Chapter 9 - The Choice of the Three Sons
The afternoon sun broke through the Boston fog by three o'clock, turning the water of the harbor from a dull gray to a brilliant, sparkling silver.
The executive suite was quiet now. The investors had gone back to New York, their contracts secured, their confidence in Wilson Architecture higher than it had ever been. Michael sat at the long glass table, his tie removed, his head resting against his hand as the sheer exhaustion of the week finally caught up to him.
I walked over to him, my navy jacket over my arm, the pearl necklace catching the soft afternoon light from the window.
"Are you okay?" I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder.
He looked up, his gray eyes filled with a deep, emotional warmth that made my chest swell. He reached up, took my hand, and pressed a soft kiss against my knuckles. "I survived the boardroom, Jenny. But I only survived it because of you. If you hadn't looked at that signature... if you hadn't called Elizabeth..."
"We're a team, Michael," I whispered, leaning down to press my forehead against his. "Remember what Tommy said? We build our family out of what we promise each other when the lights go out."
"Mom! Look!"
Kevin’s voice broke the quiet of the boardroom. He was standing by the massive floor-to-ceiling window, pointing out toward the harbor where a massive cargo ship was pulling away from the pier, its horn blowing a deep, resonant note across the water.
"That ship is going to Europe," Luke said, standing beside him, his hands pressed against the glass. "Maybe it's going to London with Aunt Elizabeth."
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"It's going wherever it needs to go," Tommy said, walking over to join them, his hands tucked into his school uniform pockets. He looked back at me over his shoulder, his gentle smile looking exactly like the photograph on our refrigerator in Newton. "But we're staying here. Right, Mom?"
I walked over to the window, wrapping my arms around the three of them as the afternoon sun warmed our faces through the glass. "Right, Tommy. We're staying right here."
