I'll Settle for You

MILES ~ Can't Let Go

"You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel." ~Anonymous



“Congratulations, Miles! You did an excellent job on the Parker case and you deserve this.” Mr. Bailey said, causing the entire boardroom to applaud. Today was the day I’d been working toward for the last five years. Today, I went from junior associate to partner and I was ecstatic! All my hard work had finally paid off, and I was exactly where I wanted to be in life.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Bailey. I promise that I won’t let you down.” I smiled as I stood to shake his hand. Partner. I still couldn’t believe it! I’d worked my butt off and I was finally getting the recognition I felt I deserved. Let me tell you, it felt great!

Once the meeting was over and I’d shaken all of the board members’ hands, I went to my office and called my wife.  Naomi and I had been married for three years, and I still loved her as much as I did the day I said my vows. She was a beautiful woman, and I was so lucky to have her as my wife. When you’re young and you imagine what your life will be like when you grow up, you pick the perfect house, perfect job, perfect car and the perfect wife. I had all those things, and I could honestly say that my life had turned out exactly how I’d imagined it. Now that I was a partner, we could finally start a family. Things had been a little stressful for us lately, with me working on such a big case, but I knew that now I would be free to give her all the time and attention she needed. Not that I was one of those men who completely ignored their wives, but the Parker case had been a tough one and we hadn’t really had a chance to spend any quality time together in the past few months. I missed her.

“Hey, honey, how is your day going?” I asked when she answered her cell.

“Um, fine…Is something wrong?”

“Of course not.” I laughed. “Does something have to be wrong for me to call my wife?”

“No.” She paused. “But it’s really the only time you ever do.” Damn, that hurt. Was I really that absent in her life?

“Well, I was just calling to see if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight. I can make reservations.” I offered. I really wanted to celebrate.

“Well, actually, I have this work function to go to. Remember I told you about it a couple of weeks ago?” Naomi was a dancer and she also taught dance classes three nights a week when she wasn’t in some production or musical.

“No, actually I don’t remember that. Is it mandatory?” I asked. I couldn’t really enjoy this big promotion if I couldn’t celebrate with the woman I loved.

“I’m not surprised; you barely ever listen to a word I say anyway. Yes, it’s mandatory, so I guess I’ll just see you when I get home. I have to go now.” She didn’t wait for a response as she disconnected the call. I sat there staring at the phone in my hand for a few minutes. What the hell did she mean by I barely ever listen to a word she says? How could she say that? I always found time for her, even in the midst of a very important trial. I was never too busy for her, but lately she seemed to be the one with a ton of things to do. I briefly wondered if I should be concerned, but quickly dismiss the idea. No matter what we were going through at the moment, we were still in love.

As soon as I put my phone on my desk, there was a knock on my door. One of my fellow lawyers, and very best friend, walked in to congratulate me. His name was Terrence Hurd, and we’d gone to law school together, though we didn’t know each other at the time. Over the years, we’d worked together on several cases and somehow developed a friendship. He was a great guy, and he’d never once let me down when it came to something work related or personal. I guess you could say he was my ace boon.