Free Nine, Ten ... Never Sleep Again by Willow Rose

to just do it. I walked back in with Julie.
    "Work?" she asked.
    I smiled. "You know me a little too well,
don't you?"
    She shrugged. "It's okay, Mommy. I know you
love your job."
    I stared at my daughter. My beautiful and
suddenly so very grown-up daughter. I kneeled next to her and hugged her.
"My boss is giving me another week off instead of the days I'm spending on
this, and I thought that maybe I'll take it when you have your fall break in
October. Maybe we could go somewhere far away where they can't get a hold of me
and make me work. Maybe we'll go to Spain or France? What do you say?"
    Julie looked up at me. "That sounds really
nice, Mommy. I'd like that. Maybe Tobias could come as well?"
    I froze. "Tobias?"
    "Yes. I really miss him. Don't you miss Sune?"
    Children and their bluntness. Just bursting it
all out without thinking. Just saying what everybody else is thinking or won't
admit they're thinking. I nodded. "Yes, sweetie. I miss him."
    "Good," she said.
    "I thought you liked that mommy was back
with daddy?" I asked.
    "I do. I love it Mommy. But I liked Sune
too. And I looove Tobias. You know that. We're going to get married. We already
planned that."
    "Wow that was early."
    "Yeah, but first I have to finish college.
Tobias wants to be an astronaut, so he needs to get a space education first and
that takes a long time, I think. He won't be home much since he'll be flying
out in space a lot, but I can take care of the kids. We might fight a little
over him always being away, but we'll make it work. I'll have my clinic at my
house so I can be home a lot."
    "Your clinic? What kind of clinic is
that?" I asked trying hard not to laugh.
    "My dog hospital, of course. I'll be a vet.
But only for dogs. I don't like cats. Maybe I'll treat a tiger if they bring
him to me. But only baby tigers since they're not scary. They are really
cute."
    I chuckled. "Boy you have you entire life
all figured out, don't you?"
    "Yes, Mommy." Julie looked deep into
my eyes. "You should figure your life out too."
    I looked at her, astonished and slightly
surprised as well. From children and drunk
people you hear the truth, was a Danish saying. Was that what this
was? Her speaking the truth I refused to admit to myself?
    The door opened and Peter entered. "What do
you guys say we have some lunch?" he asked. I looked at him. He froze when
our eyes met.
    "Mommy's going to work," Julie said.
    Peter sighed. "Really?"
    "Yeah, I'm sorry. They just called. They
need me to do the story about the kidney-guy. There has been another case in
Hasle not far from here. Also in a hotel. They want me to cover the story. I'm
sorry. They gave me another week off this fall instead. I thought maybe we
could …"
    Peter lifted his hand and stopped me. "And
I guess that photographer boyfriend of yours is going too, am I right?"
    "Peter. Don't start … This is my job. This
is what it is like to be a journalist. You have to be available when they need
you, when a story breaks. That's just the way it is. If they can't count on me,
they'll let me go. I'll never get the career I want."
    "Then don't," Peter said.
    "I can't just forget all about my career. I
have bills to pay, I have a daughter to provide for."
    "Not if you're with me. I can provide for
the both of you, you know that as well as I do."
    "You know that is not what I want."
    "What? To be a family?"
    "Come on. That's not fair."
    "Why not? If you gave up that so-called
career of yours, you could stay home and be a mother and a wife and I would
support all of us. We could travel all over the world if that was what you
wanted. I'd give you everything."
    I exhaled and shook my head. "Yes Peter I
do believe you'd give me the world. I know you'd give me anything money could
buy. But money doesn't buy happiness. And working makes me happy. Like it or
not, I'm going."
    I grabbed my bag and put my iPad in it along
with my notepad and phone. Then I took my jacket from the closet in the hall. I
kissed Julie and held her