Him & I

Past In Present

The scarlet letter isn't black
Gotta know who's got your back
Because they're right in front of you
Because they're telling you the truth
So much present, inside my present
Inside my present, so much past
——Past In Present, Feist

August 20, 2018

Jack Callahan settled into his chair and automatically glanced at his printed schedule.  He studied the meetings with a frown.  Vacation was a week away.  He'd persuaded Joan that they should go to Kona.  And he been thinking about cutting back when he returned. 

Joan was only going to work three days a week, with occasional on call shifts. She'd spent the summer getting her New York license and obtaining hospital privileges, but had turned down offers to work full time, instead opting for a practice that was willing to allow her to work part time and the flexibility to take time off. Maybe it was time he do something similar, turn over more of the day to day operations to his executives.

But right now, Joan was in Detroit, finalizing the sale of her house and its furnishings and packing the last of the things she wanted to keep. Some would be shipped to Colorado, others here to New York. And Joan would be home tomorrow. He missed her, which was crazy. But he had to set all that aside and focus on work.

One meeting on his agenda made his frown deepen.  Why would Benjamin Brafman be on his calendar? He knew who Brafman was, but he couldn't imagine what he would have to discuss with a criminal defense attorney.

Jack spun to his computer and opened his electronic calendar to review the meeting details.  Margaret had just noted that Brafman asked for the meeting, said it was personal and very important, and that she'd asked Jeffrey Kline, Jack's General Counsel, to attend.

Jack didn't meet with lawyers without his own lawyer present. It was a longstanding policy. And Jeffrey knew his role in these meetings was generally to be quiet unless his client was about to step on a legal landmine.

Jack sighed and supposed that he'd have to wait to see what it was all about. He couldn't imagine what Brafman's interest was in Callahan Global.

*****

She was packing. It was finally time to get ready for her move to Salt Lake City. She brushed her long, now brunette, hair over one shoulder and taped another box shut.

Grayson had only rarely appeared since Summer League ended, but she'd kept careful track of him as best she could. The photo gallery from the rookie photo shoot had been so incredible that she'd sat down and cried.  But she was concerned for Grayson.  He needed to rest and to prepare for the upcoming season. Cait Callahan shouldn't have been running him all over the place.

Cait really had no clue how to care for him, one more sign that she was completely unfit to be his wife. Grayson needed tender, loving care. And that was exactly what he would soon be getting. As soon as that bitchy red head was out of the way.

*****

Cait was the one sleeping by the pool this time. They'd had such an amazing trip and she hated to leave the next day. But the wedding was coming together and she and Grayson would soon be in Salt Lake City for good. They could settle in, get their condo arranged, and get into a routine. They just had a short trip to New York first and then an couple days apart while she went to Durham.