Lisa's Husband

"Yeah, I did."

"Well—did he hire you?"

Trey had yet to make a decision but if he didn't go to work for Gerry he didn't want Lisa to feel guilty—like she was keeping him from his dreams. He hated to lie to her again, even a little white one, but he didn't think laying guilt on your spouse was the best way to start a marriage.

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean, not exactly?"

"He liked my work but he's only looking for one assistant and he's considering others as well."

"What if he wants to hire you, Trey? Are you going to do it? I know it's what you've always wanted."

He stoically sat, staring into his coffee cup. He honestly didn't know how to answer her. He still wanted to talk to his dad before making a final decision, but rather than make Lisa wait any longer than necessary, he was going to call instead of drive up there.

"Honey, I haven't even been offered the job yet. Why don't we see if that even happens before we get too far ahead of ourselves?"

Lisa didn't like being put off but she agreed. On the way back to the dorm she couldn't keep away the tears. They welled up in her eyes before running down her cheeks.

She could easily see how hard Trey was struggling. She tried to put herself in his shoes. What would she do if offered her dream job? She honestly didn't know. Whatever he chose to do, she would support him and if he did get the job, she wouldn't try to stand in his way, but neither would she follow him to New York, in spite of how much she loved him.

Later that night Trey called and talked to his dad for over an hour. When they hung up, Mr. Van Heusen looked troubled. Trey's mom had heard bits and pieces of the conversation but wasn't sure what it was about. The concerned look on her husband's face had her worried though.

"So-what's going on? Something's obviously wrong, what is it?" she asked.

"Trey has been offered a job with some famous photographer from New York, but Lisa won't go with him. The poor kid's really in a spot. He's got to decide between the career he's always wanted, or her."

From what she heard it was pretty much what she surmised. Of course, like every parent, she only wanted the best for her son, but for selfish reasons, she had a hard time thinking about him moving to New York and was kind of in Lisa's corner. "You can't really blame Lisa. Can you imagine trying to bring up kids in New York? It's hard enough these days."

"New York has suburbs, too, you know. I wish I could have been more help but I don't know what to tell him."

"Well, I heard what you said about spending your life with the woman you love. That was very sweet, by the way."

He smiled. "Well, it's true isn't it? I wouldn't sacrifice my life with you for all the money and fame in the world."

A broad smile stretched across her face as she walked over and sat in her husband's lap. "Somebody's about to get very lucky," she said before wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a passionate kiss on his lips.

That night Trey finally drifted off to sleep with a ton of what-if's swirling around in his brain. Sometime during the night his subconscious must have made the decision for him because when he awoke everything was suddenly clear as a bell. No matter how high he climbed in his career, he'd never be happy without the woman he loved standing by his side.

It's okay, he told himself. I'll find something here in Chicago, something with a lot less travel. He couldn't stop grinning with the thought of coming home to the wife and kids every night.

He was about to call Lisa when he had another thought, what should he tell her? If he said he's not going to take the job she'll obviously know it's because of her. If the roles were reversed he'd feel guilty as hell. She's most assuredly going to feel the same way. Again, the last thing he wanted to do was lay a guilt trip on her. He'd already told her one white lie, he decided to simply tell her he didn't get the job; problem solved.

He knew every moment of uncertainty was torture for Lisa so he gave her a call right away.

"Good morning, honey," she said with a slight tremor.

"Hi, honey. Gerry just called. He's going with one of the other guys he interviewed. I didn't get the job."

Lisa's heart skipped a bunch of beats with relief but felt bad for Trey at the same time. "Honey, I'm so sorry. I know it was your dream job. How about if we go out to eat tonight then stop off at the Cherry Lane? Maybe I can brighten you spirits a little."

"Sounds good to me, babe," he replied.

After hanging up he started to have second thoughts and couldn't help but wonder if he'd made the right decision. He closed his eyes and visualized what his life would be like if he had chosen differently, traveling the glob, learning his craft from a man like Newman. Then he imagined his Lisa marrying another man, having kids and raising a family with someone else. The thought was excruciating and he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt he'd made the right decision. He had no more second thoughts.

Now he had to make two more calls. He first talked to professor Watts and thanked him profusely for his recommendation. He went on to explain his reasons for turning down the job. His professor understood. Trey and Lisa's love was almost mythological on the campus so he wasn't really surprised.

Next, he called Gerry Newman. He was just as understanding as the professor and gave Trey words of encouragement for the future.

With just a little less than a month before graduation, things got pretty hectic. There were bunches of parties. Knowing they'd never see a lot of their friends again, they tried to make as many as they could. Then, of course, there were more resume's to send out and a wedding to plan. It wasn't going to be a big wedding. No one had the money for that. The young couple didn't really care, they were simply anxious to start their new life together.

Two days before commencement, Lisa was in the library updating her resume' when her phone rang. Classes were over but the school paper had one more issue to get out so Trey was on his last assignment. There was something familiar about the phone number but it wasn't in her directory. She answered it cautiously. "Hello, this is Lisa."

"Hi, Lisa; this is Bill Cunningham. I'm sure you don't remember me, but I'm the managing editor of the Chicago Tribute. Your dad worked for me."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Cunningham, I remember you. You and your wife sat at our table at the awards ceremony when dad won Illinois Journalist of the Year. You were also at his funeral."

"That's right. You have a very good memory."

"Well, dad used to talk about you all the time."

"All good, I hope?"

"Always, Mr. Cunningham."

"Lisa, I've got your resume' sitting on my desk in front of me; following in your father's footsteps, huh?"

Suddenly her heart started pounding. Was this going to be a job offer, she wondered? The Chicago Tribute was the largest, most prestigious newspaper in the state and among the top ten in the country. To land a job with them straight out of college would be too good to be true. "Yes, sir," she replied.

He continued. "Lisa, your dad was already a veteran reporter here when I took over. I'll never forget my first week. Everyone around here had already decided they weren't going to give me any respect until I earned it, but your dad always had a different way of looking at things. It's one of the reasons he was such a great reporter. He believed a person deserved respect until he lost it. He made my job so much easier I've always felt I owed him a debt of gratitude.

"Unfortunately, we lost him before I was able to repay him, so when I saw your resume' I did some checking. I even read some of the stories you wrote for your school newspaper; a little raw but with some training I'm sure we could make a damn fine reporter out of you. What'd you say, would you like to work for the Tribute?"

Lisa was so excited she couldn't get her voice to work. After struggling to say something she finally got out one word. "Really?" she squealed.

He chuckled at the nervous excitement he heard in her voice. "Yes, really. I'll put you with a seasoned reporter for the first month or so, then start you off with a few small assignments on your own. When can you start?"

She almost said immediately. Luckily she remembered there was a wedding and a honeymoon in only nine days. After explaining that to Mr. Cunningham he looked at his calendar and between them, decided she would start the following month, the day after the fourth of July.

She was so excited, she had to tell someone. Trey was still on his assignment so she called her mother. She also remembered Mr. Cunningham. They talked for almost an hour. Pride didn't begin to describe how Mrs. Cooper felt about her daughter. She couldn't wait to call all her friends and start bragging.

She was catching a ride up to the college with Trey's parents for graduation so they said their goodbyes, knowing they'd see each other in another couple of days.

Later that night Trey was just as excited and happy at the news as Lisa was. He wanted to take her out to a nice dinner to celebrate but they were saving all the money they could for their honeymoon.

"Have you gotten any offers yet?" she asked him.

"No, not yet."

"Maybe I could ask Mr. Cunningham. I'll bet he could get you a job at the Tribute. Wouldn't that be something—both of us working there?"

"Ah, honey, I really don't think asking favors of your boss is the best way to start a working relationship," he joked.

"No, you're probably right."

"Besides, press photography isn't really my first choice, honey. I'd really like to get into commercial photography. I've been pretty much concentrating my efforts on getting something with one of the studios down town."

She was a little surprised at that. "I just thought...well you know, everybody at the 'The Spectator' loved your work so much, I figured we'd try and get a job with the same paper."

He could hear the disappointment in her voice. "I'm sorry, honey, but there's a lot more opportunity to be creative in commercial photography, not to mention the money. Not at first, but once I get my feet wet I'll make twice as much as I'd make as a press photographer, maybe more."

She was still disappointed but tried not to show it. She had decided in her own mind that if he didn't have anything by the time she started working she'd try to get him a job on the paper. He was too good a press photographer not to pursue it.

Lisa had always been a beautiful woman, but when Trey saw her walking down the aisle arm and arm with his father his legs almost buckled. Luckily, the vest in his three piece suit kept his heart from leaping from his chest.

"Who gives the woman to be married to this man?" asked the minister. Since Lisa's dad was deceased, she originally asked her mother to walk her down the aisle but Mrs. Cooper had to decline. She didn't think she could walk in her husband's footsteps without breaking down. Lisa understood and asked Trey's dad. He was honored to accept.

"On behalf of her father who cannot be with us on this happy occasion and her mother—I do," he proudly exclaimed. With blurry eyes, Lisa kissed him on the cheek before he stepped down from the podium and took his seat between the two proud mothers.

After a wonderful gathering of family and friends in Mr. Van Heusen's large back yard, the happy couple took off for a week at Grant's Airbnb in Galena, overlooking the Mississippi River. Every night they made love to the sounds of the river's powerful current and every morning they awoke to the songs of feathered friends who seemed to know how much they loved each other. It was pure heaven. Neither Lisa nor Trey ever wanted the fairytale to end, but of course there's no stopping time; so, with a vow to revisit on their first anniversary, the happy couple returned home to start their new life together.

Lisa hadn't been in the Chicago Tribute newsroom since she was a little girl but it hadn't changed much. It was still full of hard working reporters busily running their fingers across their keyboards while glancing between their notes and the screen.

A short, balding man exited an office while reading from several loose sheets of paper and almost bumped into her. "Oh, excuse me. Can I help you with something?"

"Ah, I'm looking for Mr. Cunningham's office," she replied.

"It's on the next floor," he told her in a gruff voice.

Lisa started to turn back to the elevators when he stopped her. "Hey wait, are you Dex's daughter?"

"Yes, sir."

"Bill told me he hired you. I'm Jim Engles, the news editor. I'll be your boss."

She put on her broadest business smile. "I'm happy to meet you, Mr. Engles."

"Jim," he said, correcting her. "We're not very formal around here. Get back on the elevator and go one more floor up. The doors will open right into his office. When you're done there come on back down and I'll introduce you around. There's still a few here that worked with your dad; I'm one of them."

Lisa thanked him and headed up to see her dad's old boss. On the ride up she almost pinched herself to make sure it wasn't some kind of a dream. Now if she could just get Trey a job there everything would be complete. Unfortunately, he was using the day to look for a studio job in Chicago. She felt guilty for even thinking the way she was, but she was hoping he didn't find anything. She really wanted them working side by side like they did in college. It was so perfect.

Trey was already back at their apartment going over his resume' when she walked in. "So how was your first day?"

She rushed into the kitchen and gave him a big hug and a kiss before answering.

"Oh, honey, it was fantastic," she bubbled zealously.

Her exuberance made him smile and he had to take a break to share in it. "Come here, Miss Star Reporter." She jumped on his lap, smashed their lips together, and tried to touch his tonsils with her tongue.

After finally coming up for air she couldn't contain herself. "Honey, there's still five or six people there that worked with Dad, including my boss, Mr...Jim, Jim Engles. He was a reporter when Dad was there. Now he's the news editor. He's really nice. Everybody's nice. Honey, I love it. I wish you would at least give them your resume'."

"Honey, I really don't want to be a press photographer; not if I can help it."

"How'd it go? Did you get any offers?"

"No, but I really wasn't expecting to get any on the first day. I dropped off several resume's and talked to a couple people. It's probably going to take some networking. It's kind of a closed field. I'll try freelancing for some extra cash until I get something."

Three weeks later Trey was no closer to getting a job than he was that first day. After four years on his college campus he'd developed a reputation. He was approached all the time to photograph something or someone. Unfortunately, that reputation hadn't extended to the Chicago land area. He put up flyers in the libraries and local colleges for portraits but there were already other established photographers that got the work.

Lisa was getting impatient. They were living off of her paycheck and that didn't stretch more than the length of food and monthly bills. There was no money for nicer furniture, clothes, or even a night out. Without Trey's knowledge, she grabbed a couple of his resume's from his briefcase, took them to work with her and asked for an appointment with Mr. Cunningham. He was all smiles when she entered his office.

"Hi Lisa, have a seat. How are things going? I've gotten a couple of glowing reports from Jim. He tells me he's going to cut you lose and start giving you your own assignments next week. Congratulations."

He read the shocked expression on her face. "Oops, I think I let the cat out of the bag. I assumed he told you already. Don't tell him I blabbed," he said with a smile.

"I won't, Mr. Cunningham." There was a moment of awkward silence which gave Lisa the opportunity to address her reason for wanting the meeting. "Mr. Cunningham, my husband is a photographer and he's really good. He was the chief photographer on our college newspaper and—well, he's having a tough time finding a job. I wondered if The Tribute could use him. He's..."

Mr. Cunningham held up his hand. "Lisa, let me stop you right there. Sadly, the paper has a policy against employing married couples," he informed her.

The disappointment in her face was unmistakable.

"I'm sorry, Lisa. I'm sure he's very good. In fact, I think I saw his work when I was reading some of your stories, but there isn't anything I can do. Besides, there's a lot bigger turn over with reporters than photographers. The last guy we hired was seven or eight years ago."

Dejectedly, she nodded her head with understanding. She was just about to thank him anyway and leave...

"Hold on a second, Lisa. Let me make a quick call," he said while thumbing through the old fashioned roll-a-dex. It took him only a second to find the number and punch it into his desk phone. "Lee Weatherstone, please. Tell him it's Bill Cunningham." There was a slight delay. "Lee, how are you? I'm good—she's fine, still keeps me on a short leash, though," he said with a laugh. "Say, are you still looking for a photographer?"

She had no idea who he was talking to but Lisa sat on the edge of her seat while her boss quietly listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. It was only a couple minutes but to her it felt like a lifetime. Finally he broke out laughing. "Well I might have a candidate for you...yeah, young guy straight out of college but I've seen some of his work and he's very good. Want me to send him over? Okay, will do. Hey, if he works out you owe me and the Misses dinner." He chuckled some more before finally saying his goodbye.

He looked back at Lisa. "That was Lee Weatherstone. He's the editor at "The Northwest Star". A couple months ago he asked me if I knew any decent photographers who might be looking."

"Has he hired anyone yet?" she inquired.

"Yeah, well he hired one guy last week but he didn't work out," he replied with another chuckle. "They sent him to some contentious town hall meeting someplace. Tempers were hot and I guess fists started flying. The guy ducked for cover and ran away without getting a single shot of the melee, so now they're looking for a photographer again," he laughed.

He tore a piece of paper from a small tablet and wrote on it. "Here's his number. Have your hubby call for an appointment. Lee sounded pretty desperate so I doubt he'll have any trouble."

Lisa was ecstatic. Maybe it wasn't The Tribute; in fact, it was a smaller paper in size, circulation, and prestige, but it was a job. She thanked her boss several times before leaving his office. Now she just had to figure out how to break the news to Trey without telling him she went behind his back and used her connections to get him a job.

At first she decided she'd wait until after dinner to break the news, but thought again. She figured if she showed him how excited she was, maybe it would rub off on him too. He was sitting at the computer when she walked in. Lisa sauntered up behind him and draped her arms over his shoulders before giving him a lingering peck on the cheek. "Hi, honey, whatcha you doing?"

Her voice was husky like it gets when she was in the mood for sex. Trey scooted far enough around to meet her lips with his own. "Mmm, you taste good," he said with a smile.

"Later," she replied. "What are you working on," she asked, motioning toward the computer with an upward nod of her head.

"I know it's early, but I thought I'd make up some flyers for high school, senior portraits. I talked to a couple of principals today and they're going to let me post them on the school bulletin boards."