Chapter Three: Mornings Like This
The alarm went off at six-thirty the next morning, and Sydney listened as Michael hit the snooze button with a groan. That was something new-- they were both usually up before the alarm. They had both just been so exhausted the night before.
"Syd, can you get the kids up?" Michael mumbled.
"Can't you do it?" Sydney snuggled deeper under the covers. She hadn't slept so well in a long time.
"Ah, Syd. I put them to bed last night," Michael said drowsily.
"But you're so good at it." But Sydney was basically awake by then, and she punctuated her sentence with a giggle. "Okay, I'll do it," she said, sitting up and leaning over him to plant kiss after kiss on his cheeks, his forehead, his neck. If she didn't get to sleep, he didn't neither. "But just because you get the shower first doesn't mean you get to use up all the hot water, you got it?"
"No promises," he responded, a lazy smile spreading over his face as he opened his eyes to gaze up at her. "Anyway, you've got it easy. Emily's not going to preschool today, so you just have to wake Jack."
"But Jack's the hard one," Sydney pointed out. "I'm surprised Emily's not up and in here already."
"Well, she had a rough couple of days," Michael reminded her.
"I know," Sydney said, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. Even first thing in the morning, her husband was gorgeous. "Poor little darling."
"She's a tough girl," Michael commented. "Just like her mommy." He drew her down for a long, luxurious kiss.
She smiled at him after they'd parted. "Michael, I think we should take that vacation."
"Really?" Michael said, face lighting up.
"Really," she said, giving him a soft kiss. "We don't have to be gone that long. We could leave Thursday and come back Monday."
"This coming Thursday?" Michael's eyebrows shot practically to the ceiling. It was Friday already. "Do you think Mrs. Simmons would stay on such short notice?"
"Well, if not, I'll bet my mother would," Sydney said, and Michael grimaced. "She is their grandmother."
"Yes, I know," Michael said. He frowned, but his expression quickly brightened. "Well, I think a vacation sounds great, Syd. Where do you want to go?"
"I can't decide," Sydney said, snuggling up next to him. "The Riviera, maybe. Or St. Bart's."
"Sounds like Heaven," he said, kissing the top of her head.
"Mmm, it does, doesn't it?" She turned to kiss him on the lips. Their kisses escalated until she finally had to put a stop to things. "Emily could wander in her at any minute."
"I'm sure she's still sound asleep," Michael said, nuzzling her neck.
"Mommy! Daddy!" A tiny voice called.
Michael rolled his eyes, and Sydney laughed gently. "Save it for tonight, tiger," she teased, dropping one last kiss on his lips before rising from the bed. "I'll be right there, darling!" she called to her daughter. She located her bathrobe and threw it on over her nightgown. "What's your plan for today, Michael?"
"Meetings," he said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "All day. You?"
"The big meeting with all of you this morning," Sydney said. "And I wanted to talk to Sark, but after that, maybe I can get the arrangements made for our trip."
"Sounds good," Michael said, climbing out of bed and heading for the shower.
Sydney smiled and started down the hall to her daughter's room. Sure enough, the little girl was awake, sitting up in bed and playing with a pair of dolls. "Good morning, sweetheart," she said, kissing the little girl's cheek. She really was a beautiful little thing, with her daddy's sandy brown hair and her mother's brown eyes. Jack was the opposite, though just as gorgeous-- dark hair and his daddy's startling green eyes.
"Morning, Mommy," Emily said, throwing her arms around her mother's neck.
"How are you feeling this morning, darling?" Sydney asked, smoothing Emily's hair back from her face.
"I feel good, Mommy."
"Good girl." Sydney kissed her forehead and rose from the bed. "Do you want me to help you get dressed before Mrs. Simmons comes?"
"Yes," Emily said with a nod.
"Good," Sydney said. "Why don't you get up and help me pick out your clothes?"
Sydney helped her daughter dress, then she led her down the hall to Jack's room. Emily was the only one who could get Jack out of bed with a smile on his face. Sydney knew that Jack must have felt resentful sometimes at all the attention she and Michael paid Emily. But she knew he loved his little sister. She watched, smiling, as Emily approached her brother's bed and tried to shake him awake.
On mornings like this, Sydney could pretend that her life was almost normal. That she hadn't become something she despised. She had Michael and the children. That was all that was important.
It wasn't much more than an hour later that she and Michael were kissing Emily goodbye and urging Jack into the car. They would drop him off at school on their way to work.
"So," Jack said, once they'd started the car. "What do you guys do at work?"
Sydney and Michael were not startled by the question. He'd asked similar ones before. "You know what we do, darling," Sydney said, gazing out the window. "We work for the Organization. Same as all of your friends' parents."
"Yeah," Michael said, catching Jack's eye in the rearview mirror and winking at him. "Except your mom's Vice President, so she gets to tell everyone what to do when your grandma doesn't feel like it."
Jack seemed to like this idea. "Will I be Vice President someday?"
"Yes," Sydney said without hesitation. "And when your grandma retires, I'll be President, and when I retire, you will be."
Michael frowned at her, then glanced at his son in the rearview mirror. "You can be whatever you want to be, buddy."
Sydney glanced in the rearview mirror to see Jack gazing at his father intently. "What did you want to be when you were my age, Dad?"
Out of the corner of her eye Sydney saw Michael wince, though it was hard to tell he was doing so because of the sunglasses he wore. "I wanted to do what my father did," he murmured, as he pulled the car up in front of Jack's school. "Have a good day, son."
"I will." Jack leaned in to the front seat to kiss their cheeks before scrambling out of the car.
"Wait for Mrs. Simmons out front right after school," Sydney called after him.
"Okay!" he responded.
When Sydney turned her attention to Michael, she found him glaring at her.
"What?" she asked, though she knew very well what.
"You really think there's still going to be an Organization for him to run by the time he's old enough?" he demanded.
Sydney smiled sweetly. There were times when Michael's naively hopeful view of what they were going to accomplish made her feel hopeful, too; there were other times it made her feel sad for him. Just now she found his entire attitude maddening. "Of course there will be, darling," she said, patting his cheek. "We're running it. And we're the best at what we do."
He just sat there, glaring at her. She only smiled in response.
"Do start the car, Michael," she said, pushing her sunglasses atop her head. "We don't want to keep my mother waiting."
Michael started the car and pulled it out into traffic. They didn't speak the rest of the way to Irina's headquarters.
When they arrived, Michael let Sydney out and went to park the car. She scrambled up the front stairs, knowing her mother would want a word with her before the meeting started.
"Oh, good, Sydney, you're here," Irina said, greeting her with a welcoming smile. "Where's Michael?"
"Parking the car."
Irina must have picked up something in her tone, because she frowned in response. "You two aren't fighting, are you?"
"We were just discussing Jack's future," Sydney said, shaking her head.
"Ah." Sydney was thankful her mother let it drop at that. "Well, soon you'll be discussing your own. I have an exciting announcement to make at the meeting today."
"What is it?" Sydney asked, and uneasy feeling rising in the pit of her stomach. Her mother had talked about retiring for some time now; she had thought Sydney ready to take over for the last five years or so, but then Emily had come along, and with one thing or another, she kept putting it off. Could today be the day? Sydney closed her eyes briefly and remembered a dream she'd had some ten years before, one where her mother had announced it was time to hand over the keys of her kingdom to her. Michael had sat by her side, smiling. At the time, she'd found the dream utterly disturbing. Now, it didn't seem so unrealistic.
"You'll find out soon enough," Irina said, patting Sydney's cheek reassuringly. "Let's head to the conference room, shall we, darling?"
"Sure," Sydney said uneasily. "Oh. I meant to tell you, Mother, Michael and I have decided to get away for a few days. Next Thursday, if you don't need me here."
"I think a vacation's a great idea," Irina said with a smile. "Have you thought about where you'll go? Paris is lovely this time of year."
"Yes, I know," Sydney returned her smile. "But that's not quite what we had in mind. All I want is to lie on a beach somewhere."
"Well, that sounds lovely, darling," Irina said. "Sydney, before we go to the meeting, there's something I'd like to say to you."
Sydney looked at her mother expectantly.
"You've done a lovely job working for me this past decade. I just want you to know how proud I am of the woman you've become."
Sydney pasted a smile on her face. Wasn't that something all women wanted to hear from their mothers? She had to admit, there was part of her that liked hearing it, too.
And a bigger part that felt her blood run cold at the sound of her mother's approval.
"Thank you, Mother," she managed, her voice barely audible.
Irina smiled in response. "Let's go to the meeting, dear."
Sydney followed her mother down the hall to the conference room, where a dozen of the Organization's more powerful members milled around, chatting and sipping coffee. Michael was already there, but Sydney didn't try to catch his eye. Maybe her mother's announcement would be good for him. Maybe when Irina named Sydney as her successor, Michael would finally be able to be realistic about what their future held.
"If everyone would take their seats," Irina called. Everyone obediently got into place, with Irina at the head of the table and Sydney and Michael at either side.
"I'm going to turn this meeting over to my daughter in a minute," Irina said, patting Sydney's hand. "But first I have an announcement to make."
It was only then that Michael looked at Sydney, a question in his eyes. Sydney shook her head slightly, almost imperceptibly.
"Next week my daughter and her husband will take a vacation," Irina continued. "When she returns, she will officially begin her reign as president of this organization. I'm retiring, as I've threatened to do for so long."
A low murmur ran down the long conference table. Sydney didn't make eye contact with anyone. She couldn't.
"I trust you'll give my daughter the respect and courtesy you've afforded me all these years," Irina continued. "And Sydney, I hope you'll accept this honor, and my congratulations."
Sydney still couldn't bring herself to look at anyone, even Michael. Except her mother. "Of course I will," she managed to say. "Thank you so much, Mother."
She and her mother rose from their chairs, and the rest of the table followed suit. Irina reached out to hug her, and the rest of the table erupted into applause.
And Sydney couldn't help it. She smiled. Not a fake smile for her mother's benefit.
A real smile.