Page 7 of Trust Fall
“Classic,” Lucas nodded in agreement with a mouth stuff full of pepperoni pizza.
“Can’t be any worse than—” Ivy began, before Gabby reached over and swiped the plate out of Ivy’s hands.
“Don’t you dare,” Gabby warned, holding the plate out of Ivy’s reach.
“Mercy! Mercy! I take it back!” Ivy laughed while reaching for her pizza, and Gabby warily returned her plate.
After the movie, Gabby got up to start clearing the plates, leaving Lucas and Ivy to gather up the pizza boxes and empty soda cans.
“I know we haven’t spoken about it recently, but I was thinking that I’d swing by the shop one day next week and we can talk about the next step in setting up your own franchise,” Lucas said.
“Wait, seriously?! I mean, yeah, absolutely, that’d be great!” Ivy’s shock swiftly launched into excitement.
She’d been waiting years for this, and Lucas knew it. To own her own business was the ultimate goal for Ivy. It always had been. Her reasons were complicated, but Lucas knew them all, and was happy to be able to help her do this.
“Yes, seriously. You’re ready, Ivy. You know it. I know it. It’s time.” Lucas said gently, letting each word sink in for Ivy.
This was it. Sure, it may have taken ten years to get here, but she was finally going to be the owner of her own business. Her excitement and nerves were obvious, as was the cloud of her past hovering over her.
“Don’t go there, Ivy.” Lucas reached out his hand and gently placed it on hers as she held the pizza boxes. “You know I wouldn’t go through this with you if I didn’t feel you wereabsolutelyready for it. Don’t let your past hold you back any more. It’s taken enough from you already.” With that, he dropped his hand from hers, and reached down to collect the empty cans, and left Ivy alone in the den.
Maybe Lucas was right, maybe she had been clinging to the past for too long, and it was time to let go of it in order to do this.
Chapter 7
Cleo
It had been a couple of weeks since Cleo had spoken to her twin brother, Evan. He had worked the past three Friday nights in a row and thus hadn’t made it to those family dinners. She’d never admit it out loud, but Cleo missed him.
Evan worked at a tech company who supported some major online websites. So, when upgrades were required, or an outage happened, it was all hands-on-deck. With the run up to theholidays fast approaching, the shifts he had to work got longer. During those times, her family rallied even more and helped to take care of his eight-year-old, Sophie, when needed.
Cleo walked into her kitchen and flicked on her coffee maker before walking over to the counter where her phone sat. She picked it up and ignored the unread emails waiting on her and called to video chat with him.
“Auntie Cleo!” Her niece’s adorable face took up the entire screen as she leaned in to kiss the image of her aunt.
“Hey Sophie! Where’s Daddy?” Cleo asked with a smile.
“Daddy’s doing his teeth, so he can’t talk just now. So, I get to talk instead. Can we go to the park today? Daddy said it’s not going to rain, so you won’t get dirty this time, so you have no excuse to say no.”
In what seemed like a single breath, her niece had managed to call her out on her dirt phobia, throw Evan under the bus, and get her way. Hmmm… she clearly had tricks to learn from her niece to deal with some of her clients.
“Tell your daddy he needs to mind his own beeswax, and we can do whatever we want when he’s not there.” Cleo paused, “Or when Granny’s not there either, because we all know she’s the boss.” Cleo took delight in the giggle dancing out of her niece, so she leaned in close to the phone and whispered, “Even Grampy knows she’s the boss.”
Sophie was no longer giggling but full belly laughing with her aunt now.
“Right, Soph, go get your bag ready for staying at Auntie Cleo’s tonight, ok? I’m just going to catch-up with her for a minute.” Evan took the phone from his daughter, and Cleo could hear Sophie clambering up the stairs like a herd of elephants to her bedroom.
“Hey stranger, feel like I’ve not spoken with you in ages! Are you ok?” Cleo examined her brother’s face, noticing the darkrings under his eyes, and the uncharacteristic stubble on his face.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Evan sighed and looked away from the screen.
“Evan, what is it?” Cleo’s brow furrowed with concern for her brother.
“Nothing, I’m just tired, that’s all.” When he looked at his phone, he noticed Cleo’s arched eyebrow. “Honestly, I’m ok. Just juggling a lot at work, and Soph’s birthday is coming up, which is always hard to be happy for, you know?”
Cleo did know. Evan’s wife, Taylor, had passed away when Sophie was born. Every year she saw her brother relax a little more through the year but make up for it come Sophie’s birthday. She wished she could do more; the whole family did.
“Look after yourself, ok? If you need to cut back some hours at work then do it, I’ll cover whatever money you’d lose. Even if it’s just for a day or two to get some sleep. You’re no good to Sophie if you’re exhausted again. You know this, Evan.” Cleo channeled their mom, knowing it was what Evan needed to hear, even if he didn’t want to.
