Gina Calanni - How To Bake The Perfect Apple Pie

“I totally agree…the Keurig coffee is pretty awesome.” We both laugh. “Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be in touch.” I roll back my chair and stand up. We shake hands and she exits my office.

The rest of the meetings go about the same. My heart is beating overtime. The adrenaline rush of being able to pick the right candidates from the stack is racing around in my mind. Perhaps if I chose any of the other candidates from the stack I might like them also, but of the five I’ve interviewed, I like them. I’m surprised I’ve decided on them before the clock ran out. I can see their future with our company and them being great employees for my team.

But what if I’m wrong?

I swallow and glance at the clock. Only ten minutes until I meet with Javier. There isn’t enough time to interview anyone else. I’ve got to go with these and not let my internal doubt stand in the way. I grab my cell phone from my purse and press Jack-my-fiancé ’s number. It rings twice.

“Lauren…how are things going?” Jack lets out a deep breath.

The sound of his voice drizzles like melting chocolate beyond my ear and slides down to my toes. My cheeks are warm. I take in a deep breath and pucker my lips together. Focus. “Good…actually great. I’ve narrowed down my five candidates for my team and I’m about to meet with my boss to go over them.” I move the mouse on my desk and glance at my email. All five candidates have sent follow-up emails. My stomach clenches. This is even better.

“Great, Lauren, that’s…great.”

The following silence is dark. Like a deep hole, there is no sound. No understanding. We are so far apart. I know physically there are thousands of miles, but emotionally it seems further than that. Is this distance going to break us? Do we even have a foundation built to handle this issue?

“Jack…is everything all right?” A lump forms in the back of my throat.

“Yes…no…Lauren, I don’t want to be without you… Seriously, why don’t we meet in Vegas this weekend and make it official? I bet we can even have Elvis marry us.” Jack laughs.

I laugh for a second. But I can’t joke about this. “Jack, I don’t want to be married by Elvis or in Vegas… I want…I want a real wedding… It doesn’t have—”

“I know, Lauren, I want to give you a real wedding but it’s only been hours since I last saw you and the distance is too much.”

I sigh. “I agree…it’s too much.”

Chapter Two

Bing. My email system alerts me that I have another email. It’s almost as if it’s taunting me. Like it knows that it’s yet another email from my mother. A wedding theme possibility, no doubt. I swear the moment Jack and I became engaged my mom went into full-on planning mode. I think she has even put off her annual Valentine’s Day cupids and hearts ceremony. It’s still January, but usually by this time she’s sent me several pins for her Valentine’s Day Extravaganza board so I too can appreciate all the possibilities of her decorating themes and parties, costumes and cards. When it comes to holiday planning my mom goes all in. All in. As in dressed from head to toe in…interesting décor.

I click on the message.

“Dearest Lauren,

I’ve created a Pinterest board for you and Jack. No need to thank me—it was a lot of fun to do. Well, actually I’ve created several Pinterest boards for you. Currently, there are ten different boards with various themes. I’ve pinned over a thousand pins in only a few hours! Anyways, I know you’re at work but when you get a chance, I think it would be a good idea to narrow down the theme so we can focus on building the best wedding for you and Jack.

All my love,

Mom”

I roll my eyes. I cannot believe…well I can believe it’s just ten Pinterest boards of wedding themes, but over a thousand pins? It’s just too much. We don’t even have a date yet. I would think picking a date and maybe even a location would be the starting place for planning a wedding, not the theme. But my mother, my dear sweet mother…she is a theme enthusiast.

I type back.

“Wow, Mom, that’s really impressive. I’ll have to check these out at home. Busy day here at the office.

Love,

Lauren”

I slide my chair back and lift the stack of chosen résumés off my desk. My fingers are tingling with excitement. I hope Javier will be pleased with my choices. I turn the knob of my office door and step out onto the grey carpet.

“Oh hey, Lauren, are you done interviewing for your team?” Leena, standing outside my office, raises her eyebrows at me.

“Leena, hi. Yes, I think so. How was your holiday?” I close the door to my office to cut our eye contact. My chest tightens. I hope Leena doesn’t ask why she wasn’t offered an interview. I don’t want to lie to her, but her sales and resolution time are not great. They don’t even compare to the stack of candidates in my hand.

“Uugh, it was horrible. I didn’t get any of the gifts I wanted and my boyfriend forgot to pay the gas bill so our heat was off until the twenty-sixth.” She rolls her eyes.

“Wow, I’m sorry. That must have been very cold.”

“Yeah…but we had each other to keep us warm.” Leena flips her shiny auburn hair over her face. “It must be tough for you to be alone over the holidays.” Leena’s eyebrows furrow together.

I’m not going to tell her about Jack. For one it’s none of her business and two, she will then know that we are engaged and will ask questions about where he lives and works. These answers will only fuel more questions from her, which again I have no interest in answering, and a lot of them I don’t have the answers to. My chest tightens further.

“I was with my family. Excuse me.” I force a smile and push past her. I don’t want to be late for my meeting with Javier. As I make it to his door it opens before I knock.

“Perfect timing, we are going to meet with Elaine for lunch. Do you have everything you need?” Javier cocks his head to the right.

“Oh…uh, let me go and grab my purse—just a minute.”

“Good idea, since you’re paying.” Javier lets out a loud barrel of a laugh.

My eyes bulge. “Ha, good one.” I turn and rush back to my office. Javier could be the figurehead for Dad Jokes.

I slip into my office and grab my purse from my drawer. I move the mouse over the pad and type in my password. I want to take one last peek at my inbox. I’m waiting on some stats from Q1. There’s only one email and it’s from my mom. Argh. I slam ctrl alt delete down so fast the keys stick a little.

I make my way back into the hallway and Javier is chatting with Leena. Great …no doubt she is questioning him about my team. I know Javier trusts my judgment but I wouldn’t put it past Leena to try and lean into his ear and offer up herself for one of the spots.

“Ready?” I raise my eyebrows at Javier.

“I’m starving. First day back from the holidays I’m always famished. Though I could stand to lose a few holiday pounds.” He pats his tummy and we head towards the elevator. As we turn the corner, Leena is still where we left her and her fake smile has been replaced by a scowl.

Javier pushes the button of the elevator. We’re on the fourth floor. Elaine rushes up to meet us. She reminds me of a value brand Lucy Liu.

“So glad I caught you. How about we ride together? I just got my car detailed over the weekend. I’ll drive,” Elaine says, as we enter through the open elevator doors.

“Fine by me,” Javier says.

“Me too.” I smile. Elaine is about the same age as me, but she transferred in from another division and has been a manager for a little over a year. We’ve exchanged general greetings in the walkways before but nothing more than that.