Part Twenty
Michael waits until they are alone in the elevator to begin speaking. "Well, that was certainly a surprise."
"I know, Michael, I--"
"Every time I've spoken to him since the divorce, Sydney, you've gotten this betrayed, hurt look on your face. You completely ignored him when he came out to the party we had for Grace, made it clear that you wished Kerri was there instead. And when I asked you to go with me to meet him for coffee over Christmas, your exact words were, You owe me big for this, Michael. I felt bad for even asking you, because you seemed so unhappy. I feel guilty every time I mention Eric's name in a positive context, Sydney."
"I know, Michael," Sydney sighs, tucking the strands of hair that have come loose from her bun behind her ear. "I can't stand him. I'd be completely happy if he dropped off the face of the earth. But something he said--" She breaks off, and Michael looks at her expectantly. She takes a deep breath before continuing. "He said, Don't just write me off."
"So?"
"So, I just think you should hear him out before writing him off so quickly. You do that sometimes, and--"
"I do what?" Michael's expression is hurt, confused, angry, and Sydney takes another deep breath before responding.
"Write people off."
Michael stares at her. "When have I ever written someone off?"
"I don't know, Michael, I--"
"You're thinking something, Sydney, just say it."
Sydney sighs. "Todd Reynolds."
Michael balls his right hand into a fist and hits the elevator wall, and Sydney's eyes widen in surprise. The elevator doors open into the parking garage, and Michael storms out, Sydney following as quickly as she can while pushing Grace's stroller.
"Where did you park?" he demands.
"O--over there. Row C-1. Michael--"
"I thought we were over the Todd Reynolds thing." Michael stops walking abruptly and whirls around to face her. "I thought you understood why I had to do that."
"I do."
"Really?" Michael challenges. "Because I feel like in your mind, you've recorded the day I fired him as the day I lost my soul, or something."
"Okay, that situation was different, I get it!" Sydney cries in frustration. "But Eric's your friend, Michael, and I hate to see you write him off as quickly and coldly as you wrote off an employee who fucked up."
Now Michael's expression changes from angry to hurt. "You think I was cold about the way I dealt with Eric?" he asks. "Syd, I've lost sleep trying to understand how he could do what he did to Kerri, how he could show such little remorse for what he did and so much-- God, pity for me and the way I live my life."
"He pities you?"
"Damn right, he pities me!" Michael explodes. "Why would I settle for one woman when I could have new ones any time I wanted? Never mind that none of the other women I could have would even come close to being as beautiful and wonderful as you are. Never mind that I love you so much that I still can't see straight. Never mind that I've known you for eleven years and all I can think about is spending every second I can with you, of finding ways to make you happy. Who else would I ever find that does that to me, Sydney?"
Sydney almost smiles. They're fighting, and he's declaring his love for her. Only Michael. "Probably no one," she teases. "Though you could probably find someone who doesn't second guess your decisions. That would probably be a nice change."
"Damn it, Sydney, this is serious!"
"I know," she says, moving towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck. For his part, he stands there looking angry that she isn't taking him seriously and refuses to touch her. He really is a child sometimes. "This conversation went completely wrong, Michael," she says. "All I wanted is for you to think about it before you decided whether or not to hear Weiss out, that's all."
"That's all?" She finally gets a half-smile out of him.
"Mm-hmm."
"And we're standing in a parking garage screaming at each other over that?"
"Seems a little silly doesn't it?" she says, running her fingers through his hair. "I never meant to make it seem like you have to talk to him. Of course it's your decision."
Michael bites his lower lip and looks away. "You keep saying that," he says quietly. "As if you think that I think I'm obligated to obey your every wish."
Sydney is a little surprised by the comment. Their marriage has never been a question of one feeling obligated to obey the other. What had he said after his argument after Eric the other night? Something like, He acts like the only reason anyone would let himself get trapped in a marriage is because he's let his wife turn him into some kind of slave or something. Is that what Eric had said that had gotten Michael so upset? Did Eric think that Sydney was controlling Michael? God, and here Sydney's father thought that Michael was controlling her. How differently their marriage must appear from the outside.
"Of course you're not obligated," Sydney finally says quietly. "But I know how much you hate to see me unhappy." He would do anything to keep her happy, he'd just said as much, and there was no doubt in Sydney's mind that if he really thought that she wanted him to make amends with Eric, then he would at least try.
He looks at her for a long moment. "You're right, I do," he says quietly. "And when you first came into Terry's office, Sydney, you didn't seem happy. Why? What happened at your father's?"
Sydney sighs. "Let's walk to the car as we talk about it, okay?" She disentangles herself from him and takes hold of Grace's stroller.
"Wait, no. Do you want to walk over to that coffee shop next door, sit down for awhile and talk about it before we go get the kids? Are we still having dinner with your dad?"
"God, no," Sydney shakes her head, and the two of them begin walking again, Sydney pushing the shoulder, Michael with a hand resting lightly on her back as she walks. "I mean, yes, the coffee shop sounds nice, I could use a little snack, and no, we're not having dinner with my dad. Do you know that he didn't even know that I don't eat meat? How many Christmases have we spent with me avoiding the turkey, how many meals have we had out at restaurants, and he didn't even know."
"Somehow I suspect that that's not the reason we're not having dinner with him."
Sydney laughs. "No, of course it's not. We're not having dinner with him because things never change with him, Michael. I always think things will be different when I see him, but they never are."
"What did he say this time?"
"Oh, you know. The same old stuff," Sydney says, shaking her head. "Does Emily know that she doesn't have to have babies when she grows up, and does she know that if she does, she can still do other things, and am I confusing your happiness with my own." Sydney sighs. "I know that he truly does just want what's best for me, but he doesn't know enough about me to judge what's best, and I'm just-- I'm done, you know? I'll be civil to him, I'll invite him for holidays and let him see the kids when he wants, but I'm through putting forth the effort." She shakes her head. "Maybe you're right, Michael. Maybe there does come a point when you just have to admit that a person's a lost cause and write them off."
"I won't argue with that," Michael admits. "But you're right, too, Syd. You can't write someone off too early. You have to know when to cut them off and when to give them another chance."
"What, do you think my father deserves another chance?"
"Syd, I don't know." They leave the parking garage and move out onto the sidewalk. "Things have been the same with him for a lot of years, and I hate the things he says to you, hate the way he makes you feel."
"I hear a but coming on," Sydney groans.
"But he is your father, and I think that means he gets a few more chances than an employee or even a friend," Michael says, holding the coffee shop door open for her and Grace.
"I've given him a million, Michael," Sydney sighs.
"I know you have," Michael says. "And you have every right to write him off, if you want to. I just think you should think about it before you make any rash decisions."
Sydney smiles. "How did you get so smart?"
He returns her smile. "Oh, I have this great, really compassionate wife who doesn't hesitate to let me know when I'm being an unfeeling jackass."
"She sounds amazing," Sydney says with a smile.
"She is," Michael assures her.
"Mmm," Sydney says, kissing him lightly. "She'd have to be, to land a guy like you."
"You can sit wherever you want," a waitress says, thrusting menus into their hands as she rushes by.
"You want to sit at that table by the window?" Michael asks.
"In a minute," Sydney says, digging in her purse. "I want to make a phone call first." She digs out her cell phone and dials, waiting for the familiar voice to pick up on the other end.
"Dad? I've reconsidered about dinner."
