Romans & histoires Strange Grief Wants To Retire

This was not a sudden decision. No, Colt had said. It wasn't. The Denver Business Weekly ran a brief piece about Carter Mercer's retirement from active investment work. Three sentences. A spokesperson they did not identify had provided a comment about strategic restructuring. Nobody called Crestone Falls. On the evening it was formally complete he came to the south garage where she was measuring the therapy room for furniture and stood in the doorway and said: it's done. She set down the tape measure. She looked at him. How does it feel, she said.

"Grief does strange things to people." "Grief?" I shake my head, a fresh wave of pain washing over me. "You want to talk about grief? You want to know what grief is? Grief is realizing you wasted five years of your life pushing away the one person who truly loved you. Grief is knowing you'll never get a chance to tell her you're sorry. Grief is standing here, listening to your own mother celebrate the death of her daughter-in-law and granddaughter." Her face pales. "I'm not celebrating anything. I'm just... being realistic."

“What is your name?” “Jaxon,” he said as he slid his backpack to the floor. “Jaxon Reed.” His voice carried the easy rhythm of someone used to performing. “And are you grieving someone, Jaxon?” Dr. Chen asked. He leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head, completely at ease. “I am grieving life,” he said. “Does that count?” Margaret made a sharp sound that might have been a scoff. “This is a support group,” she said. “We are here because we lost people we cared about.”

His hand brushed my shoulder for a brief moment. I lowered my head, hiding the heat spreading across my cheeks. Even after everything he'd done, my body still reacted to his touch. How pathetic. "To be honest, the reason I came back concerns the company," Abraham began. His voice remained calm and controlled. "I'm planning to retire." My head turned toward Dylan automatically. Becoming the heir to Danforth Corporation was something Jessy had always wanted for him. Yet for some reason, Dylan's reaction was the exact opposite. He looked troubled. His eyes remained fixed on the mug sitting in front of him.

*** Later, as music played and brothers danced with their ladies, Zander found me sitting on a bench near the trees, feeding Finn under a light shawl. “Hey, beautiful.” He sat beside me and kissed my temple. “You disappeared on me.” “Just needed a minute with our little guy.” I smiled up at him. “Today was perfect.” “It was.” Zander brushed a finger over Finn’s cheek. “He’s already got the whole club wrapped around his finger.” I laughed softly. “Like father, like son.” Zander was quiet for a moment, watching us. “I got a call earlier. Senator Graves took a plea deal. He’s going away for twenty-five years. The last of the network is gone. Isolde died two days ago. Peacefully, they said.”

Until that person gets tired of your rambling and your crying and your repeating the same fucking story again and again. They make up an excuse, like they need to leave soon so they do not hurt your feelings, when what they really want is to get the hell out, like their ass is on fire. So no, grief does not love company. Grief only loves the idea of having company. My mind was so trapped in these thoughts that I did not notice when we reached the hall, or when Charlie and Ron began escorting me down the aisle.

“How was your first day back at work after a long time?” “Stressful. I had a lot of work to do and a lot of back-to-back meetings. It was kind of tiring.” “You’ll bounce back in a few weeks.” “Yeah. And the Derion Charity Gala is in a few days. I wasn’t gonna go before but I need to. A new opportunity to make new connections.” “My grandpas also going to be attending.” “You’re gonna go with him?” “No, no. I don’t think I’m ready for that setting again.”

He lowered his gaze, remaining silent for a moment, before finally nodding. We entered the civil affairs office. The process of finalizing the divorce was quicker than I had expected. It felt as if our entire history had been reduced to a thin piece of paper—easily torn, leaving no connection behind. Silas stared at the names on the divorce certificate, pain flickering in his eyes. Lifting his gaze to me, his voice rasped, "If you ever need me, no matter when, I’ll be there." I nodded without replying. We both knew that day would probably never come.

I didn’t want to be part of my own world right now. I needed something to just take me away from it all. Something i can concentrate on other than gramps and the pack. “Xander, I have my whole life to be reminded that Gramps isn’t here anymore. I have my whole life to live without him. But right now, I need a distraction. One that feels familiar. Strategy and combat. That’s what I know, Xander. I don’t know this grieving and changing packs shit. I don’t want to work through it right now.”

He said, breathing heavily. “Wha…are you okay?” She asked. And was that worry I heard from her? “I….can’t work for you anymore. Bye.” He ended the call and passed the phone back to me. “That wasn’t hard now, was it?” He shook his head. I passed him the water and he grabbed it and drank everything. “I will give you some money before you leave. Get dressed,” I ordered and left the place. Now, it’s time to call Gwen and persuade her not to tell Henry. For that, I have to apologize for my earlier words first.