It was Mick’s last day in New York, he left his home and
headed to the office, this could be the last time, that he would be at his home.
This was the home he had shared with Layla, and this was the office where they
both had worked. When most lose a mate, they can go to work and escape the memories,
but for Mick there was nowhere to go, it was all bad memories now, it was all
pain.
At the office they were getting ready for the big going away party for
Mick, he knew it would help give them all closure, not just for him but for
Layla. Mick knew he could not walk through the office without bringing on
thoughts of Layla in all the staff. All the people who worked there had loved her;
she was like everyone’s mother and truly cared for all the staff and their
families. Mick knew once he was gone, some of the sadness would start to fade,
and once again you would see smiles on the faces of the staff.
Mick wanted to
see Shane his son, one last time, to say goodbye and to go over the Chicago
deal, he also had a question for Shane, which was bothering him since his call
to Katie at Pandora. Mick sat down at
his desk and pushed the speaker phone for Shane’s office, Shane’s assistant answered,
“Yes Mr. McGill how can I help you”, Mick asked “Is Shane available, I need to
speak to him” she answered “ no sir he is at a meeting we are expecting him
soon, I will let him know you wish to talk with him as soon as he comes in”.
Mick said “Thank You” and shut off the speaker. This upset him, why wasn’t
Shane at work, what meeting would he have this early. Mick thought, Shane had
settled down the last few years, he only had two girl friends that Mick knew
about, and he did not think they were married. At one time,
Shane had been known as the Irish playboy of New York, more women than anyone
could keep up with. Shane was in trouble all the time with women, their
husbands and the boyfriends of the women, it had cost a lot of money to pay off
some of them; his mother had started to call him Shame. Mick decided, give
Shane the benefit of the doubt, maybe he really did have a meeting, he had
settled down the last few years.
Mick heard a knock on his door, and came back
from his thoughts of the past and present. He said come in, and in came Shane.
Shane was even at 40 years old a handsome man, light brown hair, he and Mick
were eye to eye as both stood at about 6ft 2 inch, Shane worked out and looked
it. It was no wonder he could get any woman he wanted, and did. Shane spoke
first, “ good morning Mr. McGill, I was informed you were looking for me”
Mick’s turn “ Why Yes Mr. McGill I did want to speak to you, If it’s not too
much trouble” Mick thought, well here we go, father and son playing their own
little game, of decorum. Shane said, “Chicago is all set, they think you’re a
HVAC specialist, and your numbers man will be Brian Burk”. Mick said, “ Good,
Brian is the best, at this and he’s also our best numbers man” Mick liked Brian,
he would play the role of leader of the inspection team, and he could crunch
numbers in his head faster than most accountants could, even if they had a
calculator. Shane spoke again “I met this morning with your body man; he will
be with you while you are in Chicago, and he will meet you there and will be
part of the inspection team. Mick was a confused and said “I don’t remember
asking for a body man, and not just anybody can be on are inspection team”.
Shane said “You didn’t ask, I set it up, and he has been on our teams before,
just not with you”. Mick said “I don’t need a body man” Shane said “I didn’t
ask you if you wanted one, but you are getting one, Chicago is too big and I
have to protect all our interest, I will not let anything happen to you, If I
can prevent it” Mick knew it was pointless to argue with Shane, he was in charge
now, and this was his deal. Mick asked “Who is this body man, anyway” Shane
said don’t worry about it, you will find out when you get there”. Mick didn’t
know what to make of Shane today, he was in a bad mood that was for sure, and
so he moved on to the next subject. He stared at Shane and said “I need to know
what you know about this Jude McGuire” he waited for a response. Shane looked
perplexed, and finally said, “who is that” Mick knew his son well enough, he
didn’t know. Mick said “your mothers cousin” Shane thought for a few minutes,
and then laughed, Shane said “her, ok, what’s the matter Dad, is it the money
Mom left her”. Mick said “no, It’s not the money, I just don’t know what was
going on between her and your mother” Shane laughed again,” and you think I
know, I was not part of their little circle, so don’t ask me” Shane walked up
to his Dad and hugged him, It caught Mick by surprise, and he finally hugged him
back. Shane said “ I love you, and for God’s sake and all of ours please take
care of yourself, out there in the wilderness, I hear they don’t even have
cable, what kind of stupid place are you going too”. Mick said “love you too,
and I am going to a very quiet place, I hope, where I can find some peace and
learn to live again. Shane stepped back and looked at his dad, Mick could tell
Shane was worried, finally Shane said “ I hope you find what you need” Shane
turned and left, Mick watched him go, he would miss his son, you might not
guess it, if you heard them, but they were friends, now on with this party.
No comments:
Post a Comment