Chapter 37
On Monday morning, while Lisa was sitting in her office, Georgie came in to talk to say good morning. "Hey, Georgie. I need to meet with you and Edwin today. Could we meet at the house for lunch?"
"Of course. It's your house. I don't mind," responded Georgie.
"I know it is, but I didn't want to just assume. You're using it right now, and I didn't want to intrude on your private space." Lisa was glad that they could use the house so that she could have a meeting without other employees hearing anything.
Georgie nodded. "It's totally fine. I need to get back to work so I'll see you at lunch.
"Okay. If you see Edwin around, can you send him my way so I can talk to him about the lunchtime meeting?"
"Yeah, I was about to go talk to him anyway so that's no problem," Georgie replied.
At lunchtime, Georgie and Edwin joined Lisa in the kitchen at the house. She had gone into town and ordered some sandwiches from a local bakery. Once they were done with their food, Lisa knew that she needed to start the conversation, but she was nervous.
"So I wanted to talk to you today about something." Lisa paused for a moment and took a breath before continuing. "Yesterday, Jack asked me how I was going to handle this job once Georgie goes back to Florida. He encouraged me to consider coming clean about my amnesia. He thinks that I should just admit that I had kept it a secret because I was hoping that my memory would come back by now so that it wouldn't be an issue. You both know how some people in racing and jumping can be. You also know how much I could be opening myself up to people trying to take advantage of me or just plain not trust me anymore because of how people are in the horse world. They could also refuse to do business with me. I guess I just want to get your perspectives on this."
Edwin spoke first. "I can see both sides of it. I'm not sure what you should do either. It's a risk either way, and I'm sure it's scary to think about all the possible consequences of telling people or not telling people. Once you say it, you can't take it back. I think most if not all of the people who work for you will support you, but I can't say the same for your clients and colleagues."
Georgie nodded in agreement. "Edwin is right. Everyone here at least has dealt with snobby horse people and knows what they are like. I think that they'll support you. I don't know how your peers and colleagues will react. I have had run-ins with snobby horse people. It's no fun. Remember when I got bullied by Peyton? I deal with Quinn's dad on a regular basis. He's the ultimate elitist horse person."
Lisa gasped at Georgie's last statement. It hadn't occurred to her that Quinn's dad might know about her memory loss. "Does Quinn's dad know about my amnesia?"
Georgie shook her head and then said, "No. He knows about your accident, but Quinn and I both felt like your memory loss was none of his business. We didn't know how he would react or if we could get him to keep it to himself so we just chose to leave that information out when we told him why I was coming up here to help."
"If you do decide to tell people, you should probably start telling everyone as soon as possible," said Edwin. "Doing it while Georgie is still here is also a good idea. That way, you have two people to back you up and get more people on your side. You could always have people here sign an NDA and not tell anyone else, but that might make things harder on you and lose the trust of some. I think most of the people here will understand that you were hoping that your memory would come back so that this wouldn't even be an issue. The problem is that the more people who know, the bigger the risk of it getting out. It's really just the other people in the industry for whom it would be an issue."
"I have to admit that this whole thing is extremely nerve-wracking for me. I would be risking my whole business by doing this," Lisa admitted. "It's just a big thing to take on. How about I think about it for a bit, and I'll give myself a deadline for Thursday so that if I do say something, it will be before Georgie leaves."
"That's a good idea. We'll support you in whatever you decide." Georgie nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, you two. I'll let you know first thing Thursday morning if I'm going to do it. I wanted to get your opinions before I made any decisions." Lisa got up and left Georgie and Edwin sitting there and made her way back to her office.
On her way out, Lisa heard Georgie say quietly, "I don't know how she's going to decide. It's so complicated."
Lisa struggled to focus on her work for the rest of the day as she pondered the decision she needed to make. After a while, she was about ready to give up and go home so that she could try to work there. A phone call from Amy was a welcome distraction. Amy wanted to know if Lisa could come home and watch Lyndy. She couldn't get a hold of anyone else, or they weren't available. Amy had a meeting that she didn't want to miss, and Lyndy had come home from school early due to being sick. Lisa took the opportunity to go home.
Jack was out in the barn when he saw Lisa drive past and park in front of the house. He had been out checking on the cattle but realized that he'd forgotten his phone on his nightstand and had ridden back to get it. Wondering why Lisa was home so early, Jack quickly untacked Blue and made his way to the house. Lisa was walking inside right as he left the barn.
Lisa was glad to be home. She felt the stress of her decision lessen as soon as she walked into the house. "Hey, Amy. How is Lyndy feeling?"
"She's okay. I think it's probably just a bad cold, but she feels pretty miserable. I would have stayed home with her, but I have a meeting in town about the center, and I didn't want to have to reschedule again. We've both had to reschedule once a piece already." Amy grabbed her phone and her keys and made her way to the door. "Thanks, Lisa. I really appreciate it. Oh! Hi, Grandpa. I tried calling you, but you didn't answer. Lisa is helping me out, though, so I'll see you later."
Lisa walked to the mudroom to greet Jack. "Hello, Amy called and said she had an appointment she didn't want to miss, and Lyndy was running a fever and needed to come home from school early."
Jack sat down and pulled his boots off. "Poor kid. I accidentally left my phone on my nightstand today. I came in after I did morning chores before I went to check on the cattle. I spilled coffee on my jeans, so I changed them and left my phone sitting there. I'm sorry you had to come home early."
"It's okay. I was having a hard time concentrating while I was at work anyway. Quite honestly, taking care of Lyndy is a welcome distraction right now." Lisa pulled Jack up from the bench and hugged him.
"Well, now we're both here to take care of Lyndy. We should go check on her." The two of them made their way to Lyndy's room and peaked in to see how she was doing.
Lyndy was sleeping, but it was still clear that she was sick. She was flushed, her nose was runny, and she was snoring from all of the congestion.
Once they were back in the hallway, Lisa quietly said, "I'm glad she's sleeping. Poor girl. She looks miserable. Let's go sit in the living room so we can be close enough to hear if she needs something, but far enough away to not wake her up."
Jack put his arm around Lisa and walked them to the living room. "That's a good plan. I hope none of the rest of us get what she has. It's hard sometimes with little kids because they aren't the best at covering their mouth when they cough or sneeze and tend to touch everything."
After they sat down on the couch, Jack reached to hold Lisa's hand. "So tell me about your conversation with Georgie and Edwin."
Lisa pulled their joined hands into her lap. "Well, it was good to talk to them. They were supportive of whatever I decide, but they also have the same misgivings as me. They agreed that all of my staff will very likely be very supportive, but that everyone else is harder to know about. I need to decide by Thursday morning because if I do tell people, I want to do it before Georgie leaves."
"I support you, too. You know how I feel about being dishonest, but I also understand wanting to protect your business. I've witnessed how hard you've worked, especially when things went a little south a few years ago." Jack leaned over and kissed Lisa's cheek. He hated that she even had to make this decision. It didn't seem fair.
Lisa blushed at the kiss. "I'm glad that you support me. It does help to know that, but you can't make any of my clients or the industry support me. That's what I'm risking now."
Jack knew what Lisa was risking and didn't want her to lose her business, but he hated that she felt that she had to lie in order to keep it. "Is there no way to be honest and guarantee that you keep your business? Isn't that why you expanded your stable to include hunter jumpers so that you weren't dependent on just one thing?"
"I guess. I don't remember that, though. I'm glad that I did what I needed to do to save my business and to have another stream of income, but those people are snobby and elitist, too." Lisa felt trapped in this situation, and although she wanted to be honest about what was going on with her, she didn't feel like it was necessarily a safe choice to make.
"Does it not feel safe to you to be honest about your situation? Do you think that no one will work with you after that, or do you know it? If it's just a fear, you aren't giving people enough credit. Surely, not everyone is so callous and unfeeling." Jack was trying to figure out exactly how impossible this felt to Lisa. He couldn't imagine treating someone that poorly just because they had a medical issue.
Lisa was struck by how kind Jack was and how much he saw the good in others. She tried to do that too, but at the same time, she felt like she had to protect herself as a woman in a very male dominated industry. "I love that you think so positively about this. I wish that I could too."
"You can, but you have a lot of fear about how people will react. Not that I blame you for that."
"Is it fear, or is it being realistic?" asked Lisa.
"I guess only you can answer that. Listen, you have talked me off the metaphorical ledge a couple of times when I was letting fear get in the way. I just want to do the same for you." Jack thought back to when he was afraid of being weak and frail for Lisa after his heart attack when all she had wanted to do was be with him.
Lisa felt like her fear was justified. "I get it, but this isn't something that I can go back on once I let it out. I can't put the toothpaste back in the tube."
"I know. Just think about it and know that you have the support of your family and at least Edwin and Georgie at work." Jack just wanted Lisa to consider it.
Lisa was about to respond, but she heard a pitiful voice coming from the hallway. "Mommy?"
Jack patted Lisa's knee. "We can talk about this later. We have a great granddaughter to take care of at the moment."
Thankful for a distraction from her current predicament, Lisa got up from the couch and went to check on Lyndy. "Hey, honey. Your mom has a meeting in town that she needed to go to, but I'm here, and your GG is here as well. Why don't you join us on the couch? We can watch a movie or something."
Tears started to form in Lyndy's eyes when she heard that her mom wasn't home, but her face lit up a little at the suggestion to watch a movie. "Okay," said Lyndy sadly. She walked out to the living room holding a blanket and climbed up onto the couch next to Jack.
Jack helped Lyndy get situated on the couch with her blanket. "Hey, kiddo. I'm sorry you're not feeling well. That's no fun, but Lisa and I will try to make it a good day, okay? Do you want some juice?"
"Yeah." Lyndy looked up at her GG and over at Lisa. "Are you going to sit down too, Lisa?"
"Of course. I'm just going to go get all of us something to drink and a snack. How does that sound?" Lisa started to head to the kitchen but was interrupted by Lyndy.
"Can we have goldfish crackers?" asked Lyndy.
"You got it." Lisa went into the kitchen, gathered everything they needed, and sat down next to her great granddaughter on the couch. "Here you go, Lyndy. Do you need help with your juice box?"
"Yeah." Lyndy handed Lisa her juice box.
Lisa got the juice box ready for Lyndy and handed it back to her. The three of them cuddled together on the couch and watched a movie.
Jack looked over at Lisa and caught her eye. She looked at him questioningly. He smiled and leaned over and kissed the side of Lisa's head.
"Jack." Lisa looked at Lyndy and back at him.
"Oh, sorry," he apologized. "I forgot." He forgot that they weren't being affectionate around other people unless it was for selling that everything was fine for people who didn't know about Lisa's amnesia.
"Did you forget Lisa, GG?" asked Lyndy.
Jack chuckled at his great granddaughter. "No, I haven't forgotten Lisa. Why did you ask that?"
"Lisa forgot all of us, and then you said you forgot," Lyndy explained.
Lisa squeezed one of Lyndy's braids. "I forgot you all because I hurt my head really badly. Your GG is just fine."
"Okay." Lyndy went back to watching her movie. The answers she got seemed good enough for her.
Jack winked at Lisa, and she blushed in response. She then pretended to focus on the movie. When Jack flirted with her, Lisa felt like she reacted more and more to it. She was falling for Jack. She was falling for him hard, and it was getting hard for her not to react.
Jack smirked, seeing Lisa's reaction to his wink, but he didn't make a big deal about it. He had an arm around Lyndy and used that hand to tap the side of Lisa's leg without looking at her. He wanted to acknowledge that he saw her without saying anything and since Lyndy was wedged in between them.
By the time the movie was over, Lyndy had fallen asleep again. She was cuddled into Jack's side, so Lisa got up and went to the bedroom to get her laptop so that she could get work done as promised when she left work early. There were emails that she needed to answer and transport that she needed to book for a couple of horses that she was selling.
Lisa sat down at the dining table so that she could still be close by if anyone needed anything, but it put her far enough away so that she didn't wake Lyndy up. She looked over at Jack and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry that you're stuck on the couch," she said quietly.
Jack looked down at Lyndy and then smiled. "It's fine. I don't mind spending time with her. She's a sweetheart, and I'm glad she's getting some rest. She really is feeling under the weather."
"That she is," Lisa said in agreement. She went back to trying to get work done while also pondering her big decision.
Katie was surprised to see Lisa, Lyndy, and Jack there when she got home from school. "I was wondering why Lyndy wasn't on the bus today."
"She had to leave school early. She's been running a fever, and she just feels miserable," said Jack.
"Aw, well, I hope she starts feeling better. I'm going to go get started on my homework. I have plans to go ride my dirt bike with Brandon later." Katie then climbed the stairs to her room.
Lisa closed her laptop and put it away in their bedroom. She came back out and sat down on the couch again. Lyndy was still sleeping. She knew that she needed to be quiet. Trying to think about the decision she needed to make, the whole idea of it stressed her out, so she let out a big sigh.
"You okay?" asked Jack.
"Yeah, I was thinking about telling my employees and well everyone else about my amnesia, and it's just really stressful," replied Lisa.
Jack looked at Lisa and patted her knee. "Are you any closer to making a decision?"
Lisa shook her head and then dropped her shoulders in frustration. "Not even a little bit. There are reasons to keep it a secret and reasons to come clean. Both are valid, and both come with risks."
"Well, I'll support you either way. I hope you know that."
"I know." Lisa was thankful for the support that she had. "I'm glad that I have a couple of days to sleep on it. I want to have a chance to really think about it and make sure that I'm going about things the right way for the right reasons."
That night, Georgie came for dinner. While Lisa was getting something from her bedroom, Georgie came and poked her head in. "Hey, I know it hasn't been long, but have you come to any conclusions about the decision you need to make?
"No. I am no closer to making a decision than before. I have no idea what I'm going to do." She heard Lou call them to dinner. "I'm thinking about it, but it feels like an impossible decision. Please don't say anything to anyone in the family about this. I don't want them to know unless I actually do it."
"I wasn't planning to say anything. You don't have to worry about that," said Georgie reassuringly.
"Thanks, Georgie. I'm really going to miss you."
"You're welcome. I'm going to miss you too."
To Be Continued