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How gracious of you to allow me to have others at my own house.
Sam
You’re welcome. Make sure you have cash to lose, and cook for double the people. Zentrology night is at Phi’s tonight. The girls won’t be able to help themselves if they smell the grill.
Ah, so there is a reason for the change of venue, and I won’t complain about the assist.
I wave down Daniel before he pulls out, telling him to head over to my place tonight for poker night, and bring some of the team. He gives an affirmative head nod and I realize that this, this is what I’ve been missing in Portland. Casual nights that aren’t filled with fancy dinners and business associates.
Getting into my car, I feel a little lighter, as if I am finally setting down the weights I’ve been carrying for too long. The screen on my car illuminates; my mother is calling.
“Hey, Mom, how’s it going?”
“Hi sweetie, haven’t heard from you in a while. How’s work?”
My grandfather runs Morrison Rose and dreamed of handing it over to his daughter one day. Mom never had an interest in law. Her passion was watercolor painting, and much to Grandfather’s horror, she ran off and married my father instead.
Dad spent a few years in the army before starting a custom furniture company. Grandfather eventually came around once wealthy people started paying absurd amounts of money for handcrafted dining tables.
My brothers escaped the family business, too. James joined the military at eighteen, and Jordan built a tech company. I was the idiot who showed an interest in the legal system. Grandfather grabbed on with both hands and never quite let go.
“It’s fine, more challenging than a normal case, almost done … I hope.”
“I hope so. That Cassandra woman—per Betty, your grandfather’s receptionist—she called the office twice with questions about your assignment, very sweet, very helpful, and very clearly not either of those things.” She spits out. “But if you are almost done, you can come home!” she says with a cheer.
I am silent, unsure how to respond to her enthusiasm.
“Jackson …” she draws out my name, already knowing she won’t like my next statement.
“I don’t think I am moving back to Portland. I like it here, feels right.”
I slow at the blinking crosswalk while people drift between restaurants and breweries. Finally admitting this to my mother, which has been on my mind since the first time I heard Phoenix laugh, feels like another weight I am letting go.
“But you told me you hate this assignment,” she says, confused.
“You’re right, I don’t like the reason I am at this firm. But I don’t hate being here, in Cascadia. Not at all.”
There’s silence over the phone before my mom adopts a sing-song voice.
“Oh my, my baby has fallen in love! I knew it! I could tell there was something you weren’t saying. It’s that beautiful dark-haired woman at your office, Phoenix, isn’t it?!”
I’m momentarily stunned. “Wha … How did you know? We, uh, kept it quiet.”
“You kept it a secret? For heaven’s sake, why would you keep her hidden?” she admonishes before answering herself. “The due diligence: you were looking into possible leaks. Tell me she wasn’t one of them, Jackson Allen Mercer?”
I sigh, flipping my blinker on. Before I can answer, she jumps in.
“Wow, she was. Innocent, as we all knew who the real snake in the grass was. And I’m assuming she found out?”
Rubbing my temple slightly, I admit, “Yes, she did. And unfortunately, it didn’t come from me.”
I still see her face outside Whitmore’s when they handed me the stupid, unearned award. The controlled devastation, like I had taken something from her she could never fully get back. Her ambition, her drive to succeed, all of that would have been acknowledged with that damn award.
It wasn’t only our relationship that she felt like she was losing. It was the promotion. Recognition. The years she spent becoming Phoenix Lane, attorney-at-law. I don’t even finish my sentence before my mother attacks me.
“You better fix this, and fast. I expect to meet her the next time I come down, which sounds like it’ll be a common occurrence. Maybe your father and I should look into getting a condo down there. We need to be close to my future daughter-in-law, not to mention my grandbabes.”
“Mom!” I splutter out a laugh. “Let’s hope she forgives me first. And if you are lucky enough to meet her … be cool. Don’t scare her off with wedding planning.”
