Chapter 18: Coming to Terms
Carl had left early with Murdock's truck, so Nancy and Murdock rode home together in her bug. The first few minutes after pulling out of the parking lot were uncomfortably silent, which Murdock couldn't stand, "Nancy," he started tentatively, "I am really, really sorry about what I did."
Nancy stared intently out the window, as she made the last turn out of town. Then she glanced over at him, "HM, it wasn't so much what you did, it's that you didn't warn me," she said, "You've never even said the first thing about this to me before. I'd think that would be something you'd discuss with me in private before blurting it out in front of Uncle."
"I know, I should have said something to you, but honestly, I'm not sure I really want you working for your Uncle," he said quietly, "I don't want you gone from home, anymore than I want to be gone myself. Maybe I was afraid to talk to you about it, because I was afraid it might really be something you wanted to do."
Nancy was quiet, lost in her thoughts for a few minutes. Finally she said with a slight smile, "I guess me working for Uncle isn't something we need to worry about. You know, I said things to Uncle tonight that have been building for some time," she looked at Murdock, her wounded pride evident, "Three years ago, when I realized what Stockwell Enterprises did, I was hurt that Uncle had never talked to me about opportunities there. I thought maybe it was because I didn't have enough experience, or the right experience. Now I know, it's because he doesn't think I'm good enough," looking back out the window, she added reflectively, "I think maybe knowing is better - at least now I can come to grips with it instead of wondering why."
"Nancy, the people you've worked with like and respect you," Murdock said firmly, "You are allowing the opinion of one man to wipe out all the good things that you've accomplished. Where's that self-assured woman I married? The woman that didn't need anyone's approval for anything? You've always made your own path through life - so it's a different path than Hunt Stockwell would have had you take . . . that doesn't make it any less right."
Nancy pulled into their driveway, parking behind Murdock's truck, and turning off the engine. The sound of the crickets and peepers was melodic and yet discordant all at once, and she thought about how well that strange combination mirrored her own life. She turned and looked at her husband with a warm smile, "You are absolutely right," she said with certainty, "I am very happy with my job . . . my husband . . . my life. Who the heck cares what Hunt Stockwell thinks."