"Baby, I'm so sorry. The new kid bailed, Alec is still out with his hand, Zeke and Uriah's mom is in the hospital out in Philly, I just can't get away this weekend." Eric says during their late-night call.
"You had to cancel last weekend too." Tris says quietly.
"I know. I had Fernando out unexpectedly, and I had to take his appointments." He explains, "I'm so shorthanded right now, and I can't seem to find someone reliable."
"Okay." Tris says without emotion.
"Tris, I promise you that I'm trying." He replies.
"I'm tired. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She says and she can hear him sigh.
"We barely have any time to talk." He argues.
"You could have left it as we barely have time." She says, "I'm sorry, that's unfair."
"No, it's fair. It may seem like I'm all excuses when it comes to making it out to Chicago to see you but I promise you I'm trying."
"I know you are. I just miss you." She sighs.
"I miss you too. I hate that we're so far apart, I mean at least if we were in the same city we could take breaks together, or hang out together after work, anything other than this." He replies.
"We're going to figure this out." Tris said.
Eric agreed with her, but in his mind, he was worried that she was already getting tired of the distance. It may be new, but their relationship means a lot to him, and he doesn't want it to end.
"Tris, I promise you I am going to do everything I can for us to be together. You believe me, right?"
"I believe you, and I'm going to do the same."
"Are you okay?" Christina asks her the next day as they open the shop together.
"No." Tris admits. She's been fighting tears all morning, and she knows Christina has noticed.
"He cancelled again, didn't he?" Christina asks softly and Tris nods without looking at her, "What happened this time?"
"Alec, the broken hand guy still isn't cleared to return to work. Eric had hired a new guy, and he completely flaked on him. Zeke and Uri are back in Philly with a family emergency with their mom, and Eric is stuck with finance and tax shit just like me."
"Tris, why don't we look for a new business manager? That alone would give you some free time to spend with Eric." Christina offers and Tris sighs.
"Agreed, and I am open to the idea, but right now with me working with the accountant I have zero time to take someone on and show them the ropes."
Christina chews on a pen cap and watches her best friend closely. Tris is obviously suffering, and there's one person she knows who's been trying very hard to change their life around who could help get them out of this predicament. She decides to make a call and hopes that Tris will understand.
Tris is opening alone early the next morning when she hears someone knocking on her door. She glances up and sees Tobias standing outside in the cold. She goes to the door and cracks it open, letting him in and then locking it behind him.
"You know what time we open." She says to him as she heads back to the front desk.
"I know, I just wanted to talk to you alone before the shop got busy." He leans against the counter, and she gestures for him to continue, "I wanted to apologize. I've not been by before now because I went to rehab for my sex addiction, but I just got out and one of the main things I knew I needed to do was to talk to you. I really fucked you over, and you absolutely didn't deserve it. You deserve respect, and someone who knows exactly how to show you just how wonderful you are."
"I appreciate the apology." She replies, too shocked to say anything more. He nods and she watches as he rubs the back of his neck, a telltale sign of his nervousness, "What else? Whatever it is, just say it."
"Christina and I talked. She told me you guys desperately needed a business manager. I was a little skeptical, especially given the history between you and me. I called Molly, she and I are still good friends, and she told me that you'd gotten married, and that its long-distance and you were having a hard time seeing your husband." He said.
"Great, now my personal life is shop gossip." She sighs.
"It's not like that Tris. They're more than just your employees, they care about you." He replies.
"Maybe." She says and he can see the sadness in her eyes.
"I can help. If you hire me back as the business manager, you can take time off. I know a couple of people who can come here and work and you can take a couple of your artists out there to help your husband. I know I fucked up in our relationship, but you also know I'm a trustworthy employee, even if I am a shitty boyfriend." He rambles.
"Why? Why would you do that?" She asks.
"Like I said, I was an absolutely shitty boyfriend. I'm hoping to be a better friend." He replied.
"Tobias, I have to be sure there are no ulterior motives here. I can't have you flitting from one relationship to another here at work. I don't want to have to police people's personal lives and relationships here." She replies.
"I am taking my recovery seriously. No more mixing work and pleasure, but I do have to fully disclose that Molly and I have remained in touch throughout my rehab and recovery. She and I are considering trying again, and if that in any way prohibits me from working here I will need to talk to her."
"Molly talked to me while you were away, we cleared the air." Tris replies.
"She didn't know you and I were together when I initially approached her-"
"I know. I've never blamed her, she was honest with me when you hit on her after you and I were together." Tris interrupts.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you in that situation. I knew I had an addiction, and I foolishly thought that you finally giving me a chance would fix me. It didn't." He sighs.
"It's for the best. It's a situation that made you realize you needed professional help, and you've connected with someone who means something to you in Molly. All I ask is that your relationship and work are separate, and if you two can't find a way to work together professionally that one of you is mature enough to walk away."
"I promise you it won't interfere with work." He replies.
"I believe you."
Tori watched as Tris and Tobias looked over their books and she turned towards Christina, "You really think this is a good idea?"
"Neither one of us know accounting or anything about the business side of shit. Why wouldn't it be?"
"She's already a mess with this shit with Eric-"
"This shit as you call it is her marriage Tori. She wants to be with him. He obviously wants her, you and Zeke are always looking for cracks in their relationship and when you compare notes you realize that Eric and Tris are dedicated to each other and to making this work. Why do you continue to doubt her?" Christina scowls.
Tori sighs, "I just don't trust it. You may think that Zeke and I just worry about the business, but we worry about Tris and Eric more. They're obviously both struggling, and it sometimes feels like we're all just waiting for the other shoe to fall."
"Or maybe this will work, Tor."
"You're just wanting this happily every after because you and Will are dating." Tori smirks at her.
"Not everyone is as cynical as you. Bud's been chasing you for years, when are you going to admit he's more than just a fuck buddy?" Christina asks.
"He's not."
"He's been staying overnight at the house, Tori. That's your number one tell right there, you never do overnights. Hell, even in Vegas you'd kicked Zeke out before he could even catch his breath after nutting."
"Christina!" Tori exclaims with a laugh.
"It's true, I bet his dick was still twitching as you're pushing him out the door-"
"I hate you." Tori says and Christina laughs.
"No you don't. At least I got an extra ride from Uriah before he left. He was fun, but I'm happy he worked it out with that girl. I'm just glad it's not going to be hella awkward when we're around them again."
"Why would we be around them again?" Tori asks as she flips through her appointment book.
"Because their best friend is married to our best friend." Christina points out.
"For now." Tori scoffs.
"Do you honestly think this thing with Eric and Tris is going to fizzle? They're working incredibly hard at the long-distance thing." Christina points out.
"She falls fast and then gets bored when it's a decent guy. She only holds on the chaos." Tori replied.
"I have a feeling it's different this time." Christina replies.
"How?" Tori quirks an eyebrow at her friend.
"She's different this time. I can't explain it, but I think she's actually falling in love." Christina replies and Tori shakes her head.
"We need to be the realists here."
"Maybe I am the one being real, Tor." Christina says, "You've said it yourself, even though Zeke is worried too, there's been no outward signs from Eric that he's not into this. We've both seen Tris putting the work in. Be supportive."
"I will work on it." Tori finally says and Christina beams at her.
"Next item, would you and Bud like to go to dinner with Will and me?" Christina asks.
"I'm sure that can be arranged, I'll text him, when and where?" Tori asks.
Christina rattles off some dates and times, and she smiles when she watches Tori's face light up when Bud quickly returns her text. She can deny it all she wants, but Tori is falling too, and she's just too cynical to admit to anything as yet.
"Fuck!" Eric shouts as he slams his hand against his desk, causing Cara to jump, "I thought this kid was solid! What the fuck happened?"
"Tri-City poached him, offered him a sweeter deal. You saw the kid's work, he's impeccable, and we knew it would be tight competition to land him."
"We spent weeks with him, I thought for sure we had someone. I can't keep doing this to Tris. I can't keep fucking this up." Eric shook his head.
"Eric, is this marriage too much for you?" Cara asks carefully.
"No. The distance is. The fact that I keep letting her down is. I promised her I'd make it out to Chicago, and here we are a fucking month later and I'm still bailing on her. Cara, I want this to work out. This isn't just some vacation fling for me."
"I know, what can I do to help? Or Fernando?" She asks.
"Cara, you two are about to have a kid in a few months, neither of you are really in a place to take on more. When you're back from leave, absolutely, you two are my best artists." He replies.
"You're worried about Hana too, aren't you?" Cara asks, mentioning Zeke and Uriah's mother, who was also like a mother to Eric.
"It doesn't sound good with her heart issues." Eric admits.
"She's a tough woman, you've seen her in action, there's no way she's leaving those boys of hers until she sees them happily married with some grandkids." Cara replies.
"She was so happy when I told her about Tris. She and you were the only ones who didn't think I had lost my mind." Eric smiles.
"Oh believe me, we all thought it was a little insane," She chuckles, "but it's obvious you two are crazy about each other. You had to at least try."
"If you were Tris, would you be okay with all that's happened to prevent me from being there?"
Cara thinks for a minute before answering, "If she weren't in the business I'd say she'd be freaking the fuck out, but I think you found someone who truly understands."
"I don't want to lose her."
"Then don't. Keep working at it, and fuck Zeke for continuing to put doubt in your mind. You've got this, Eric."
"Thanks Cara." He smiles.
Eric drums his fingers on his dining table as he hears the drone of ringing in his ear. He'd been trying to call Tris for the past hour, and he was about to disconnect the call when she finally answers.
"I'm so sorry baby, Caleb's former fiancé came in for a tattoo." Tris says. He can hear the noise of her shop in the background, and how emotional she sounds.
"Baby..." He trails off, "I can imagine that was incredibly difficult."
"It was," She agreed, "He's getting married, and he'd been wanting to introduce me to his fiancé for a long time, but just didn't know how to approach it. Anthony is young, he's actually only two years older than me, and I never expected he wouldn't fall in love again. I know how much he and my brother loved each other, and they'd been planning on getting married even though they were only nineteen and twenty-two at the time, but they were so happy."
"Did your parents support their relationship?" Eric asked and Tris chuckled.
"They were shocked when Caleb came out, my parents were wonderful people, but they were a bit traditional and almost old-fashioned. They loved and supported both of us, but they didn't always love the decisions we made. Caleb was born gay, he never chose it, and somehow that made it easier for them to understand. They struggled with my rebellious nature, and they frowned over my interest in becoming a tattoo apprentice instead of going to college, but we all loved each other."
"They sound like they were pretty amazing people."
"They were." She replies and he can hear the sadness in her voice.
"I wish I could be there with you. It's nights like tonight that make me want to say fuck everything and just drive there."
"As much as I would love to see you, we both know that would be incredibly irresponsible. I know I've been putting a lot of pressure on you, and I want you to know I really am okay with waiting. We're getting to know each other better because of the distance, it's making us a better couple." She replies.
"If we make it through this, we make it through anything."
"Not if, when." Tris replies and he smiles.
"That's right baby. It's when." Eric replies.