Chapter 15: Heading Home

Over 2,000 miles away in a 1,000 Sq ft hotel room sat Beau on a white couch chair, looking at his phone. The hotel room had a private bathroom, a king size memory foam bed that had a white comforter a memory foam pillows on it, 70 inch wall mount flat screen TV that was across from the bed, a silver dresser, a soft gray loveseat that sat in front of a wall to wall window, white black out curtains that covered the window, two dark gray bedside tables that had black glass lamps on top of them and a Bible that sat next to one of the lamps, a square mirror hanging on the wall above a white colored wood table, avant garde art that hung on the walls throughout the room, and a cushioned work chair that sat at the white table. The floors had soft gray carpeting, and the walls were white with one gray accent wall. 

Beau's suitcase sat open on the bed but had none of his clothes inside, and his drawers were cracked open. He scrolled through his phone, looking for flights that came home the same day until he finally found one. He booked a first class flight and rushed over to his drawers, packing up his things, sloppily. 

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM

Beau heard someone beating at his door. He threw the clothes he had in his hands inside his suitcase, rushed over to the door, and opened it seeing Nathaniel standing there in silk blue pajamas. Nathaniel rushed into Beau's room while Beau shut the door. Beau said, "It's 2am. You beating at my door this early in the morning could get you kicked out." Nathaniel looked on Beau's bed seeing Beau's suitcase half packed and said, "I just wanted to see if the rumors from the Sio (see/oh) Company of you leaving early were true. How could you be so unprofessional? Leaving this early on a business trip can be extremely bad for the company. It shows people that we are not committed nor dependable. You better have a good reason as to why you have to leave this early into our business trip." Beau walked over to the dresser, continuing to pack while saying, "Marigold needs me." Nathaniel scoffed, saying, "She needs you to make money so you can support her. You taking off this early can have serious effects on the business. You can bring bad publicity! Can't she wait until after the business trip?" Beau continued packing, ignoring his father, and his father (Nathaniel) said, "You can't avoid me, Beau. You know, you can't just leave work every time. The business is important, and if I'm going to pass it to you, you are going to have to be more reliable than this." Beau stopped packing, looked at his father, and said, "She's been screaming inconsolably all night. Carls can't calm her down because she's screaming for me, so he has been calling me all night to help calm her down because when she's in that state, all she does is scream and kick. Carls can't help her by himself, and it's not his job to console her. It's mine. So I'm going to be there for my wife no matter what, even if it looks bad to the public. The public and the business are not my concern right now. My wife is my concern right now, and I'm going to be there for her no matter what, especially when she's screaming for me." Nathaniel scoffed, saying, "Are you sure that she's screaming for you, or do you just not want to deal with business?" Beau said, "What are you talking about?" Nathaniel said, "Last time you brought up Marigold, you told me she couldn't stand you. So it's hard to believe that one person can go from hating you to now screaming for you the second that you leave on a business trip you didn't want to go on." Beau scoffed and continued packing, ignoring his father. Nathaniel said, "You have to be more reliable, Beau. The business is counting on you." Beau stopped packing, saying, "You know you were just angry about me and Marigold not getting along. Telling me I should be happy that she should be happy. You want me to be a loving husband, yet you're getting mad at me for wanting to go to my wife and make sure she's okay. I don't understand you sometimes! She needs me, so I'm going to her no matter what." Nathaniel said, "I want you to be there for her when she actually needs you. I don't want her to be an excuse you use to get out of work because you don't want to do something. You have to learn how to handle business and not run away from it." 

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, 

Beau's phone started to ring, and he (Beau) took his (Beau's) phone out of his (Beau's) pocket, seeing Carls calling him (Beau). Beau said, "Oh look who's calling, Carls," and answered the phone, saying, "Yes." Carls said, "She's screaming again Master Beau. She just needs you." Beau put his phone on speaker, stared at his (Beau's) father, and said, "Put me on speaker." Carls put Beau on speaker, and Beau and Nathaniel heard Marigold screaming. She screamed, "Beau, Beau, Beau, Beau, Beau." Beau said, "Marigold, it's okay, I'm here. Please calm down." Marigold began calming down, saying, "B-Beau, B-Beau, Beau, Beau," and Beau said, "It's okay, please Marigold, I'm here." She completely calmed down, still sleeping, and Carls took the phone off of speaker. He (Carls) put the phone up to his (Carls) ear and said, "Well done Master Beau. She's calm now." Beau said, "I booked a flight for 4am, so I'll be on my way back soon. Hopefully, she won't have night terrors while I'm on the flight." Carls said, "Alright Master Beau, and if she does, I'll try my best to keep her calm, but she really needs you, Master Beau." Beau said, "I know, I'll be there as fast as I can." Carls said, "Is Master Nathaniel coming with you, or are you coming back by yourself?" Nathaniel said, "I'll be coming back as well." Carls said, "Oh Master Nathaniel, I didn't know you were on the phone as well. I'll be sure to have your clothes cleaned and ready for you two for when you gentlemen come home." Beau said, "Don't worry about my clothes, just be with Marigold," and Nathaniel added saying, "Don't worry about my clothes either, just stay with my daughter in law and make sure she's okay and comfortable." Carls said, "Alright," and Beau hung up the phone, continuing to pack. Nathaniel said, "Beau I," and Beau interrupted him (Nathaniel), saying, "The business has been important to me since day one. Ever since I started working here, I have put my all into making sure that the business was doing good. I never had any problems working hard and doing things I really didn't feel like doing. I've worked hard on these charity events with you and stood by your side. I have never run away from a tough job. In fact, I've faced tough jobs head-on. I've never given you any problems about the business, and I even went as far as to marry someone I didn't even know because you wanted another heir to The business. Marigold is a part of my life just as much as this business is. She is now my wife and the main property of my life. Her needs are above the business. She comes first. You wanted me to be married, well you know better than anyone. When your wife needs you, you go without hesitation no matter what. Marigold needs me, and I would never use her as an excuse and jeopardize the business that I worked so hard on, but I will go to her when she needs me. Right now, she needs me. She's in an unfamiliar place that has so far brought her bad memories. She's uncomfortable and terrified. If I thought for one second, she would be fine without me. I wouldn't be rushing home like I'm doing right now, but she needs me." Nathaniel said, "Beau, I'm sorry. I thought you just didn't want to deal with the Sio (see/oh) Company. I thought you were getting out of work because of all the stress of everything. Son, I had forgotten about your strong work ethic, I had forgotten about who I raised as a man. I'm sorry." Beau said, "Dad, remember what happened with me and Mom? You would drop everything the second we called because at that point, nothing else mattered except for the fact that we needed you and you were going to be there for us. Business trips didn't matter, deals didn't matter, etc… What mattered was the fact that we needed help and you were going to help us and be there for us. You built The Bax Company up from the ground up. The company became a billion dollar company because of your work ethic, but we needed you, you put us first. Not because you wanted to get out of working but because we needed you. This is what I'm doing for my wife. She needs me now more than ever so I have to go to her and help me. I have to treat her better than I would treat myself. What kind of man and husband would I be if I knew she needed me and chose not to go? That's not who you raised, and that's not how I'm going to be." Nathaniel said, "Beau, you hurry up and pack. I'll deal with everything else you just pack, and I'll do the same. I won't doubt your worth ethic anymore. You are responsible and you have shown and showed me that you can be trusted with the important things in life… I'll be ready and I'll have a car ready to take us to the airport as soon as possible." 

Nathaniel left the room, going to his (Nathaniel's) room and packing up his (Nathaniel's) stuff while Beau continued to pack his (Beau's) stuff.

As Beau packed, he thought to himself, 'How did she go from hating me to now screaming for me in her sleep? I don't understand why she's been in such a state where she has been screaming for me all night. I thought leaving and giving her space would make things better and would be better for her but I guess not… She hasn't been able to sleep well and I knew she screamed in her sleep but I thought it was because of all the stress… I didn't think she would start screaming for me after I left… I didn't think that she would be so distressed without me there sitting outside her door… I have to be there for her no matter what. She needs me and I'm going to stay by her side.' 

As he continued to pack, he started to have a flashback. In his flashback, he saw a childhood version of himself crying on the phone. His childhood version cried, "Dad I know you have a meeting but I-I need you home right now, I had a nightmare and I'm scared Austin is going to come back and get me and Momma." Nathaniel (in Beau's flashback) said, "It's okay, son. I can always reschedule the meeting… I'll be home shortly, and then we can go for ice cream." The childhood version of Beau dried his eyes and said, "I-I would l-like th-that." 

Beau's flashback ended and he thought, 'My dad missed out on a million dollar deal just to make sure we were okay and even after all that he was still able to turn this company into a billion dollar company. He didn't care about the money at that time he cared about taking care of his family first and being there for us. I have to be there for Marigold no matter what… She needs me right now, and I have to be there to make sure she's okay.'

The hour passed, and Beau finished packing up. Beau and Nathaniel left the hotel getting into a car that Nathaniel called to take them to the airport. They made it to the airport on time and hopped on a flight, heading back to their home and to Marigold.