“Brody and I came to see it the other day, when you were working late, to make sure it looked the same in person as the virtual tour,” Ben says, standing in the middle of the library. “It’s actually not too far from his school and only a thirty-minute drive into work. I was thinking we could make this an office, and once the baby comes, we could work from home a few days a week. I haven’t put an offer on it yet because I wanted you to see it first. See if you can picture yourself living and raising a family here. So, what do you say, Sav, want to fill this home with me?”
I attempt to tell him yes, but my emotions get the best of me, and I choke out a sob, tears blurring my vision. “Yes,” I finally get out. “I most definitely would love to fill this home with you.”
Benjamin
Seven Years Later
“You did it!” I wrap my arms around Brody and pat his back. “I’m so damn proud of you.” Today is his college graduation. He earned a business degree while spending the past four years working for me and learning the business. When he told me he wanted to follow in my footsteps, I wanted to make sure my footsteps were worthy. So over the past several years, I’ve worked—with the help of my wife—to make Fields Enterprises a place where people want to work and are comfortable coming to me.
When I finally met with my dad’s attorney, I learned he was in debt—bad. He had depleted all of his assets, his cars were being repossessed, and his house was under foreclosure. He was always the type of man to handle shit himself, never wanting to talk. He did it with my mom when she was sick, refusing to get her help, and then again with us when he was going through whatever he was going through.
Not wanting it to continue with me, I’ve made it a point to make sure my door is always open, and my family and employees know they can come to me at any time.
“You know what this means, right?” Brody deadpans. “I’m one step closer to becoming the next CEO of Fields Enterprises.”
I glance at my very pregnant wife as she beams with pride at Brody while holding our six-year-old son’s hand—we named him Olivier, after my dad—and I chuckle. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it means.”
With Savannah expecting again—something we weren’t sure would ever happen again since we decided not to go to a fertility clinic but instead let nature take its course, or not—I’m ready to settle down and work fewer hours. I have baseball games to coach, and with our little girl on the way—it’s not confirmed, but I think she is—I imagine we’ll have our hands full with her.
“I’m so proud of you,” Savannah says, giving Brody a hug.
“Thanks.” He roughs up Olivier’s hair. “One day, you’ll be walking across that stage.”
Olivier dodges Brody and laughs. “I don’t wanna go away. I wanna stay home with Mommy.”
“Let’s see if you say that in a few years,” Brody tells him.
Brody didn’t go away to school, but he did move out, wanting to live in the city, which to Olivier is like living on another planet.
After Paola gives Brody a hug, telling him congratulations, we head out to meet everyone for dinner to celebrate.
We arrive at the restaurant and are brought back to the private dining room where our friends and family are waiting for us since the university only allowed four tickets per graduate.
Everyone stands, congratulating Brody on a job well done while the kids run around, catching up with each other.
Savannah comes over and wraps her arms around me from the side, her head dropping against my chest. “I love that sound,” she says, tightening her arms.
“What sound?” I glance down at her. “All I hear is a bunch of people talking and kids screaming and laughing.”
“Exactly. It’s the sound of love… of happiness… of family.” She tips her face up and presses her lips to mine. “It’s a sound I’ll never tire of hearing.”