The Price of Being Present
Chapter 18 - The Price of Being Present
Spring came slowly. Snow retreated from the yard, and the first daffodils opened beneath the porch. Nicholas turned seven with his father beside him for breakfast, lunch, and birthday cake.
Salvatore had appointed professional managers to oversee more of his legitimate businesses and increased the independence of company compliance oversight. Several investors disliked his decision to step away from aggressive expansion. He accepted the cost. There were deals he might never close and invitations he would never again receive.
At Nicholas's school performance, Salvatore sat in the second row, wearing a blue shirt the boy had chosen. Nicholas searched the room before the music began. When he spotted his father, he stood a little straighter.
Afterward he ran across the gym. “You came!”
“I said I would.”
“You used to say that sometimes.”
Salvatore crouched. “I know. I'm sorry.”
Nicholas put a small hand against his cheek. “But now you do.”
That night they looked through Elena's photo albums. Salvatore told stories about her terrible jokes, her love of rainy mornings, and the time she accidentally dropped an entire birthday cake on the kitchen floor and laughed until she cried.
Nicholas frowned. “She didn't get in trouble?”
“No. We got spoons and ate the part that didn't touch the floor.”
The boy giggled. “Was it good?”
“Best cake I ever had.”
Nicholas turned a page. “I wish I could ask her things.”
May you like
“So do I.”
They sat together, leaving space for both sorrow and joy. Salvatore realized that being present wasn't a single heroic act. It was showing up for the small questions that could not wait until tomorrow.
