But now, there was a tension in Penny’s voice that Alexa recognized from the toughest days of her own career, the days when it felt like she had to solve every problem by herself. Like right after 9/11, when she watched her business plummet. Or during the global financial crisis, when clients stayed home in droves, licking their own financial wounds while she struggled to keep the business afloat after buying out her partner. Or all the agonizing days of the pandemic, when she had to pivot from booking luxury cruises to scouting home rentals in Montana for clients who needed to get out of town because their palatial California homes were too suffocating. To Alexa, Penny sounded like she had on so many phone calls, like a working woman whose future depended upon pulling everything together in the next forty-eight hours. A world on your shoulders and yours alone.

“Arkansas? I hear only good things about Bentonville. So, what can I do? How can I make this easier for you?” That was a phrase Alexa had learned from her own mother when she was dealing with some tourist who had lost a passport or missed the ferry. How can I make this easier for you? No one wanted to accept help, but people welcomed ease. “Tell me what you need.”

Penny started to cry. “I don’t know if I can do this, Mom.”

“Do what?”

“All of it. Work, plan a wedding, be the supportive spouse on the campaign trail. I feel so much pressure to get everything exactly right.” And there it was: the burden of being a perfectionist. Anything less than exactly right was a failure. “I love Chase, I do. But I feel like this campaign is already taking over our lives and it hasn’t even officially started.” Another sob could be heard. Penny went on to remind her mother that because she was marrying a public servant and not a high-paid lobbyist, she needed to hold her own in the income department.

Alexa paused a second. Now she felt the pressure. She needed to get this right or this phone call might be the moment that Penny realized her mother didn’t fully support her life plan. “You need to take your tasks one at a time. I know you can do that. If work is this weekend’s priority, then work. I’ll cover for you here. It’s going into buildings and taking photos. Of course I can do that. And taste the cake? Happy to do that. You can come out in October and nail down all the final details. As for Chase . . .”