"The Abbot wedding is all set," Bianca says. I can barely hear her above all the street noise. "But the Canton Investment banquet is way behind. We'll need to meet as soon as you get back."
"On Sunday?" I slow down as I drive around a tight curve, surrounded on both sides by trees that are just starting to show hints of fall color.
"You were planning to leave in the morning, right?" Bianca asks.
Actually I wasn't. This is the first weekend I've had off since starting my job in New York. I knew I'd work weekends as an event planner but I didn't think it'd be every weekend, in addition to ten hour days during the week. I've been doing this for a year now so I should be used to it, and for the most part I am, but I need a break.
That's what this weekend was supposed to be. A break from the grind. An escape from the city. A girls' weekend with my best friend, Macie, from back home. She's flying here all the way from the other Manhattan, the one in Kansas.
We've been planning this trip for months. I booked us a room at The Maple Farm Inn, a country inn in Vermont. I fell in love with the place last summer when Darren, the guy I was dating, took me there for his friend's wedding. It ended up never happening. The bride panicked and called it off. Darren and I broke up a week later. He's now a distant memory but I never forgot that beautiful inn nestled among the trees in a quaint little Vermont town.
"Sophie, did you hear me?" Bianca says in a curt tone. She's a type A perfectionist, and all business, all the time. It's tough working for her but I've learned a ton so I can't really complain. I just wish she could be more of a friend sometimes and less of a boss. We're almost the same age and the few times I've gone out with her we've had fun, but then back at the office she turns into a drill sergeant.
"Sorry, I was paying attention to the roads," I tell her. "This guy is on my bumper."
"Probably a New Yorker. We have no patience for those country roads. Why'd you insist on going up there? There are plenty of spas in New York for a girls' weekend."
"I needed to get out of the city. Get some fresh air. Besides, Macie wouldn't like New York. She's a small town girl."
"So are you, and you like the city."
I used to, but now? Not so much. Manhattan, New York is nothing like Manhattan, Kansas. The noise, the pollution, the crowds. I love the energy the city has, and the great restaurants and museums, but living there is exhausting and not at all like the dream I imagined it'd be growing up. I used to tell everyone that someday I'd live in the other Manhattan, the big one, but now that I'm there, I'm finding it's not living up to the dream.
"I'm sending you the spreadsheet to look over," Bianca says. "Check to see that I got everything. If even the tiniest thing goes wrong during this banquet, we'll never get Mr. Canton's business again."
"I'll look at it as soon as I get back."
She laughs. "You're kidding, right? Sophie, you need to look at it as soon as you get to your room. This can't wait."
I quietly sigh. "Bianca, you promised me I could have this weekend. I haven't had a day off all year."
"It'll take twenty minutes, max. Just look it over and get back to me." She pauses. "You want that promotion, right?"
There she goes again, dangling the promotion in my face. She's been doing it for weeks now, every time I ask for time off. Last week she did it when I tried to leave for lunch. I ended up staying and working because I desperately need that promotion. I'm living paycheck to paycheck. When I moved to New York, I didn't realize how much it'd cost for an apartment that's basically the size of a closet.
As Bianca rattles on with more details about the banquet, I roll down my window to get some fresh air. Before she called I was starting to relax, but now I'm feeling stressed again. I take some deep breaths and pick up my bottle of water.
The town with the inn is just up ahead. I smile as I see the white steepled church. Just