Convenience

Part 102

Auckland Anniversary Day is the Auckland's official anniversary day and in 1842 it became a public holiday. Auckland Anniversary Day has an Auckland Regatta and it grew from a spontaneous event with just a couple of rowboats. Now it is recognised as the largest one-day regatta in the world. Not that David worried about that. 

He had spent months getting the family business on an even keel. But his personal life, he shelved it. Put it on that shelf, way back, behind lots of baggage, emotion baggage, under his radar and away from his attention.

But that Auckland Anniversary Day he had stayed at home!  Auckland Anniversary Day was the first time he had taken time off and had not spent all of that on the business. Every previous public holiday he had taken his work home. He kept working from home. 

Reconsidering and re-examining his personal life. Auckland Anniversary Day was the first time he realized he was not the person who was waving in the sea: he didn't need rescuing, not at that moment. His family business was ok.

But on Auckland Anniversary Day, he spent time thinking about his relationship, after he visited his nanny earlier that weekend. She was at a care home.  She reminded him that she had never met his wife. And she told him to put some effort into his relationship with his wife, otherwise he would lose her. She had pointed at a quotation from Dyer, a motivational presenter,  'Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made'  and she added, that David's sum didn't include his personal life. 

So on a whim David phoned Beatrice. He thought carefully about that call, remembering his nanny.  His plan was to talk to Beatrice. What did she wanted? He couldn't remember if he had, at any time, asked her about her future plans! What did she wanted from their relationship?  To carry on, now that their grandfathers  weren't there? Did she wanted the same path as him?  

He turned the business by asking questions. What did his board members thought? What did they wanted from this business? Were they on the same path? But he had never asked Beatrice what she wanted. Never posed those question to her.

"When?" Beatrice waited a beat to see if he would come clean.

David reminded her bluntly that he remembered where and when, he made that call. "It was Auckland Anniversary Day." No point making a big deal of the situation. "I was at home."

 He remembered how long he had spent thinking about their relationship, that day. Almost the whole day. Noticed that his plan, didn't take any notice of his personal life. Just because he had a wife, didn't mean that his relationship would just keep trundling along. She was fine. There were no issues. Unlike his business. But, his visit to his nanny made him reassess his relationship with his wife.

"I provided simple information and I asked straight questions." David was going to be blunt.

Beatrice could see from his expression that he was miffed. "Like?" Beatrice felt a sudden jolt of anxiety race through her system. Cutting-off her phone had consequences. Big consequences. Unexpected consequence.

"Your availability?" .

Taken by surprise at that rather unexpected statement. Beatrice frowned as she watched him. "My availability?"

"I left a message. I asked you if you wanted to come to the party." He could see she was trying to figure out whether she had misread the signals or his words. Or he lied to her? David added, " I asked, do you want to come to a party?" He seemed annoyed. She could understand that.

She sounded worried. "You asked me?" She blinked. She needed a chance to find her equilibrium. She reached for her glass and took a sip.

David figured he would lay his cards on the table. "I told you I could pick up you at 7pm. It was a business social event. At Park Hotel."

Beatrice took a swift breath. "Auckland Anniversary Day?" She knew that date.

He liked the fact they were straight talking people. "Auckland Anniversary Day." He nodded. He narrowed his gaze at Beatrice. "You know about Auckland Anniversary Day. Monday, public holiday." His eyebrows climbed toward his hairline. Of course she knew about Auckland Anniversary Day. "I was home." He reached for his glass.

She knew it was a public holiday. That is why she moved then, it gave her three days to unpack her stuff. Five years ago, she moved her possessions on Friday. Spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday at her new home in Raglan, unpacking her possession. Came back to Auckland, on Tuesday, just to check her utilities were cut off: the electricity, gas, telephone. She checked. It was all cut off. She stopped at the estate agency in Auckland, and she handed her keys to the estate agents. The people who had bought the house moved in the following week.