sign with her since her contract was up at the end of next year and she had no plans on releasing anything within that time span.
“She should say I was right and then we’ll be good.” Greg shifted himself so that he still wasn’t looking at me, but his body was faced towards me.
“I won’t say it because you aren’t right.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I felt like a child throwing a tantrum, but I wasn’t going to let Greg win this battle.
“Does this have to do with anything from family dinner the other night?” Tessa probed.
“No.” Greg and I both laughed at the same time.
“She won’t admit that I was right about a client.”
I huffed at Greg’s remark because I knew he was wrong. “Just because the client agreed with you, doesn’t mean it was right for her.”
“This is about work?” Tessa interjected.
“Yes.” Greg and I both spoke at the same time again. Tessa looked back and forth between us and then wrote something down on her notepad. Greg tried to readjust himself, but I knew from the way he strained his neck that he was trying to see what she had just written. He looked over to me, almost like he knew I was watching him, and shook his head no that he couldn’t see anything.
“I want to come back to this, but first I want to know how family dinner went?” Tessa changed the subject, putting her pen down and adjusting herself so that she sat straighter in her tight dress. I didn’t like that she looked like she was on display every time we saw her, but from looking over to Greg, he didn’t seem to notice because his eyes were on me.
“Amazing.” I blushed at Greg’s response and moved my focus back to Tessa.
“It was really good,” I quickly followed.
“Come on, you can do better than really good.” Greg laughed at me. “Admit it, you loved being there again.”
“I did.” I smiled at myself and admitted to Greg’s statement. We sat there as Tessa looked between us, waiting for one or the other to explain more. I spoke up first to get it out of the way. “I hadn’t been there in over a year, so it was pretty amazing to see family again.”
“Family?” Tessa eye’s sparked to life at the word I had used. Family, that’s what Greg’s parents and siblings are to me.
“Yeah, family.” I didn’t dare peek over at Greg because I knew his expression would be one that I would want to smack right off his face. Tessa turned her body towards me and soon it became just about us, like Greg wasn’t in the picture at all, but I knew he was still there because I could feel his stares.
“Elaborate for me, Lilly.” Tessa held her pen in one hand and pad in the other, ready to write my life’s story.
“Um,” I shifted in my seat. “I don’t know where you want me to start.”
“Wherever you’re comfortable with.” She used the hand holding her pen pen to coax me to continue.
“Well, I guess it was the first Christmas I spent at his parents’ house.” I hooked my thumb towards Greg and continued. “I had been living in the city for a year by then, and not with my parents, so I had wanted to see them and the rest of my family. I had plans to spend the whole week at home with them for Christmas, but at the last minute my parents decided to tell me that they had plans to leave the country for the holidays.”
“And by last minute, she means the day before.” I could hear the disdain in Greg’s voice. He had never liked my parents because the only times I ever talked about them, or when he heard about them from someone else, it was because they had forgotten something or had let me down. I continued on, deciding to ignore his comment.
“It wasn’t just my parents, though. I tried to call my brothers and sisters, but everyone was too busy or didn’t have enough room for me to come stay with them. I stayed home most of the week because the office was closed, but when I went downstairs the day before Christmas to try to find somewhere that was still open to get food, Greg was there.”
I stopped, because I remember that day like it was yesterday. Greg had seen the hurt on my face and swooped in to save me, and save me he did. He changed my life that day. He’s changed my life every day.
“Greg offered for me to spend Christmas with his family, and I guess the rest is history. His parents welcomed me with open arms and so did his siblings. Even though I wasn’t family, it felt like I was, and it’s been a standing tradition that I be there for every holiday.” I stopped and looked over at Greg. “Well, it used to be. I haven’t spent a holiday there in a while.”
I felt ashamed admitting it out loud. I had let David and Margaret down, and I knew they understood why and that I had my own life, but it felt like I left a little piece of my soul there the other day and I felt the tug to go back now, just like I used to.
“How do you feel about this, Greg, Lilly not being there for the holidays anymore?” I was taken aback by Tessa’s question. I hadn’t thought she would ask him something so personal, but this was marriage counseling.
“She may not know it, or believe it, but she’s very much missed at that house.” I was still looking at Greg, but he had turned his attention towards Tessa and it made a pain rise in my chest. I wanted him to look at me, not her.
“But how doyoufeel?” Tessa questioned again.
