Heaven's Door [Short Story]

Parker and Brandon

5pm was right around the corner, but Parker Maxwell had one more meeting and a few more emails to send before she could call it a day. She wasn't even supposed to be in the office today. Her husband, Brandon, didn't say anything to her as she dressed for work earlier that morning, but she could tell he was upset. He wanted her to stay home.

She needed to stay home.This was supposed to be her week off.

A recent scare prompted her doctor to recommend that she occasionally step away from the office to ensure that she made it to her third trimester and she promised she would do just that. She scheduled time off for the week and had stayed home on Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, on Wednesday there were fires at the office that she felt only she could put out.

As she finished replying to her last email of the day, she noticed her best friend Mariah standing near the door of her office.

"Hey 'Riah. What's up?" She asked, her fingers still moving rapidly across her keyboard.

"Parker, why are you still here? You said you were only coming in until noon." Mariah chastised.

"You and I both know there's a meeting in 15 minutes that-"

"That doesn't require your attendance. Parker, you were even marked as an optional attendee on the invite. So, again, why are you still here?"

"Because I am a-"

Parker's response was cut off by Mariah chuckling as she, once again, interjected.

"A control freak who micromanages everything? Parker, come on. You need to be at home. Gordon and I are more than capable of pitching the design to The Damien Group."

"Okay, Mariah."

Parker playfully rolled her eyes as she closed her laptop. She gathered her belongings and headed to the door as Mariah watched her every move.

"Where are you going? The elevator is this way." Mariah said as she tried to catch up to her.

"I'm going to the Damien Group meeting. I might as well go since I've been here this long. I'm sure it'll be quick and as soon as it's over, I'll head home. Okay?"

Mariah sighed. She knew that trying to get Parker to change her mind was a longshot and she was done trying.

"Okay. But go right home and get in bed as soon as you get there."

"I will" Parker promised as she silenced her phone and placed it in her bag before entering the conference room.

***

"I was right. You did not need to be in that meeting." Mariah sneered.

"Oh hush. I just had to make sure everything went off without a hitch. I'm proud of you, Riah. Congrats on closing the deal." Parker smiled as she hugged Mariah.

"Thank you, babe. Now, go home. Oh and tell Brandon I'll see him this weekend."

"I will. Hopefully he's up to it. He had a bad week last week, but he just got his meds adjusted, so I'll see if he's still up to go out with you and Julian. Love you, boo."

"Love you too."

As Parker made her way to the elevator, she pulled her phone out of her bag.

25 Missed Calls

1 New Voicemail

"What the hell?" Parker muttered as the elevator descended to the basement-level parking garage.

All of the missed calls were from Brandon and she found it odd that he even called. Brandon always texted whenever he could. If he could text his Chinese takeout orders to their favorite local spot, he would.