Page 49 of Executive Benefits

“Mmm, maybe,” she said. I could hear the lie on her lips.

“Fine. Just don’t do anything that could get us sued, alright? Since things are finally looking up, I want to make sure they stay that way,” I said.

“Yes, Ma’am!”

23

NICK

“Hey, Nick.” The foreman turned to me.

It was the last week of January and things were starting to change in new ways. On one side of the coin, I couldn’t imagine life without The Bridge and being under the manipulative thumb of my ex-wife.

On the flip side, I knew I was standing at the precipice of a new life, one where I got to choose what happened and wasn’t weighed down by the things I wanted to do but didn’t because someone else was dictating them for me.

I looked at his hands.

In one, he held a hard hat. In the other, he had a sledgehammer.

“Want to take the first swing?” he asked, nodding to the safety goggles.

My mind churned with a ton of thoughts as I surveyed The Bridge. In just a few short weeks, it would look and feel completely different. I took the hard hat and the weight of thesledgehammer didn’t surprise me, but it did give me a sense of satisfaction.

I was getting rid of the old and bringing in the new.

An onslaught of emotions battled in my chest. I wasn’t sure what to feel or how long I’d be feeling the mixture of relief, happiness, sadness, and confusion about so many of the choices I was starting to make.

While I wouldn’t be doing this without Julia, I didn’t realize how great of an impact the change was going to have on me.

I gave the foreman a tight nod. “Where should I start?” I asked.

“Not on the outside walls. We don’t want to damage the brick,” he said, turning and pointing to the back wall with the bar and then to his right for the wall separating the dining room and entryway. “We’re keeping the bar shelves, so I’d steer clear of that, but the rest of the wall is going,” he said.

I swallowed the thick emotions that swelled in my throat, and I suddenly wished the construction crew weren’t here for the occasion. It felt like something I should do on my own because I didn’t want to end up sobbing like a baby for too many different reasons I couldn’t pin down yet.

But instead of asking them to leave, I walked over to the back wall where the kitchen entrance met the dining room and stood over the threshold of both. I swung my arms back and flung the sledgehammer forward. Three things happened at once.

The head crashed into the wall, cracking it and taking a good chunk of it with the impact. Plaster and drywall flew through the kitchen, hitting the back wall, now clear of appliances for thedemo. Tears of relief pricked the corner of my eyes as I busted into my new life.

I really wanted to share the news with Julia.

I shook the thought out of my head.

She had that other guy.

The clap on my back anchored me into the present, and I turned.

“How’d that feel?” he asked, holding out his hand for the sledgehammer back.

“Better than I thought it would.” I laughed and handed it back to him. The loss of the weight in my hand brought me a new sense of ease.

I never thought a renovation would bring so much emotion with it. I didn’t realize it would be so metaphorical, either.

“I’ll be in my office. I have some work to get done, but I’ll be clearing that out soon too,” I told the foreman. He nodded and saluted me. I walked away, taking my hard hat off and placing it down next to the other tools.

I looked around the dining room, taking in the splinters of my past and knowing it would be cleaned up for my future. Satisfaction took over and settled in my stomach. This was going to be a good change.

The sound of the demolition starting, sawing, and more sledgehammering followed me down the hall and I closed the door.

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