“Nothing. Just tired. I made thirteen calls today. Got one potential client.”
“That’s great, right?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess.” He walked over and sat down on the rolling chair Janine kept in the corner of the teaching room. She sat on the floor, cross legged.
“William, you seem really unhappy with this new business. Maybe it’s not the right thing for you?”
“What else am I qualified to do, Janine? I’ve been in this line of work since just after high school.”
“You don’t have to keep doing things that make you miserable, William. Look at your mom!”
“What do you mean?”
“She thought getting married again would mean her marriage to Johnny didn’t matter, but she realized that she deserved a second act.”
“But Mom is in her seventies, and I’m certainly not. I have to stick with what I know and try to build a lasting career. I can’t just stop what I’m doing and pursue something else.”
Janine leaned back a bit and crossed her arms. “And why not?”
“It’s not mature.”
“Do you think I’m not mature?”
He stared at her. “I think you’re very mature. Are you trying to start an argument?”
She smiled slightly. “I’m saying that I do what I love, and I’ve made it a pretty good business too. What about your Mom?”
“What about her?”
“She loved reading and created a wonderful bookstore. And Dawson. He loved working on things and became a contractor. And Tucker loves toys so…”
“Yeah, I get it. But, I’ve always been more… straight laced.”
She leaned up onto her knees and ruffled his hair until it was a mess.
“There.”
“What did that accomplish?”
“I messed up that perfectly put together persona you’ve got going on, and you didn’t die.”
William chuckled. “What do you want me to do, Janine?”
“I want you to do what makes you happy. Okay, let’s try a little exercise I learned in a personal development book one time.”
“Oh, good Lord,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“Humor me, okay?”
“Fine.”
“Close your eyes.” Unwilling to argue with her, William closed his eyes. “Now, try to clear your mind by taking a few deep breaths. In through your nose and out through your mouth.” He did as she said. “We want to access your subconscious mind, and to do that I’m going to ask you some questions, and I want you to answer me with the first thing that comes to mind, okay? No filtering. Just be quick and honest.”
“Okay.”
She decided to ask him some easy questions first just to get him in the zone. “What’s your favorite color.”
“Blue.”
“What’s your favorite movie?”
“Die Hard.”
She wanted to laugh at that last answer, but didn’t want to mess up the exercise. “What’s your favorite food?”
“Steak.”
“If you could wake up and do any career tomorrow, what would it be?”
“Fishing guide.”
Suddenly, William’s eyes popped open. They stared at each other as a grin spread across Janine’s face. “There ya go!”
“You want me to be a fishing guide?”
“No. You want you to be a fishing guide!”
William stood up and walked across the room. “Janine, I can’t do that. First of all, I haven’t fished the marshes since I was a kid. Secondly, I have bills to pay like my rent, my car…”
She stood in front of him and put her hands on his arms. “You get one life, William. One. Your soul wants to be a fishing guide, and I’m going to help you get there. You helped me, now it’s my turn to help you. Okay?”
“This is insane. You know that, right?”
“The most insane things always lead to the most amazing things.”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure you’re right about that.”
Meg walked across the small community college campus and sighed. Going back to school was harder than she’d thought it would be. Vivi was teething again, and she’d kept Meg up all night again. Her eyes felt like they were going to close up on her whether she liked it or not.
“Hey there!”
She turned to see her friend, Darcy, standing next to the fountain. She was holding her son, Hatcher, on her hip as he leaned over and tried to reach the water spouting up into the air.
“Long time, no see!” Meg said. It had been weeks since she’d seen her only friend, with school and being a mommy taking up most of her time.
“I haven’t seen you around the bakery lately.”
Meg sighed and sat down on the edge of the fountain. Darcy tossed a penny over her shoulder and sat down, Hatcher wiggling on her lap. “School is killing me. I’ve recently learned that I might be an idiot.”
Darcy laughed. “Girl, you’re not an idiot. It’s hard going back to school with ‘mom brain’. I can’t imagine doing this right now. Be proud of yourself!”
“I’m barely passing math. Christian has been trying to help me, but last night we both fell asleep during my homework session and poor Vivi was sitting in her high chair looking at us like we were the worst parents ever.”
“Isn’t your mom keeping her for you?”
“Sometimes. But, I feel bad asking her to keep her when I’m not actually in class. She has her own life too. Vivi is my responsibility, and I love being her momma. I do. Sometimes, I just need a break!”
“Listen, I’m happy to keep sweet little Vivi anytime, okay?”
“You’re busy, Darcy. But, thank you.”
“I’m not so busy that I can’t help my friend. Listen, you and Christian pick a date night and let me keep Vivi. You can return the favor when school is out. Sound good?”
Meg smiled gratefully. “Our date night might consist of putting on our PJs, eating frozen pizza and staring at the TV.”
Darcy stood up and put Hatcher back on her hip. “You do what you need to do, girl. No judgment here!”
Meg laughed and stood up. She lightly pinched Hatcher’s fat little leg. “You seem to have it all together.”
Darcy rolled her eyes. “Yesterday, I burst into tears because I couldn’t get Hatcher to stop throwing his nasty baby food at me. I had prunes in my hair and had to wash it all over again.”
“Good to know I’m not alone,” Meg said, chuckling. “This morning, Vivi threw up all over my new shirt. I had to change, and I got to class ten minutes late.”
“Motherhood!” Darcy said, laughing. “Well, I’d better get going. I signed up for this mommy and baby class over at the community center. I’m now regretting my life decisions.”
Meg smiled. “You’ll do fine.”
Darcy started walking away. “I don’t make friends well, remember?”
“Well, you’ve got me as a friend!”
Meg watched as Darcy walked away, Hatcher bucking around on her hip. She was so thankful to have someone who totally understood her life right now.