That evening, we had dinner with a few people Ben would work with.
Halfway through the meal, someone smiled at him.
“Your wife must’ve been thrilled when you negotiated Fridays.”
I turned.
“Fridays?”
Ben’s expression changed.
“Don’t ruin it.”
Outside the restaurant, I stopped him.
“What did you negotiate?”
“One Friday off every month, for me and Olive.”
“Why didn’t that make it into the paperwork you gave me?”
He exhaled.
“Because I was doing what I always do, Chels. Figuring it out alone. I was also trying to be home.”
“What did you negotiate?”
“Why Fridays?”
He hesitated.
“Olive said I always work on fun days.”
I looked at him.
“You remembered that.”
“Of course.”
“Then start telling me the things you remember before you build a solution around them.”
“You remembered that.”
***
The next morning, I went out alone.
I toured a shared workspace and asked about vendors, seasonal business, and remote planning.
A client called about a delivery problem, and I handled it from the sidewalk.
Moving would be difficult. It wouldn’t erase my career.
***
