Anthony rose earlier than usual the next morning. He didn't turn toward the company building, instead he headed toward Sasha's parent house, almost 2 hours away. Just as he was pulling into town, he stopped to get three cups of coffee and a box of donuts. He took the time to call his office and let his secretary know that he wouldn't be in that day as he was out of town on business.
He then headed to Sasha's parents' house. He parked, went to the door and rang the bell. Sasha's dad, Dimitri, answered the door in a pair of plaid pajamas. The look of surprise on his face was almost worth the trip alone.
"Anthony. What in the world? Is everything all right? Is Sasha ok? Are the kids well? Why are you here?"
"I'll explain everything. I have coffee and donuts. Can I come in?"
"Of course! Come on. Let me get Petra."
Anthony stood in the living room waiting until Dimitri returned with his plump wife Petra. She came forward hastily and gave him a kiss.
"Where is Sasha and the kids?"
"Can we go sit down in the kitchen? I'll explain everything."
In the kitchen he set the coffee down in front of each of them and opened the donuts. The donuts remained forgotten as they continued to question Anthony until he began to explain.
"I wanted to talk to you alone, without Sasha hearing all this. I have a chance to land a contract that will change our entire lives and the lives of the kids if I can pull it off. But I need some help. This is going to require me to get some specialized training over the next few weeks. I will need to focus on this to satisfy this potential customer that I have the determination and the fortitude to complete this job. From the family standpoint, it may mean that Sasha and I need to be out of town a lot over the course of the next several months. We will need help with the kids. Fortunately, summer break is about to start, and they won't have school. I am hoping that you two can help out by taking them for a few nights a week while we take care of business travel."
His two in-laws looked at each other.
"Of course."
Anthony looked at Dimitri directly.
"I have a big favor to ask of you.
"What do you need?"
"I need you to come out of retirement for at least a month and take over running the construction company on a day-to-day basis while I am getting things together on this new project."
Dimitri looked surprised.
"But I know nothing about construction."
"Yeah, but you know everything about organization, structure, planning and management. That's all this is. I can school you as we go along about the construction end of it. Besides, I have great site supervisors who take care of most of the details. I know it's asking a lot, but it would mean a lot to us."
Dimitri has a sudden gleam in his eye.
"You know. I think getting up and doing something for a while might do me good. But we live 2 hours away. How will that work?"
"That might be an issue, but we will work something out."
"If you are serious, I would be glad to help."
"Thank you so much. I need to start on this ASAP. Dmitri, can you be at my office at 9 in the morning?"
"Certainly."
Anthony felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. They continued to talk for a while. Anthony brought them up to date with the kids and told them Sasha was doing well. Finally, Anthony stood up.
"I have to get back to the office. I'll get everything arranged and get you started tomorrow morning."
"I'll be there."
Anthony was soon back in his truck headed back to town. He stopped at the construction company and called a staff meeting to hurriedly explain that there were going to be some temporary changes because of some business opportunities. He gave instructions for one of the spare offices near his to be fitted out with all the necessary office equipment and told them that his father-in-law was going to come help with managing the office for a while. Everyone was surprised but when he explained that he was working on a project that was critical to the success of the business and his family, they seemed to understand.
He then left and headed straight home. For the first time in months, he was feeling positive about what was happening, and that the future was going to be positive.
&&&&&
A noise out front caught Sasha's attention. She stepped into the living room and looked through the window. She gasped as she saw Anthony's pickup coming down the drive. Rushing back into the kitchen she slammed the screen closed on the laptop and put it back in the cupboard. Tucking her shirt back into her jeans, she barely got the button at the top of her pants closed and brushed her fingers through her hair when Athony burst through the door.
"What are you doing at home at this hour?"
He grinned.
"I have great news. I have been offered a contract on a huge new project. The problem is that it requires me to be certified in some specialized techniques. I will have to buckle down and spend a lot of time studying for the certification test for the next couple of weeks. I talked to your parents, and they understand what is going to happen. Your dad has agreed to come to work for me for a few weeks taking care of the day-to-day operations of the office. He is as excited as I am I think."
"But.. what....I, mean... wow."
"This could change our lives, seriously. I don't think things will change much here at home. I will still be keeping my regular schedule. The kids will be out on summer break soon. I will just be doing a different kind of work, studying for these exams."
She was still trying to process the information when he gathered her into his arms and gave her a huge hug. As he looked over her shoulder, he saw the end of an electric cord just hanging out of the cupboard. He leaned her back and kissed her on the lips hard and deep.
"Let's celebrate. We are going out to dinner tonight."
Later, Sasha stood in the closet trying to decide what to wear to dinner. Anthony was helping the kids with homework in the study. As she looked through the clothes hanging in the closet, her mind began to wander a bit.