The Groom Wanted Seconds: A Novella Read Online Free PDF Page A

a life at what, twenty-four?”
    “Twenty-three, sir.”
    “Existing on ramen noodles and generic bread?”
    “Pretty much, though I worked extra shifts at a fast food place during the school year to have enough money to pay the bills this summer. I put enough aside so I could take this internship.”
    “Smart thinking.”
    Jeremy shrugged. “I like to plan ahead. For everything.”
    Rebecca had hated that about him, he remembered. She’d wanted him to be more spontaneous, to step away from his schedule and his lists and his plans. She’d told him he held too tight to the leash on his life, and one day, it was going to get away from him.
    He thought of her face just before she shut the door. Maybe it already had.
    “I’m only hiring one engineer at the end of the year,” George went on, “and there are five of you interns. So you have a twenty percent chance of doing this and ending up unemployed anyway.”
    “It’s a risk I’m willing to take, sir.”
    “And if you get the job, are you willing to put your personal life on hold? Spend so much time at the office your wife leaves you, the kids forget who you are, and you’re spending Saturday nights with a dog and a beer?”
    Jeremy chuckled. “Well, I don’t know if—”
    “Son, I’ve been at this a long time, and I have spent those Saturday nights with just the dog. The wife left me after year five, the kids stopped spending time with me after year seven, and when the dog died, all I had was work. I don’t want to see you do the same thing.” He paused to accept the food from the waitress, then turned back to Jeremy. “I like you, kid, a lot. You’re smart, you’re dedicated, you’re engaged. That idea you had on the tank design saved us a hell of a lot of money. And because I like you, I don’t want to see you end up the same place as me. So take my word for it. You don’t want to work here. We work too many hours and take too few breaks.”
    “I…I…” The vowels sputtered and stalled, like a car with a bad air filter. He’d spent years working toward a job at Griffin Engineering. There was no way he was letting that go just because the boss thought he’d be better off somewhere else. “I do. More than you know.”
    George chuckled and shook his head. “You sound like me. Okay, I won’t try to talk you out of the field or out of working for me, but I want you to take my advice. When you find the right woman, don’t let work come between you. Walk out the door of that office, and put the job out of your mind until you go back in the morning. And when you’re with that right woman, make sure she knows she is the only thing your mind is focused on. That dedication you have to your job? Leave it behind at the end of the day and put it on your wife, your family. Most of all, have a life, son, and be there for your kids.” George’s gaze went to someplace far away, and his features softened. “Always be there for your kids. The people you love are more important than anything you’re ever going to work on. Trust me.”
    “Thank you, sir. I will.” Jeremy thought about George’s words as they finished their sandwiches and the topic shifted to typical guy chatter—the price of tickets at Fenway, the Pats chances of making it to the Superbowl, the newest trucks on the market.
    Had Jeremy ever really done that with Rebecca? Put the projects out of his mind and given her a hundred percent? Given her the same attention he’d given to objects made out of steel and concrete?
    He thought he had. He’d thought he was doing just fine, even prided himself on his juggling act. Turned out, he’d been wrong.
    He hadn’t juggled well at all. If anything, he’d dropped the most important balls on the floor. Throw him an engineering problem and he’d have a solution worked out before the sun went down. But give him a relationship problem and the answer eluded him like mercury on glass.
     

 
     
    3 raspberries
    1 sprig mint
    1 slice lime
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