Page 97 of Hooked
“It was something along the lines of ‘If the world isn’t giving you what you want, then make the world your bitch.’”
“Yeah, that sounds like Ginger.”
“Okay yes,” Daisy said. “But she’s right. In a sense. Have you even tried to think what a compromise might look like? Why can’t you keep your relationship with Jeremy and also take this job in San Francisco?”
“First,” Emmie said, “I don’t think commuting two hundred and thirty miles every day is practical. Not until transporter technology has been developed, and we all know that’s a ways off. We can’t even build high-speed rail.”
“It’s a question of fiscal priorities, Emmie. The state of California— Wait!” Tayla shook her head. “I’m not having this discussion right now. I don’t think anyone is suggesting that I commute to San Francisco. That’s not going to happen.”
“What about telecommuting?” Daisy said. “Lots of people do these days, and you’re talking about a company that operates in the online world. That seems like the most practical solution.”
“Emmie and I already talked about that. It’s a great idea, but SOKA’s whole deal is that they want that personal connection. They have company dinners and communal break areas. They’re all about spontaneous collaboration. It’s hard to have spontaneous collaboration when one person lives hundreds of miles away.”
“Okay.” Daisy took a deep breath and let it out. “Fair enough. That’s actually kind of admirable.”
“I know,” Tayla said. “The whole company is amazing, and I would love to work there.” Her forehead fell back to the table. “I’m screwed.”
Daisy said, “I know this seems out there, but have you thought about asking Jeremy to move up to the city with you? He has a degree. I’m sure he could find work in finance or investment somewhere.”
“And he’d hate it. Can you imagine him up there? There’s no way. He’s built a business here. He can’t just leave that. And besides, even if he didn’t have the shop, he can’t leave his grandfather.”
Daisy sighed. “You’re right.”
“Stop.” Emmie held up a hand. “There’s a much bigger question we need to ask before we keep going with this.” She took Tayla’s hand. “When you first applied for this job, you were adamant that you wanted to leave Metlin. It wasn’t just the SOKA position, it was moving on, returning to the city, picking up your life there. I know it’s hard to imagine now, but if Jeremy didn’t exist, if you never had a relationship or you were only friends… would you want to stay in Metlin?”
“Oh. Good question.” Daisy sat back. “If you and Jeremy broke up—it happens even when people love each other—if you broke up, or things didn’t work out, or whatever… would you want to stay in Metlin? Because life is unexpected. Trust me.”
Tayla thought about traffic and museums and symphony concerts. She also thought about walking to work, biking for tacos, art walks once a month, and open mic night at the Ice House. She thought about where her friends lived and what she liked to do.
And yes… she even thought about the mountains.
“I like it here,” she admitted. “It’s small, but there are still lots of things to do. And a lot of the people I was friends with in the city have moved on or moved away. The people who are left are… kind of assholes. I mean, except for Tobin. Tobin is a borderline asshole, but he volunteers at an animal shelter, so I don’t think he can be one hundred percent asshole, and I’m getting off track.”
Daisy was smiling. “So you like Metlin.”
Emmie grinned. “I knew it.”
“Don’t celebrate yet,” Tayla said. “We still haven’t figured out how this is all going to work.”
“But we will,” Daisy said.
“I have an idea.” Emmie raised her hand. “But you’re not going to like part of it. What if you compromised with SOKA? Spend one week a month up there and three weeks down here? You’d still have lots of face-to-face time. You could still collaborate. But you could live here most of the time.”
“That sounds nice on paper, but think about the realities of that situation. Can you imagine living in a hotel for a week every month?” Tayla asked. “It would get expensive as hell. Not to mention annoying to have to live out of a suitcase like that.”
“What if you got an apartment?” Daisy asked. “It wouldn’t have to be big. Just someplace to put your stuff.”
“Have you seen the prices for studios in San Francisco?” Emmy grimaced.
“You could buy a fixer-upper in Metlin for what you’d pay in one year,” Tayla said. “Not to mention, most of my income would be going to a place where I was only present one-fourth of the year.”
Emmie raised her hand again.
“Why are you raising your hand?” Tayla asked. “This isn’t school.”
“Because you’re going to hate my idea and I’m trying to be adorable?”
“Just throw it out there. Can’t be worse than what we’ve already thought up.”
