Page 96 of Hooked
Daisy blinked rapidly. “Wow. There’s so much going on there.”
“Doyouknow? Do babies even use toilets? What age does that happen? See, these are things that adults should know, right? I thought I was an adult, but clearly I am not.”
“Are you pregnant? Is that what’s happening? If yes,pleasetell me Jeremy is the father.”
“Becauseheis a grown-up who would know how to handle this shit, right?” She walked to a table. “And I am a grown-up who knows how to contact a Kardashian if I really, really wanted to. Not that Idowant to. I’m just saying that if I called in a few favors, I could probably—”
“Tayla!” Daisy walked over and shoved her into a chair. “Sit. Chill. I’m calling Emmie.”
“Fine! But I have seen her checkbook. She is no more prepared for adulthood than I am.” Tayla rapped her fingers on the table and stared out the window. It didn’t help that Top Shelf Comics sat almost directly across the street. “Also, I’m not pregnant.”
“Good. Especially if you’re thinking about turning to vodka.”
Jeremy was probably inside, helping a customer find the newest edition of their favorite superhero comic or helping a mom buy a game for a picky fourteen-year-old. He was good at that stuff, helping people get what they needed. His encouragement was probably one of the reasons she was offered the position at SOKA. She’d been drinking more water. He was the one who suggested paper handouts for her presentation even though she’d only been thinking digital.
And now she was going to leave him.
She laid her forehead on the table. “My life is a mess.”
Daisy put a mug of coffee on the table and patted her hair. “I thought things were going well. Did you hear about the job?”
“Yes. They offered it to me.”
“That’s amazing! Congratulations! Did you tell Jeremy?”
“I was at his house when I got the email. That was right after I realized I am in love with him and I do not actually believe in serial monogamy because I would destroy any other woman he tried to sleep with ever again in any foreseeable future.”
“Okay, well, that is a violent reaction to realizing you’re in love.” Daisy cleared her throat. “Maybe take a deep breath. Emmie’s on her way over. What we need to do is make a pros and cons list for—”
“I tried that.” Tayla sat up and pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. “I already tried that. In fact, I wrote it all out.” She smoothed the paper and spread it on the table. “See? On this side, I wrote down all the great things about working at SOKA. And on the other side, all the great things about Jeremy.” She shoved the paper in Daisy’s face. “See? They’re the same!”
Daisy’s eyes went wide. “Wow. I didn’t ever need to know some of that.”
Tayla glanced at the paper. “Oh. Yeah, I included some sexual positions that were pretty unique, but the point is”—she crumpled the paper up—“it doesn’t matter! Because not all data points have equal value. How do I weigh ‘has good health insurance’ on the same line as ‘is sincerely kind to old people’? One of these things is fundamentally more important than the other in the grand scheme of life.”
The bell over Daisy’s door rang and Emmie walked in. “What’s going on?”
“Existential crisis,” Daisy said. “Tayla realized she’s in love with Jeremy, SOKA offered her the job in San Francisco, and she’s having some surprising issues with toilet training.”
Emmie’s eyebrows went up. “Thatissurprising.”
“Notme!” Tayla threw her hands up. “I’m concerned that I am not a fully equipped adult person capable of having a mature relationship with someone like Jeremy, who you both cannot deny will fully expect a serious relationship to eventually result in marriage and children and things like that.”
“Aren’t you jumping ahead a bit on this?” Daisy said. “I mean, there’s a difference between admitting you believe in true love and jumping into a full-on relationship with a man—admittedly a really great man—but you haven’t been dating that long.”
“If I am this conflicted about taking a job that pays averygenerous six-figure salary because it will be the end of my relationship with this man, itbetterbe a serious relationship.” She dug her fingers into her hair and pulled. “If it’s not serious, then what the hell are we doing?”
“Hey.” Emmie eased Tayla’s hand out of her hair. “Stop. Don’t start with the hair pulling again, okay?” She took her hand. “And for what it’s worth, I know Jeremy is serious about you. He’s not someone who just puts himself out there like this unless he’s serious.”
Panic subsided and fear crept in. “Emmie, what am I going to do? My dad was right. Opportunity doesn’t come without sacrifice. So am I supposed to sacrifice my career? Or am I supposed to sacrifice Jeremy?”
Emmie sighed. “I think—”
“Your dad is full of shit.” Daisy grabbed the coffee she’d brought for Tayla. “You don’t always have to give up something you love to get the right opportunity. That’s zero-sum thinking and it’s lazy.”
Tayla blinked. “Okay.” She sat up straight. “Okay. Ginger told me something the other day that might be relevant.”
Emmie crossed her arms. “Well, this should be good.”
