Read Ask Mariah for Free Online

inside.
    "So I had a lot to think about."
    "Did you come to any conclusions?"
    "As a matter of fact, I did." Tony smiled proudly. "I bought a boat, Michael. She's a beauty. Wait until you see her."
    "The boat is here?"
    "Yeah. The brother of a friend of mine has been sailing out of the San Juan Islands up north, but he needed some quick cash and decided to sell his boat."
    "And you just happened to have some cash? What did you do -- rob a bank?"
    "I saved it."
    He laughed. "No way."
    "I did. Okay, I had a few good hands of poker, too."
    "Did you cheat?"
    "Does it matter?" Tony asked with a grin. "Anyway, I came home to pick up the boat, say hello to the family, and see if Helen wants to go back with me. She would love the Caribbean."
    "Helen?" Michael sat down behind his desk. "My loyal assistant who never calls in sick, who never arrives late, and who dutifully calls her mother every day of the week? That's the woman you're thinking of asking to sail across the world with you?"
    "She's great in bed."
    "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
    Tony sprawled in the chair in front of Michael's desk. "I didn't know she was fooling around with Joey Scopazzi. Why did she have to pick him? Why couldn't she find someone who didn't grow up with us, who wasn't such a weasel?"
    "Joey is a nice guy. He runs his father's dry cleaning business now. He's very responsible."
    "Yeah, and he sounds like a lot of laughs. So, what's new around here, besides Helen and Joey?"
    He smiled. Tony would love his next piece of news. "Frank and Linda are planning a surprise party for your parents' fortieth wedding anniversary on Saturday night."
    "Oh, man." Tony propped his feet on the edge of Michael's desk. "Anniversary parties and weddings. My timing sucks."
    "As always. Maybe that's why your old girlfriend is marrying someone else."
    "She's not married yet."
    "Why can't you just accept that Helen is with someone else, and be happy for her? Be her friend."
    "I don't know how to be friends with a woman. If there's no sex involved, what's the point?"
    For a moment Michael thought Tony was serious, then he saw the hint of a smile playing around Tony's mouth. "Yeah, right. You know, you don't need Helen, you need a woman who won't take crap from you. Helen is too nice for you."
    "Then tell me where I can find myself a gorgeous bitch."
    "Try any bar in the financial district after five. So, what are you going to do with this boat?"
    "Run charters. I finally get to be my own boss."
    "Don't kid yourself. You open your own business and you'll do nothing but cater to everyone else, to your clients, to your banker, to your crew. It's called being a grown-up."
    "No, not that, please."
    "Do you have a business plan?"
    Tony made a face. "Unlike you, I don't plan out every move I'm going to make. Sometimes I just jump and then look down."
    "That's a good way to break your neck." He sat back in his chair. "Owning your own business is a risk."
    "Yeah, well, if you took a risk once in awhile, you wouldn't be stuck building square boxes for business suits."
    He frowned, once again reminded of how far he had strayed from his original goals, but he had made the right decisions. He had a family to support. Ideals were fine, but they didn't put food on the table.
    "How are the girls?" Tony asked, changing the subject.
    "The same. Happy most of the time, at least on the surface. God knows what's going on in their heads."
    "Still not talking?"
    "Not to me."
    "What are you supposed to do about it?"
    "Be patient, wait until they feel comfortable enough to talk to me. By that time I'll probably be too old to hear them. Sometimes I just want to shake them until the words come out or they yell at me to stop. But I don't."
    "Of course you don't. You love those kids." Tony leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What do the doctors say?"
    "The doctors say that while the girls are happy to live with me, they don't want to talk to me. They don't trust me for some reason --