She looked at him fondly. ?For a 39 year old, you‘re in perfect shape, except for
this.? She patted his belly which bulged slightly. ?You have to start your exercises
?I liked last night‘s exercises,? he said, kissing her. Vivian was almost as tall as
he, long dark hair framing fine facial features, still slim despite bearing two children.
?You did OK for an older man,? she teased. She loved his strong, square face
crowned with tousled hair that never seemed to comb properly, the set of his lips, and the
deep blue eyes protected by dark brows.
She went to wake the children. He could hear eight-year old Tommy grudgingly
crawling out of bed. Marcia, his ten year old daughter, was more amenable and needed
little urging to wake up. She came into their bedroom as he was lacing up his shoes.
?Happy birthday, daddy. Many happy returns of the day.?
He hugged and kissed her. ?Thank you for such nice birthday wishes.?
By 7:30, they were finished breakfast. Vivian dropped Monty off at the Oakville
commuter station in time to catch the 7:45 to Toronto. She then drove the children to their
school for the 8 o‘clock assembly.
Monty walked the ten minutes from Union Station to the PDG office building on
Yonge Street. He pushed through the door marked Human Resources, greeted the
employees who were already at their desks, stopped to talk to some of them, and said
good morning to Kelly, his administrative assistant.
They went over the key emails that had to be answered and discussed his schedule
for the day. They read the email announcing his promotion and Kelly congratulated him
