“I’m here. I was calling... Cherry, why don’t you come to L.A. for the weekend? I could show you... I don’t know. Around.”
“This weekend?”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t come this weekend. I’ve got the shareholder meeting.”
“That’s this weekend?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve probably got everything ready for it.”
“Well, I have to be on hand anyway.”
“Cherry, come.”
“Why do you need methisweekend? Is something happening?” It wasn’t their anniversary. Or anyone’s birthday. Tom had already missed her birthday.
“No,” he said. “I just... miss you.”
“Well, I miss you, too,” Cherry said. It came out defensive. “I could come... not next weekend, but maybe next month. Oryoucould home this weekend.” That came out as a challenge.
“I’m supposed to meet some actor...” Tom said weakly. “Maybe you could come meet him, too.”
“I’ve never missed the shareholder meeting,” she said.
“I know.”
“And what would I do with Stevie?”
“You could board her.”
“We’ve never boarded her. I don’t know how she’d do.”
“Only one way to find out.”
“Tom, why are you being like this?” Cherry swung her arm out in frustration. She was holding a bag of shit.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I just thought maybe... you would come.”
“When you leave,” she said sternly, “my life keeps going.”
“I know that,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“Well, I’m sorry, too,” Cherry said. She didn’t sound sorry.
The shareholder meeting went smoothly. And everyone complimented Meg Jones, who graciously gave Cherry most of the credit. Cherry had overseen the signage, the presentation, the music, the venue. She’d approved everything that was served. She’d named the signature cocktail and staged a photo op with a vintage “Big Fella” locomotive.
It wasn’t important work.
But it wasadjacentto important work.
And Cherry was good at it. She was sogoodat it.
She could probably leave Western Alliance if she wanted. She could be a VP somewhere. If she stayed, she might get Meg Jones’s job—Meg had practically said so. Cherry wasn’t sure she’d want to move even further away from the creative work... Tom would say that what Cherry was doing now was creative work—that making something look and feel great was stillmakingsomething.
She missed Tom. Sincerely.
