Devil's Paradise

2: The End: Tony

Although there were plenty of empty spaces in the Eton parking lot, I liked to park in the outer ring. The walk in to the six story building, even in the zero degree air, gave me a chance to clear my head and focus on work.

It was too cold for comfort, and I coughed from the cold as I opened the large glass doors. But at least I was awake.

The lobby was gray granite and glass, giving a wide view of the town and the Catoctin ridge behind it. Tony was at his usual place at the front desk.

"Hiya, Tony."

"Morning, Louis. How's the wunderkind?" said Tony over his coffee as I showed my credentials and swiped in. The old man's gray eyes said they had seen everything, and his shoulders seemed broad enough to carry a small truck—twice the width of mine. His ever-present backpack leaned against the wall behind him, and as always, BBC Headlines was playing on his shortwave radio.

"C'mon, Tony. I'm just the bottom geek on the ladder here."

He snorted, "You say so, sport. I hear you are showing off something special—which reminds me." He picked up a sticky note from his desk. "They postponed your presentation to Wednesday. It seems some of the board members are staying home today."

A mix of relief and anxiety flooded through me. "Thanks, Tony." Maybe I can get some sleep.

"How's that baby doing?"

I nodded casually, hoping he wouldn't read my expression. "He's keeping us up all night. At least I don't have the milk factory, so I can sleep through the two o'clock feedings. It makes Alicia hard to deal with though." The last sentence just slipped out, and I mentally cursed.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Something tells me she isn't the only one who gets hard to deal with. You and Alicia okay, Louis?"

I shrugged with a smile, then a half chuckle escaped me. "We had our first fight this morning."

His eyes widened. "Your first one? Jeez, kid, that's some kind of record. You've been married more than a year, right?"

"Just under. Anniversary is in three weeks."

"Well, you sure didn't waste time getting the family started. Look, kid, can I offer you some hard-won advice?" He waited for me to nod. "Don't let it fester. Do something nice for her tonight. No matter what anyone says, flowers are always nice for starters. You do know whose fault it was, right?"

I looked down, miserable. "Both of us, I guess." That knot in my stomach had gotten no better.

"Wrong." Tony waited until I looked up. "It's always your fault, Louis. It's up to you to make it right. You may have been 100% right this morning, but you are 100% wrong from now on, until you can fix this. And I don't mean fixing her, or even fixing the situation. I mean fixing the fact that you screwed up and hurt the woman you love."
He pressed his lips together. "All right, that's enough torture for one day. But don't leave it, Louis. Life is much too short for that. Some mistakes can follow you forever if you don't make them right." He said the last sentence softly as he looked off into the distance with a sadness I'd never seen in him before.

I swallowed hard as fear replaced the guilt. My stomach clenched tighter than ever, but I took a breath and smiled. "Thanks, man. I'd better get down there."

"Have fun in the basement," Tony waved at me as I headed for the stair.

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