“How is that possible?”
“I take my duty as your paralegal very seriously, but this week, I’m taking on an even more challenging task. My duties as your best friend include making sure you actually cut loose and try to have fun—you know, that thing you literally never do? It’s going to be quite the undertaking, but I can be resourceful.”
“And your point is?” I asked, already knowing and dreading the answer. Like Marley said last night, he’d argue that I never take time for myself. That I never put myself first or stop to live my own life.
It was somewhat true. I enjoyed what I did, and my clients needed me. The firm needed me. It was important to be dedicated, to give parts of myself with every case. How else would I achieve my goals?
Ren tapped my briefcase with his toe, and it fell over. “You’re not taking your laptop.”
“What? No.” I shook my head, bending over to scoop said laptop up and clutch it like Gollum with the One Ring. Preciousthing that I’d be lost without, and yet it drained my will to live simultaneously, depending on the day.
“We’ll have our phones, and you can check your email to seeifthere’s a dire situation. But I’ll reiterate, you need to cut the cord.” He pried the laptop away, gentle yet firm. “Disconnect, be present, it’s all the rage.”
I’d still have my phone. I’d be able to check emails. The thought soothed me.
“And I should probably tell you.” He used a gentle tone to soften the blow of whatever bad news he might finish that sentence with. “We’re not just going for the weekend.” His words were rushed under his breath as he pulled out the handle of my suitcase.
“Hey, get back here.” I followed him to the car. “What do you mean, we’re not staying for just the weekend?”
He didn’t meet my eyes. “We’re staying a week.”
“No, we’re not,” I insisted. “We can’t do that. We agreed on a long weekend. Long. As in half day Friday and back on Sunday.”
“That’s called a weekend.” His tone was patronizing. “I’ve been on the waitlist for this place forever and someone dropped! I cleared your schedule, and you need this.Weneed this.”
“I only bought one sun shirt.”
“As if your collection of sun shirts has ever stopped you before,” he said sarcastically. We both strode back inside.
“Wait up while I pack some more clothes, at least.” I didn’t have it in my heart to argue with Ren, and after I talked with Marley last night, his words hit home. People took weeklong vacations all the time. Just because I hadn’t didn’t mean I couldn’t. And with all the changes at work coming up, I didn’t need to obsess myself off a cliff. I’d find out and return to work with a new perspective, ready to tackle a new project and more responsibility. It was time to do it. Time to take a vacation.
