Chapter 7 - Sunrise
At 5:32 the next morning, Isaac found Catherine dressed.
He stood in her doorway.
“No.”
She wore two sweaters, a knitted hat, and the expression of a woman prepared for battle.
“I haven’t asked anything.”
“You’re going outside.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“You cannot say no before I finish.”
“I can when I know the sentence.”
Catherine sighed.
“Good morning, dictator.”
“You fell yesterday.”
“And Ruth spoke to my doctor.”
“He said rest.”
“He said I may continue gentle activity if I feel well.”
Isaac looked toward Ruth.
She nodded.
“He did.”
Betrayal.
Everywhere.
Megan appeared behind Catherine carrying a blanket.
Isaac glared.
“Don’t.”
“I haven’t said anything.”
“You’re thinking.”
“I apologize.”
“Everyone back to bed.”
Catherine pushed past him.
It would have been more dramatic if she moved faster than one cautious step every few seconds.
Isaac followed.
“Mom.”
“I have spent enough mornings looking at ceilings.”
“Yesterday—”
“Yesterday scared me too.”
That stopped him.
Catherine turned.
“You think because I insist on living that I’m not afraid?”
Isaac said nothing.
“I’m terrified.”
Her voice softened.
“Every time my legs shake, I wonder if this is the moment they stop carrying me. Every time I wake up tired, I wonder if I’m getting worse.”
He looked down.
“But if fear gets to make every decision, then I’m already gone.”
Isaac closed his eyes briefly.
“All right.”
Catherine smiled.
“Was that painful?”
“Extremely.”
They went downstairs.
Lily appeared five minutes later dragging her blanket.
“Where are you going?”
“To watch the sunrise,” Catherine said.
“I’m coming.”
Isaac shook his head.
“You’re going back to bed.”
Lily looked at Megan.
“Can you overrule him?”
“No.”
Catherine raised a finger.
“I can.”
Soon all six of them were on the patio.
Isaac.
Lily.
Catherine.
Megan.
Helen.
Ruth.
The sky was still dark blue.
Catherine sat beneath two blankets.
Lily curled against her side.
Megan brought hot chocolate.
Isaac checked Catherine’s pulse twice until she slapped his hand away.
Then the horizon changed.
Gray became rose.
Rose became orange.
The first sunlight touched the lavender pots.
Catherine began crying.
Lily looked worried.
“Why are you sad?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re crying.”
“People cry when they’re happy too.”
“Why?”
Catherine smiled.
“Because humans are badly designed.”
Megan laughed.
Isaac watched his mother’s face.
He had seen sunrise from private jets.
Hotels in Singapore.
Penthouse suites.
Conference rooms after overnight negotiations.
He could not remember ever stopping to watch one.
Catherine reached for his hand.
“Your father loved mornings.”
“I thought he hated waking up.”
“He hated waking up. He loved mornings once someone accomplished it for him.”
Isaac smiled.
“He would have complained about the cold.”
“Constantly.”
They sat together until the sun was fully above the trees.
When they went inside, Catherine crossed “watch a sunrise outside” from the list.
Eight items remained.
Lily frowned.
“Why cross it out?”
“Because I did it.”
“But then it looks finished.”
“That’s the idea.”
Lily took the pen.
Beside the line, she drew a star.
“Now it looks remembered.”
Catherine kissed her head.
Isaac looked away.
He had a meeting at nine.
At 8:30, he was still eating toast.
At 8:45, Grant called.
“You’re late.”
“I’m aware.”
“Are you coming?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
Grant sighed.
“Isaac, the board thinks you’re having some kind of breakdown.”
Isaac looked at Lily drawing stars on the blue paper.
“Maybe I was having one before.”
He ended the call.
At the office, things were worse.
The leak had frightened two major partners.
The San Francisco acquisition was in danger.
More troubling, Grant had held private conversations with several board members without Isaac.
“You went around me,” Isaac said.
Grant sat across from his desk.
“I stabilized things.”
“You undermined me.”
“I did my job.”
“Your job is not to make decisions for me.”
Grant laughed once.
“Interesting.”
Isaac’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“That sentence.”
“Explain.”
“You've spent eleven years making decisions for everyone around you because you were convinced you knew what was best.”
Isaac went still.
The fact that Grant was right did not make the insubordination acceptable.
But it made the accusation harder to dismiss.
Grant leaned forward.
“I helped you build Mercer Group because you never hesitated.”
“People change.”
“CEOs don’t get that luxury.”
“People do.”
“This company employs four thousand people.”
“I know exactly how many.”
“Then act like it.”
Isaac stared at his oldest colleague.
“What are you actually afraid of?”
Grant’s face hardened.
“That you’re about to destroy what we built.”
The phrase sounded familiar.
What we built.
His father had once used similar language.
His mother too.
Buildings became identities.
Companies became relationships.
Isaac stood.
“We’re postponing the acquisition.”
Grant stared.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
“We’ve spent seven months on this.”
“And due diligence found problems we were trying to solve with speed.”
“We can fix them after closing.”
“That is exactly the kind of sentence I used to admire.”
“And now?”
“Now I think it’s stupid.”
Grant stood.
“The board will fight you.”
“Then they fight.”
“This maid has gotten inside your head.”
Isaac’s expression went cold.
“Do not speak about Megan again.”
Grant noticed the shift.
“Oh.”
“Careful.”
“You're sleeping with her?”
Isaac crossed the room.
“No.”
“Then why—”
“Because she is an employee in my home, and you are reducing legitimate changes in my decisions to gossip about a woman you have never met.”
Grant lifted both hands.
“Fine.”
“No. Not fine.”
Isaac opened the office door.
“We’ll continue after you remember how to speak about people who work for me.”
Grant stared.
Then left.
Isaac stood alone.
His anger surprised him.
So did his defensiveness.
Was he attracted to Megan?
Yes.
He had been avoiding admitting it.
But attraction was inconvenient.
She worked for him.
She cared for his mother.
Lily adored her.
Complications layered over complications.
Isaac walked to the window.
For years, his city view had represented success.
That afternoon it looked like distance.
When he returned home, he found Megan sitting on the back steps alone.
“You missed dinner,” she said.
“I know.”
“Catherine saved you something.”
“Please tell me it isn’t a biscuit.”
“It’s worse.”
“Impossible.”
“Vegetable casserole.”
He sat beside her.
“You were right yesterday.”
She looked over.
“Again?”
“Don't enjoy it.”
“Too late.”
“I panicked when Mom fell.”
“I know.”
“I blamed you.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
Megan studied him.
“You say that less painfully than I expected.”
“I’ve had practice this week.”
She smiled.
He looked toward the garden.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You usually do whether I say yes or not.”
“Why did you take this job?”
Megan's smile faded.
“Money.”
“Seriously.”
“Seriously.”
“I assumed—”
“That I had a sacred calling to clean expensive houses?”
He almost laughed.
“My mother’s bakery got into debt.”
“What happened?”
“Flood.”
“Insurance?”
“Not enough.”
“So you came here.”
“I had worked in hospitality. Ruth knew someone who knew your house manager. The pay was good.”
“How much does your mother owe?”
Megan immediately stiffened.
“No.”
“What?”
“Do not solve it.”
“I was asking.”
“You were calculating.”
He had been.
“You don't know what I was doing.”
“Yes, I do. Your face went into spreadsheet mode.”
He smiled despite himself.
“Spreadsheet mode?”
“It’s terrifying.”
“I could help.”
“I know.”
“Then why not let me?”
“Because I need this job. I don't need to become something you rescued.”
The words landed gently but firmly.
Isaac nodded.
“Fair.”
Megan looked surprised.
“What?”
“You expected an argument.”
“Yes.”
“I’m evolving.”
“Slowly.”
They smiled.
For one quiet moment, the space between them changed.
Megan’s eyes dropped to his mouth.
Then back up.
Isaac felt it.
So did she.
Neither moved.
The kitchen door opened.
Helen leaned out.
“Catherine wants to know if you two are going to keep staring at each other or come inside for dessert.”
Megan stood immediately.
Isaac closed his eyes.
“Does she have any shame?”
“No,” Helen said. “It’s genetic.”
Inside, Catherine was waiting with the blue list.
She had circled another item.
Watch Lily perform at school.
“Friday,” she said.
Isaac nodded.
“I’ll be there.”
Lily looked up sharply.
“You have work.”
“I’ll move it.”
“You always say that.”
The room went quiet.
Isaac looked at his daughter.
“When did I say that?”
Lily shrugged.
“Lots.”
“How many times did I miss?”
She looked down.
Catherine said softly, “Isaac.”
“No. I want to know.”
Lily counted on her fingers.
“My Christmas song.”
His chest tightened.
“The spring play.”
He remembered sending flowers.
“Grandparents Day, but Grandma couldn’t go either.”
He had been in Chicago.
“And my first dance thing.”
“I watched the video.”
Lily's eyes lifted.
“That’s not the same.”
No.
It wasn’t.
Isaac crouched in front of her.
“I will be there Friday.”
“Promise?”
He hesitated.
Promises suddenly felt heavier than contracts.
“Yes.”
Lily held out her pinky.
He hooked his around it.
“Promise.”
Friday morning at 10:13, Isaac’s phone rang.
Grant.
He declined it.
It rang again.
Declined.
Then a message appeared.
Emergency board vote at noon. If you are not here, they may remove you as CEO.
Isaac stared at the screen.
Lily’s school performance began at 11:30.
And suddenly his father’s warning was no longer an idea.
May you like
It was a choice.
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