LIFE Interrupted

“Would you play with me at Smithfield sometime. I could introduce you to some buddies of mine. They could use your services.”

Josh nodded and smiled. “I’d appreciate that Max. I always keep my eyes open for new business.” His phone rang in his pocket. He wanted to answer it thinking it was Sophie, but Max was important. He couldn’t be rude to him.

“Need to get that?” Max asked him.

“No, it can wait. I’ll get back to them.” He wanted to answer that phone call in the worst way, but he would call Sophie back.

“The entrance is looking great. I appreciate the extra touch you give our account. I’ve seen Sophie here on more than one occasion working as hard as you do.”

“Your business means a lot to us, Max. We like to show our appreciation to all our customers. We make personal visits when we can but obviously, yours is a large account. I employ a lot of people, on this account, I’d like to keep you and them happy.” He nodded at his employees then turned his gaze back to Max.

Max laughed. “I like it. A humble businessman.”

They shook hands again. “I’ll be in touch soon. We’ll meet up for a beer and that round of golf.”

“Sounds good, Max.”

Josh waited until Max had left the grounds before he took the phone out of his pocket and listened to Sophie’s voicemail.

She had gone to the Imaging Center for a mammogram. Just a precaution, she said in the voicemail, because she hadn’t had one in a while.

Josh stared off in the distance thinking about when she might have had her last one? Nearly two years, he calculated. He stuffed the phone back in his pocket. Ben had delivered both their kids. He was probably being Ben, over protective because Sophie had waited so long.

He walked around checking the design of the entrance to be sure that the flowers looked good before half the crew moved to the next spot while the rest had a dead tree to pull out of the ground.

**

The tree lay on its side, roots exposed. “Go get the chipper, Manny,” Josh requested. The kid took off running.

“I wish I could still do that,” Josh told Miguel watching Manny run.

“What are you talking about Josh? You run every day.”

He did. “Just not that fast,” Josh admitted.

He and Miguel laughed. Josh took his phone out of his pocket and texted Sophie. He was starting to get worried abo

ut her. She didn’t answer his last text. Then he pocketed his phone and put his safety glasses on.

Manny returned with their truck and a chipper attached to the back. They began with a chainsaw removing pieces of the tree while others threw them in the chipper. Josh stepped back and checked his phone. No response. He texted Sophie again. He went back with the chainsaw in his hand and worked on cutting the tree into pieces that the chipper could manage. Luckily, the tree wasn’t large.

Still no response from Sophie. He was frowning at his phone when Miguel approached him. “Josh, you’re really worried. Is Sophie okay?”

“She said she was having a routine test but she’s not answering. Just worried about her.” He wiped his brow. “What’s left?” He took out his roster for the day. He and Miguel reviewed it. “You take the rest of this crew to the south side and finish up there. I’m going to check on the other crews that are in the field cleaning up.”

“Sounds good, Josh. I hope she’s okay.”

“Me too,” he replied.

He called Sam at the Desert Oasis property to see how that crew was doing. Sam was mid-thirties had worked for him for five years. He could run one of his crews for a small to medium sized accounts like Miguel could. He trusted these men to handle his business when he couldn’t be onsite all the time.

Walking while he talked, he listened to what Sam was telling him about the Desert Oasis. Things that had died out and needed replaced because of the hot, summer they had just experienced. He made mental notes knowing anything he forgot, Sam would have on his desk in his notes, first thing in the morning.

“Thanks Sam. See you tomorrow.”

He hung up with Sam and was about to make another call when he realized he had a message from Sophie.

Could you meet me at home in twenty minutes?