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Chapter 26
April 14, 2010 | Filed Under Dawn | Leave a Comment
Pick-up time at Charlie’s school was always ridiculously hectic. It reminded Dawn of Fashion Week in New York City. Expensive cars, designer suits, assistants (nannies) everywhere. The neighboring residents complained every few months about the traffic jam busy parents created but the city wasn’t willing to risk the feelings of San Francisco’s most influential families by requiring their young to shuttle home on buses.
Dawn sat patiently in her black SUV waiting for Charlie to bounce out of his prep school. She hadn’t told him about the inevitable move to Canada that would rip him away from his friends and the life he’d always known. Perhaps she was still in denial herself. One week from now could she actually be living in a downtown Montreal loft? She loved the international city but Capisce was based in California. So was she.
The air inside her vehicle suddenly felt strangling and Dawn pushed the door open and leaned up against the hot steel to catch her breath.
“Get a hold of yourself!” she self-scolded.
“Dawn?” Marianne, Robbie’s mom walked briskly toward her.
“Good afternoon, Marianne!” Dawn’s greeting was unnaturally enthusiastic and louder than she’d intended.
“Good afternoon to you!” Marianne came in for a long hug. “So, is it too early for congratulations?”
Dawn was puzzled, “Sorry?”
“Oh please, everyone knows Rick was offered an amazing position in Canada. When does he move?”
“He move? We’re all going to-”
Marianne put a finger in the air to stop the conversation. “Wait. Don’t tell me for a second that you’re going to leave your entire life here to follow hubby to a foreign country-”.
“It’s Canada, not Taiwan…”
Marianne continued, “Dawn, you have a business here, a son who’s in his formative years. I’ve seen commuter marriages work. Thrive even. Think about it.”
Dawn’s wasn’t sure what to say. Commuter marriage? She was relieved when Charlie ran past her and opened the passenger car door.
“Hey mom, hi Mrs. Peters. Mom, can we stop by Art Surplus on the way home I need a poster board.”
Marianne touched Dawn’s arm. “Just think about it. I’d hate to see you give up everything. Think about your son.”
“Thanks.”
Dawn floated into the driver’s seat and set off to find her son’s emergency art supplies in a daze.
As she wandered through aisles of paper and paints Dawn thought of her time at art school. During those “lean years” of only dreaming about the business she now owned, craft stores like these had been her refuge. The only thing that made eating ramen noodles four nights a week and working three jobs to pay for university worth it was her dream of running a San Francisco-based company while living in Pacific Heights.
Dawn felt like a hypocrite. Over the years she’d given Meeghan such a hard time for abandoning her ambitions for the sake of family. “You can have both-look at me” had always been her reprimand.
Before Dawn paid for Charlie’s supplies, she glanced at her Blackberry to check the time and noticed one unread text message.
Don’t sell out! xx Marianne
She laughed quietly and then bit her lower lip. What if…? A quick Google search in her phone’s browser for “commuter marriages” turned up 629,000 results in .21 seconds. She’d need more reasons and more time than that to sell Rick on the idea. But tonight, she’d try.
