Our Forever Promise

by Mary Wasowski

  “Jackson, may I have a word please?” I tapped on his door before entering his room. He was focused on his laptop, squinting furiously at the screen.

  “What are you working on?” I cautiously asked him. He completely ignored me, which frustrated the hell out of me.

  “Jackson,” I called out once more and loud enough for him to hear me.

  “What?” he answered, shoving away from his desk. He placed his head down in his hands. I knew what he was doing. He was frustrated and hurting. As his father, it hurt like to hell to see him in pain.

  “Talk to me son, please. Don’t shut me out again.”

  His voice quivered as he tried to hold back his tears. “I can’t see the screen. The images are blurry and when I try to focus, my head begins to throb.”

  “Jackson, you have to give yourself time to heal. It is a miracle you’ve progressed this far already. Now in order to see more improvement, you have to be patient. Your sight is getting better, but there is no way of knowing when you will regain it to full capacity.”

  “What if I never get it back? What then, dad? I’m fucked, and my future is fucked! I can’t be a blind film maker.”

  “Jackson, I don’t know what I can say to help you right now, but maybe we need to have you talk to someone that can.”

  “Like a shrink? No thanks. I’ll be fine.”

  “Why don’t you get out of the house today? Maybe take a walk along the grounds? The exercise will do you some good, and it’s a beautiful day.”

  “I’m fine here, dad. I just want to be alone.”

  “Okay. Get some rest, and I’ll call you in a couple of hours. I love you.”

  He said nothing back, as I closed the door to his room, shutting him in with his thoughts. I hated to leave him, but I really needed to get to the office. I instructed Richard to stay close to Jackson today, and keep me updated throughout the day.

  “Priscilla.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “I’m leaving for the office and I won’t be home until later this evening. Please keep an eye on Jackson, and call me immediately with any changes I need to know. Also keep in mind of the extra security here at the house and on the grounds. No one is to enter the property without being cleared by security first, understand?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Thank you Priscilla. I’ll see you later.” I grabbed my briefcase and handed it off to Stephen, who was waiting for me by my car.

  “Good morning, sir.” He greeted me with his usual professional manner.

  “Is it?” I answered morosely, and then slid into the back.

  “Good morning sir. Welcome back!” Jenny greeted me as I stepped off the elevator to the executive floor of Reed Global.

  “That seems to be the consensus this morning, but less of the cheeriness. Hello, Jenny, and thank you. Can you please bring me in some coffee and a muffin? Get me Donovan and Tom, and I need all my correspondence.”

  “Coffee and muffin are waiting for you on your desk. Donovan and Tom will be here in ten minutes, and all your pressing matters are on your left side of your desk. Will there be anything else sir?” She dutifully waited for my response.

  I sighed and thanked the assistant gods for giving me Jenny. “Thank you Jenny, and e-mail me a reminder to give you a raise. Send them in when they arrive, and of course put through any calls from my home.”

  “Yes sir. Happy you’re back.”

  “Me too.”

  Before diving into the long day that was a head of me, I enjoyed the quiet and sanctuary of my office. The last time I was here, I had made love to Reese in my private hidden bedroom. She came to me here wrapped up in nothing but a sheet hiding her gorgeous body under it. This was the last place I wanted to be today, but I have a company to run, and Jackson wasn’t the only one that needed to get back into a routine. Before Reese came back into my life, this was my life. This company and this office. I spent fourteen hour work days here, six days a week. Now it’s the last place I want to be.

  As I finished my coffee and muffin, Donovan and Tom entered my office.

  “Good morning, Walker. Happy to have you back.” Donovan greeted me first.

  “Hello, sir.” Simple greeting by the more reserved Tom.

  “Gentlemen, I take it no major crises occurred while I was away? I’ve already gone through this stack of reports, and we seem to be on schedule with Germany.”

  “On schedule and moving ahead as planned. The Reinhart’s are thrilled with the progression of the building. After the completion, we will have to set the date on the official dedication ceremony and opening of the complex.”

  “That all sounds great, but when is our end date? We are all invested two plus years already. We need an end date. So when is it?”

  “I see the completion by spring 2015,” Donovan replied.

  “Fair enough. I will hold you to that time frame. I want this building ready by April, and not one month later. Now moving on…”

  I spent hours going over each project that was on my desk with the Reinhart building at the top of the list. I had spoken to Sebastian Reinhart, and as Donovan earlier stated, he was more than happy.

  Jenny buzzed in, “Excuse me sir, you have a visitor.”

  “Who is it, Jenny? I’m very busy and see no appointments.” Before she could answer, my door swung open and in walked Thomas, Lila, Reese, and Riley. Jenny was covering her mouth from her laughter spilling out. I could imagine my expression that I was wearing when they barged in, but now it was a welcomed surprise…the best.

  Reese greeted me first with a kiss and hug. How did she know this is exactly what I needed? I would have loved to take her to the back, but we had company. “Nana wanted to see where you worked. Is it okay that we stopped by?”

  “Of course it is. You never need a reason.” I shook Thomas’s hand, and hugged Lila and Riley. Thomas walked around the room and took in the antiques that were prominently displayed throughout my office.

  “This is quite the office you have here, son. You’ve done good, kid, real good.”

  “Why thank you, sir, and coming from you that is quite the compliment.”

  “Just telling you how it is. Now son if you don’t mind, I would like to speak with you about a few things.”

  “Of course, Thomas. Do we need privacy or can you tell me in front of the others?” I asked him.

  “Here’s just fine.”

  “Very well. Have a seat. What’s on your mind?”

  “Wedding” he stated.

  “When are you going to marry my granddaughter here? She’s carrying your child and we need to get you two married.”

  “Granddaddy. I’ve already explained that we will be planning it soon.”

  “And I told you, my sweet girl, that there is no time like the present.”

  I sat there for a minute in silence, deciding on how to answer his request. Lila was uncharacteristically quiet, and Riley was just smiling. I think it was at my expense.

  “I couldn’t agree with you more, Thomas. I plan on speaking with our wedding planner today. Once I do that, all will be back on track. I promise to give Reese an amazing day.”

  Thinking that answer would appease him, my response did not make Thomas happy.

  “Walker, you don’t need any fancy planner. Lila is here and has been waiting to throw you one hell of a party. My heart hurt for you, and for your son, but you all are home now, so I see no reason to wait. Don’t you agree, Reese?”

  “Granddaddy, can you give me some time with Walker? I’ll join you in a few minutes, and then we can go to lunch, okay?”

  “Okay, sweet girl. Walker.” I nodded at her grandfather and watched them exit my office. Jenny would chat with Lila. She was looking forward to meeting her.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Reese said to me. “I can’t believe how standoffish granddaddy was behaving.”

  “Come here, baby. Talk to me. What has gotten him all riled up? Do I need to worry? Did he bring his sh
otgun with him?”

  “Stop it. That’s not funny.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry. What’s up?”

  “He’s not mad at you, he’s just mad in general. I’ve never seen him so upset.”

  “I can’t help unless I know the whole story.”

  “After we arrived home from the market, Nana and I were talking in the kitchen and didn’t realize granddaddy was around the corner. He heard most of the conversation about Henry, and what happened at the hospital. Nana began asking questions, and I had to tell her who he was and how I fit into the story. Well granddaddy finally lost it and demanded to know everything. We never really explained our entire history to him, and Nana and I felt that he didn’t need to know. The short version always worked for him, and this time, it didn’t. I tried to explain it the best way I could, but I think after he heard it all, he just wanted to hit something. The gardener gave him an ax to break up some firewood. That helped his tension a little bit. He’s also upset for Jackson. He hasn’t come out of his room all day, and has refused lunch.”

  “Reese, why didn’t you call me immediately? Or better yet, Priscilla or Richard? This is what I pay them for and quite fucking well I might add.”

  “Walker, it is not Priscilla’s fault. This is a family matter, and we discussed it as a family. I’m fine. He’s just upset for me and felt he let me down by not being there to help me all those years ago. The fault lies on me. We all know it. No point to deny it.”

  “No, it doesn’t! I refuse to listen to this garbage. I agree, Thomas does have a right to be upset, but it’s not right to make you feel bad about it. Secondly, my son nearly died weeks ago. We are all trying to get our feet back onto the ground. Baby, our wedding will happen. I promise you.”

  “I know that, Walker. I don’t want you to feel pressured by my grandparents or by me.”

  “Impossible. Are you forgetting our conversation last night in bed?”

  “No! Never. It was one of the best nights of my life.”

  “Good. Mine too.” I pulled Reese to me and kissed her passionately.

  “Not one more day, baby.” She looked at me with widened eyes, as I pulled out my phone and dialed her number.

  “Rosalyn. Walker Reed here. I need you to drop everything and proceed with our wedding plans. Oh and one more thing…you have ten days to pull it off.” Without waiting for an answer, I disconnected the call and kissed my beautiful bride to be. “Baby, I’m going to make all of your dreams come true. Marry me next Saturday in our meadow and under our gazebo. I’ll be the handsome prince waiting for you.”

  “You already made all my dreams come true. I love you so much.”

  “You render me speechless, baby. Do you think we can send them home, and I can have my way with you?”

  “As much as I would love that, I have to say no. And Walker?”

  “Yes my love.”

  “Granddaddy does have his shot gun with him.”

  “Oh fuck!”

  “Exactly. I love you, and I’ll see you at home.”

  I said my goodbyes to Lila, Thomas, and Riley. Thomas’s mood changed with the news of our wedding next week. Lila was smiling and Riley was happy too. Lila couldn’t wait to begin cooking and getting everything on her end done. Their smiles were worth the office invasion I endured earlier.

  “Jenny!” I didn’t bother buzzing her.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Time to turn the office back into wedding central. If I turn into groomzilla, reel me in quickly.”

  “Will do, sir.”

  “Follow up with Rosalyn, and put out a press release for tomorrow morning. I need Stephen here immediately, and another coffee would be great.”

  “Yes sir. Did I tell you how happy I am to have you back?”

  “You may have mentioned it. Now go! We have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in.”

  The rest of my day flew by with making call after call. Reese would have her wedding. I left no detail to chance. Freddy would arrive by the weekend with the finished dress in hand. Before he left, he took new measurements of Reese, and began working on her dress. She looked gorgeous, and now being pregnant, she was just off the charts beautiful. In the beginning, my planning went to the extreme. I didn’t even know how I let things get out of hand, but all was on track now. Reese didn’t care about much. She just wanted her family and closest friends with us on our day. With her life in front of the cameras, she left that behind a long time ago. I was sorry that I had forgotten that for a while, but I truly believed Reese and her grandparents would be very happy with what I’d come up with.

  After my very long day, I arrived home to a very quiet house. I called out and no one answered me back. Not even Priscilla greeted me by the door. I searched the house and still found no one.

  “Calm yourself Reed, and get yourself in check,” I said out loud as I continued to search the house. I pulled out my cell to dial Reese, when I heard noise coming from the media room. Not knowing what was on the other side, I slowly opened the door to find everyone, including Priscilla and Richard watching home movies of Reese.

  “You’re home!” Reese called out to me.

  “So it appears. I was worried when I couldn’t find anyone.”

  “Oh I’m sorry baby. We’ve been in here for a couple of hours now. I didn’t even know that Nana had brought all of my childhood home movies with her. Come here, let me show you my mama and daddy.”

  I sat beside Reese, as she explained in great detail the memories that were being played out in front of me. She looked just like her mother. Her father resembled a younger looking Thomas. I caught a few of her falling tears as the camera zoomed in on her parents at times. I got to see the famous Bubba, her grandfather’s golden retriever. He was in all the footage, and at times dressed up. I laughed out loud with my girl. Her tears ceased, and she smiled as she snuggled up to me.

  “Your parents are always with you, baby. They’ll be with you on our wedding day too,” I said.

  “I know. Seeing them again brought it all back for me. I haven’t watched these movies in years. I didn’t know that Nana had them restored. It’s a wedding present for me. They’re all mine now. She even made copies for Riley to have.”

  “That’s beautiful, baby. I can’t wait to watch them all with you. Speaking of family, I can’t help but notice, where’s Jackson?”

  “He’s upstairs. He didn’t want to come down.”

  “Okay. Will you excuse me for a few minutes?”

  “Walker, don’t be upset with him.”

  “I’m just going to talk with him. I’ll be back soon.”

  Reese and Riley both looked up at me with apprehension in their faces. Clearly what we were doing wasn’t working, so it was time for a talk with my son.

  Without knocking this time, I walked in to his room. He was sleeping with his headphones on and a movie now on its credits. I carefully removed his headphones and gently shook him awake.

  “Dad,” he groggily responded.

  “Hey, how are you feeling? Any more headaches?”

  “I’m good. It was just eye strain earlier this morning. Tyler came by and we worked out for a while, but just strength training. I was tired after that and just relaxed here.”

  “Why didn’t you join the others down in the media room?”

  “I wasn’t up for it.”

  “But spending time alone in this room, is that what you’re up for?”

  “Dad, I don’t want to get into this right now.”

  “That’s too bad because we’re already knee deep into it, and we’re going to talk this through, right now.”

  “What do you want from me, dad? So I stayed in my room today. It’s not a crime to want to be alone.”

  “You’re right. Shutting your family out, and the girl you’re supposed to love, is not right either. How do you think she feels knowing you won’t talk to her and have completely shut her out?”

  “Did Riley say something to you?”
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  “She didn’t have to, son. It’s written all over her face. Now for the last time, talk to me.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else you want me to say?”

  “Jackson, I want you to rejoin the living. Hiding up here in the solace of your room is not going to make you feel better, in the long run. Shutting everyone out who loves you is not going to help you feel better, if anything, it’s going to make you feel worse. I’m not going to sit here and try to minimize what you’ve been through. I know because I was right there with you, son. It nearly destroyed me to discover your secret. I don’t ever want to think about what could have happened if I lost you. How many times do I have to tell you this? I love you, Jackson, with every fiber in my soul, but as much as I love you, I will not sit back and lose you to this depression that has taken hold of you.”

  “You are getting stronger every day. And your vision is improving. Please son, give yourself time to heal and be thankful that you’re still here.”

  I gave him a minute to process all that I said. Times like this I wish he had his mother to comfort him. I tried my best to keep myself in check and not get angry. I watched Jackson pull himself up with now his back to his headboard. I extended my hand, but he refused it. He wanted to get up on his own. He reached for his cane before placing his feet to the floor. With the assistance of his cane, he stood up tall and gave me a hug. It was a hug I welcomed and needed.

  “I’m sorry, dad. I’ll try harder and do better. I should have never lied to you from the beginning. I’m so sorry for putting you through this.”

  “Jackson, none of this is your fault. We have already made peace with this a long time ago. I just want you to live in the now with me, and not let the past keep interfering with your present. Don’t make the same mistakes I made. You are so young and have so much to look forward to. None of it has to be spent alone. You have an amazing girl who loves you and is waiting for you downstairs. Go to her and make things right. By the way, I have a question to ask you. It’s more like a favor.”