She watched her husband roll up his sleeves and sit down at his desk, facing her. As if preparing for a brainstorming session. The look of determination on his face was more than she could bear. She shook her head.
“They can’t help us?”
“Too much risk for the bank. It’s over.”
“What do you mean? Surely there has to be another way. They can extend the loan. Or offer us more capital. Something?”
Phoebe stood up and walked over to him. She ran her finger up and down the exposed part of his arm, just below the cuff of his dress shirt. Rob had beautiful hands. How long had it been since she’d reached for one? She did now.
“They’re foreclosing.”
For a long minute Rob said nothing. He turned his head and looked out the office window at the summer day outside. Phoebe had been prepared for anger or disappointment. For outrage—something. But not his silence. Confused, she wrapped her arms around herself, and stood, waiting.Just get it over with, she thought.Just explode or yell or tell me what a fuckup I am.
Finally, Rob stood. They were face-to-face, and when she got up the nerve to meet his eye she saw the last thing she’d expected. Relief.
“It’s over, then.”
The result was crushing. “You’re okay with that?”
“Of course I’m not! We’re losing the house. God knows what this is going to do to our credit or where the hell we’re supposed to live. It’s a fucking disaster. But the last few months have been pure hell, every step of the way holding our breath and tiptoeing around pennies and problems and worrying at night how to get it done.Thatwas hell. And I’m sorry, but I’m glad it’s over.”
Phoebe spun around for her purse and tugged the folder out of it. “Here you go,” she snapped, dumping it on his desk. “Now you can make it official. Sign it and put a fucking bow on it.”
Rob held his hand out. “Phoebe, wait.”
“After everything I’ve been through trying to get this project off the ground, and keeping it afloat. Mostly by myself, I might add. It’s not just a house!” she cried. “It was my future!”
Rob leapt up, and for the first time his eyes filled with emotion. “Exactly! Which is how we ended up here.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Phoebe didn’t care if anyone outside the door heard them. Rob was wrong. And ungrateful. She had done all of it for them, for their family. He didn’t even care that they were losing all of it.
“Jesus, Phoebs. It was yours, all along. The boys and I just went along with it. I could live anywhere. Hell, I never thought anything was wrong with our old house if you want to know the truth. But I wanted you to be happy.”
“So this is all my fault? The sill beams? The electrical issues? All those unforeseen overages that I had to click my heels for and hop through hoops just to scrounge up some more dimes? Do you have any idea how stressful that was? And yet I did it. Not for myself, but for our family.”
Rob folded like all the winds had come out of his sails. “I made the sale. And I just got word—the company is promoting me to manager.”
“You what?”
“The presentation went well. The company bought in.”
“Oh my God.” She crossed the room to him. “Honey. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it wasn’t a sure thing until this morning. I had a feeling things were shaping up after the presentation yesterday, butI didn’t want to say a thing until I was sure. Everything has been such a mess lately. I couldn’t handle another setback.”
Phoebe kneeled down next to his office chair and grabbed his hands. “We should be celebrating!”
Rob smiled, sadly. “Phoebe. Come on. Do you know what a hole we’ve got to dig out of?”
“Wait.” She sat back on her haunches. “You know what this means!”
“What?” He looked at her warily. “No, Phoebe. Please don’t.”
“It means we can save the house!” She leapt up. “How much did you say the sign-on bonus was? Wasn’t it like fifty thousand?” She couldn’t stand still; she was reeling with relief. She was talking so fast she almost didn’t catch what Rob said next.
“No way.”
“What did you say?” Phoebe stopped midsentence.
