Page 30 of One Night in Vegas

“I’m glad you like her,” Brian said. “She is an excellent candidate. I think the two of you will be very happy together.”

“I’m not marrying her,” I said.

“Working as your assistant is basically a marriage. But I think the two of you are a good match. I got the impression she was a hard-working woman as well as someone who knows how to get things done.”

“Yep, me too. I won’t be in today, but I look forward to hearing back from you about when she can start. As you know, Mabel won’t be here much longer. I need an assistant.”

“Will do,” he said.

After finishing my call with him, I put a call into Mabel. She was not going to be happy to have me taking the day off without notice. It was a sudden realization. I couldn’t be back in that office today. The woman had shaken me up. She knocked my world off its axis. I needed some time to get things right again. A little revenge would certainly help with that.

“Mrs. Mabel, it’s me,” I said when she answered her cell phone.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“I’m at home,” I replied. “I’ll be staying home for the day.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will,” I said.

“Are you sick?” she asked. “I told you all that junk food was not good for you.”

“I’m just taking the day,” I said. “Please, clear my schedule.”

“I guess I can’t really be mad,” she said. “I’m always telling you to take some time off. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I never missed work. Never. But I needed some time to collect my thoughts. And I had been promising Mom I would take her to lunch one of these days. Today seemed like a good day to do just that. After showering, I called Mom and asked if she was available. Not surprisingly, she eagerly accepted the offer.

I spent some time kicking around the house before I drove out to meet her.

I greeted her with a hug. “Hi, Mom.”

“To what do I owe this surprise?” she asked with a smile. “Not that I’m complaining, but I wasn’t expecting to see you, especially on a workday.”

“I took the day off.”

She frowned and looked at me with concern. “Are you sick? Is everything okay? Is it all that junk food?”

“I’m fine.” I took a drink of water and then shook my head. “No, I’m not fine. I had an unexpected visitor yesterday.”

“Who?”

“Her,” I answered.

“Sweetie, I’m going to need a little more to go on,” she said, smiling.

“The woman I told you about from my trip to Las Vegas eight years ago,” I said.

“Peter’s bachelor party?”

“Yes,” I said. “Her. Macy.”

“Oh goodness,” she said with surprise.

Mom knew all about the incident. I had poured my heart out to her when I got home from that trip. My mother and I were very close. I knew I could talk to her about things like this and she would understand. She was not judgmental. She was a good mom. She let us make our mistakes and then gently picked us up and helped us move on. I knew she understood my hesitation to get involved with a woman. She understood it, but she wasn’t about to give up on the chance to marry me off.