“Come in!” I hollered out.
“Hey, pretty lady,” Kevin said as he walked into my office. “I thought I’d stop by and see how you doing. You’ve been so busy we haven’t had much time to catch up.”
“Yeah, you right. With the end of the semester rounding the corner, I’ve been crazy busy to say the least. You just got back from vacation this week. How was your time off?”
“It wasn’t much of a vacation. I had a death in my family.”
“Oh, Kevin, I’m so sorry to hear that. My condolences to you and your family. I didn’t know.”
“Thanks, love. Yeah, my uncle that lived in New York passed away from pneumonia suddenly.”
“Oh, wow! I’m so very sorry to hear that,” I replied as I stood up and walked from around my desk to give him a hug. “How you holding up?”
“Oh, I’m better now. He and I was super close, so it’s been hard. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
“I understand. I feel so bad. I’ve been so caught up in my work lately that I haven’t had any extra time to stop and chit chat with you. I thought you were on vacation because you were gone for a few weeks.”
“Yeah, I had to stay in New York to help my mom clean out his place and tie up a few loose ends. We were there for a little over a week after my uncle’s funeral services, then I decided to take a little time off since I had vacation time for myself to reset.”
“Understandable. Sounds like you and your uncle were pretty close.”
“We were, he was like a second dad to me.”
“Wow, I’m so sorry that he passed. I’m glad you decided to stop by to catch up.”
“Yeah, I figured since you hadn’t used my number and called me, I’d come check you out,” Kevin said.
“Oh, about that—” I started to explain but Kevin cut me off.
“It’s no biggie, no explanation needed. How you been though? Are things better at home?”
“Actually, they’ve been going pretty good. My husband and I had a long talk, and thankfully, he realized what he has at home. He’s been fighting to keep our marriage and was very remorseful for what he did.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. I’m sure you taking a few days to yourself away from home helped him see that.”
“It actually did, so thanks again for that.”
“No thanks needed. That’s what friends are for.”
“Oh, and I haven’t forgotten that I owe you lunch. Maybe we can go sometime next week. Or, I can make and bring us both lunch and we can chill either in my office or the staff lounge.”
“That sounds good. Welp, pretty lady, I’ma head out so I won’t be stuck in all that Friday traffic.”
“Ugh, I know. I’ll be right behind you. I have a few more things to finish up before I leave, first. Thanks again for coming to check on me.”
“Of course, and I really hope things work out for you and your husband. If you need me for anything, you got my number.”
“I appreciate that.”
After Kevin left, I couldn’t help but to feel bad for not sending him a text to check on him. I truly thought he was on vacation, and I didn’t want to bother him. Hearing that he had a death in his family was just horrible. I could tell that he was still sad about it and I couldn’t blame him. I was feeling a little guilty and like a bad friend for not checking in with him, but I didn’t know. Plus, I was so wrapped up in my own personal life and working things out with Justin that I didn’t even think about him.
Once I was done with my work, I headed out of my office and straight for my car. I couldn’t get home fast enough. Justin had to work today, so more than likely he wouldn’t be home until later this evening. That would give me plenty of time to myself so I could find something cute for tomorrow and fix a nice dinner tonight to kick off our weekend together. I was so happy that things were going so well between us. It really felt good to be happily married and in love.
Since I had already checked in with my sister briefly this morning, I decided to give Shane a call to see what he was up to.
“Hey bestie, how was your day?” Shane answered the phone in a very jovial tone.
“Hey honey, my day was great. How bout yours?”
