Page 191 of Our Way

Nathan didn’t call me this morning like I thought he would, but he had his rounds so...

“Anyway, you have the afternoon off,” Henry says.

“I do?”

He smiles. “You do. Get a massage or whatever it is that women do in their spare time. But we have a dinner on tonight.”

“Where’s that?”

r /> “It’s in the restaurant here—nothing fancy. Just drinks and dinner for opening night.”

“Okay.”

“There’s a black-tie ball on Friday night for closing of the conference, but I said we wouldn’t be attending. We both want to get home as soon as possible. These things are long enough, I’m happy when they’re over.”

I smile. “Okay, great. Sounds good.”

* * *

I take a look at myself in the mirror, I’m wearing black pants and a cream silk shirt. I didn’t feel right putting on a dress to go for drinks tonight. My hair is down and full, and my makeup is natural.

I had a wonderful afternoon. I had a massage and went shopping. It felt good to just be me for a while, with nothing to do. I put my phone into my bag and roll my eyes. Nathan still hasn’t called and I know he is waiting for me to call him.

I’ll get it over with. I dial his number, and he answers on the first ring.

“Hi, there,” he purrs, and I can tell that he’s smiling.

“Hi.” I smile at the sound of his deep voice.

“How was your day?”

“Good, I only had to be there in the morning. I had the afternoon off, so I had a massage and went shopping.”

“Ah, working hard, I see,” he teases.

“Yes.”

“What’s on tonight?” he asks.

See…. this is normal…..this is a normal conversation, why can’t he be so chill all the time?

“A welcome dinner.”

“Where is it?”

“Just here at the hotel.”

“Okay.”

I smile. It makes me miss him when he’s like this. “I’ll call you when I get home.”

“Okay, babe. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

I hang up feeling happier, and I make my way down to the bar. It’s packed with people from the conference. Henry waves when he sees me. He’s standing with a group of people near the bar. I smile as I approach them.

“Hello, Eliza,” Henry says in a husky voice. Boy, is he tipsy already? How long have they been here? He turns to the men he is standing with. “This is my wonderful office manager, Eliza.”