Punished by Divorce

Advice

Erik

My grandmother ushered my mother out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with my grandfather. I felt like he had something to say, and I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it.

“Let me give you some advice, son,” he said as he grabbed another cookie. I remained calm and neutral as I waited for him to get on with it. “I’ve been watching you, Erik, and honestly, you’ve done more for Billora than I ever could have imagined,” he smiled, mostly to himself. Almost as if he was lost in thought for a moment. I kept quiet, waiting. “All of that hard work is amazing, but what happens when you aren’t working anymore?” his question wasn’t that unusual, but I was still young. I had no idea what my future held. “What about the joys of watching your children grow up? Or watching your grandchildren grow up?” I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer him, so I didn’t. I had a feeling he wasn’t done anyway. “Life is far too short not to enjoy what it has to offer. A wife? Love? Passion? Are those not things that you want?”

“I thought you were going to give me advice. Not ask me a bunch of questions that I don’t have the answers to,” I mumbled. My grandfather chuckled as he chewed on his cookie. I waited, patiently for him to get to the point.

“Right, some advice…well, take care of your body. Always. A healthy body is richer than wealth. That is the first piece of advice I’m going to give you,” he said, and I nodded, thoughtfully. I made sure to eat, go to the gym, and do regular checkups. However, was he referring to something that I wasn’t aware of? Was he ill? “Secondly, never live for anyone else…your goals are your own and that is a lonely path…that is why family is also important. Not only for support but for when you reach those goals. Your family will celebrate with you. Who do you celebrate with now?” I stared at him in silence. He made a good point; I didn’t celebrate with anyone. When I got a new contract, I didn’t have anyone to enjoy that success with. Eugene wasn’t always available, and I just didn’t have anyone else. I didn’t have friends and that was sort of sad. Then again, I hadn’t had many friends growing up, so what was the point? Friends were backstabbers and would only befriend me for my wealth. “Erik?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sick,” he stated softly, and my eyes went wide. Is that why he was here?

“How sick are you?” I asked.

“Very sick. My heart…” his voice trailed off, and I could tell he didn’t really want to talk about it. “Anyway, I just don’t want you to waste your life away sitting behind a desk. There is so much to see, and so much to do in this world. Don’t let those opportunities pass you by,”

“I won’t,” I promised.

“It’s possible that Naomi simply wasn’t a good match for you. Then again, if you never even tried, then…well, you could have let an opportunity walk right out your door,” he said, and I frowned. Was that possible? I had my own reasons for divorcing Naomi, but had I let a good thing go?

“The truth is, I have no idea who Naomi is. I don’t know anything about her. I don’t know…I just don’t know,” I said truthfully. “I don’t regret divorcing her…for certain reasons, but I am starting to wonder what could have been…if I had just paid more attention,”

“And that right there is what I call regret. This leads me to another piece of advice…don’t live with regrets. Make every moment count, no matter how small,” he told me, and I nodded. I wasn’t sure if I’d call it regret, but it was definitely something. “Now, my last piece of advice…don’t let greed fuel you,”

“Wait, what?”

“You heard me, son. I told you; I’ve been watching you. I’m not suggesting that Billora stops growing…no, of course not, but you are the CEO, and you have people working for you, Erik,”

“What is your point?” I questioned.

“Let them do the work for you, Erik,”

“I don’t…trust them,” I admitted softly, and he nodded.

“Trust is something earned not purely given…but you aren’t giving anyone the chance to earn your trust,” he pointed out, and I slumped in my seat. He was right, but the fact of the matter was, I didn’t trust anyone even to attempt the things I wanted.

“Greed…huh,” I murmured. I wasn’t entirely sure if the word fit, but in some ways, it did.

“All I want you to do…just…think about what we’ve talked about. Think about what I’ve said. I know you have a lot going on right now but work through things one at a time and make sure you…” once again his voice trailed off and I waited. “Make sure you don’t let life pass you by,”

“I won't,” I promised, and I knew I had some changes to make. However, I did have things to sort out and that was my top priority.

“Good…now, help an old man up,” he said, and I laughed as I stood up and hurried over to help him up. Once he was on his feet, he shooed me away. I sat back down and started to think about the things he had said. Eventually, I felt a headache coming on, so I stood up and cleaned up. I made sure to finish off my milk and eat the remaining cookies before I left the kitchen. I considered seeking out my mother, but all I wanted to do was go home and take a nap. I wasn’t the type who took naps, but I felt so tired. I headed home and while I was driving, I thought about that word. Home. Did I consider my apartment my home? Not really. The house I had just left was my home. Was it because it’s where I grew up? Or did it all come back to family?