old.”
“And you were what? Twenty-three?”
“I was a prodigy, just like Andy here.” She mussed his hair, smiling at his confusion over the new word.
“What’s a progidy?” he asked.
“A prodigy. It’s someone who’s very smart at a young age. When I was in kindergarten I knew all about cars, just like you.”
“BMWs are the best!”
Anna gave Lily her “I told you so” look, and held up her hand to ward off another spoonful of macaroni. “Not for me. Give it to the boy genius.”
“But I’ve heard you say Holly knows all about cars too.”
“She probably knows all the new specs better than I do, but she’ll have to understand the business side too if she’s going to run operations. She’s never done a budget or a work schedule, she doesn’t deal with personnel, and she doesn’t get off the lot to network with other businesses. You can’t just throw somebody into a job like that head first. The only one I have in the company who’s ready for that is Marco.” Except that Marco, her sales manager at the Premier Volkswagen dealership loved VWs, not Beamers. She was hoping to move him up to head the VW operation when her father decided to call it quits for good, and it would crush him to switch brands.
Lily shrugged and began clearing the dishes. “So make Marco the operations manager for the VW lot and bring George back to take Brad’s place.”
She opened her mouth to object, but couldn’t think why. It was the obvious solution. “I think that’s a…I’m really embarrassed I didn’t think of that myself. It’s perfect.”
“Except that you have to work with George every day, and I bet he won’t like not being the boss.”
Anna’s head was already racing with ideas about how to implement the change. “He’ll love it once he realizes his real job is to train Holly. That means he gets to sit in the VP desk and hand off everything he doesn’t want to do, like the advertising runs, the Chamber of Commerce, firing people, customer complaints…it’ll be the best job he ever had.”
“In which case your biggest problem will be getting him out the door when you’re ready for her to take over.”
“May I be excused?” Andy asked, already squirming from the padded bench that lined the bay window on one side of the table. He hadn’t yet learned to tell time, but knew he had only a short while to play after dinner before his bath and bed.
“You may,” Anna answered, swinging her legs sideways for him to crawl under. “I’ll be in there in a minute.” This was also her time with Andy, the few minutes she usually set aside every day to play with him before bed. As soon as he was gone, she carried her plate to the sink and set it down to wrap her arms around Lily from behind. “What would I ever do without you? You cook. You clean. You give me all your great ideas.” She dropped her hands to Lily’s belly and whispered, “And you even have our baby.”
“Yes, I’m the deluxe, all-purpose model, available wherever fine women are sold.”
Anna chuckled and nuzzled her neck. “How was court today?”
“Split decision.” Lily finished loading the dishwasher and wiped down the kitchen sink as she brought Anna up to date. “So if Miguel misses two visits, he forfeits the kids for good. I predict that will happen within six months, and Maria’s troubles will be over.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. “I’ve been representing Maria in family court for seven years. I can’t even imagine what I’ll do with all my free time once it’s over.”
Anna had a suggestion, one they had talked about several months ago, but Lily hadn’t been keen on it at the time. Perhaps she would feel different now that their baby was on the way. “Maybe you’ll decide to stay home with the baby after all.”
Lily gave her a pointed look and she threw up her hands in instant retreat.
“Not that I’m saying you should, just that you could.”
“The last time I
“And you were what? Twenty-three?”
“I was a prodigy, just like Andy here.” She mussed his hair, smiling at his confusion over the new word.
“What’s a progidy?” he asked.
“A prodigy. It’s someone who’s very smart at a young age. When I was in kindergarten I knew all about cars, just like you.”
“BMWs are the best!”
Anna gave Lily her “I told you so” look, and held up her hand to ward off another spoonful of macaroni. “Not for me. Give it to the boy genius.”
“But I’ve heard you say Holly knows all about cars too.”
“She probably knows all the new specs better than I do, but she’ll have to understand the business side too if she’s going to run operations. She’s never done a budget or a work schedule, she doesn’t deal with personnel, and she doesn’t get off the lot to network with other businesses. You can’t just throw somebody into a job like that head first. The only one I have in the company who’s ready for that is Marco.” Except that Marco, her sales manager at the Premier Volkswagen dealership loved VWs, not Beamers. She was hoping to move him up to head the VW operation when her father decided to call it quits for good, and it would crush him to switch brands.
Lily shrugged and began clearing the dishes. “So make Marco the operations manager for the VW lot and bring George back to take Brad’s place.”
She opened her mouth to object, but couldn’t think why. It was the obvious solution. “I think that’s a…I’m really embarrassed I didn’t think of that myself. It’s perfect.”
“Except that you have to work with George every day, and I bet he won’t like not being the boss.”
Anna’s head was already racing with ideas about how to implement the change. “He’ll love it once he realizes his real job is to train Holly. That means he gets to sit in the VP desk and hand off everything he doesn’t want to do, like the advertising runs, the Chamber of Commerce, firing people, customer complaints…it’ll be the best job he ever had.”
“In which case your biggest problem will be getting him out the door when you’re ready for her to take over.”
“May I be excused?” Andy asked, already squirming from the padded bench that lined the bay window on one side of the table. He hadn’t yet learned to tell time, but knew he had only a short while to play after dinner before his bath and bed.
“You may,” Anna answered, swinging her legs sideways for him to crawl under. “I’ll be in there in a minute.” This was also her time with Andy, the few minutes she usually set aside every day to play with him before bed. As soon as he was gone, she carried her plate to the sink and set it down to wrap her arms around Lily from behind. “What would I ever do without you? You cook. You clean. You give me all your great ideas.” She dropped her hands to Lily’s belly and whispered, “And you even have our baby.”
“Yes, I’m the deluxe, all-purpose model, available wherever fine women are sold.”
Anna chuckled and nuzzled her neck. “How was court today?”
“Split decision.” Lily finished loading the dishwasher and wiped down the kitchen sink as she brought Anna up to date. “So if Miguel misses two visits, he forfeits the kids for good. I predict that will happen within six months, and Maria’s troubles will be over.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. “I’ve been representing Maria in family court for seven years. I can’t even imagine what I’ll do with all my free time once it’s over.”
Anna had a suggestion, one they had talked about several months ago, but Lily hadn’t been keen on it at the time. Perhaps she would feel different now that their baby was on the way. “Maybe you’ll decide to stay home with the baby after all.”
Lily gave her a pointed look and she threw up her hands in instant retreat.
“Not that I’m saying you should, just that you could.”
“The last time I
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