Page 36 of Semi Sweet
I ran the distance between us and threw my arms around him, embracing him tightly. At first he stood there, as if surprised by the gesture.
“Thank you,” I whispered, “for trying to make me smile.”
Sean hugged me back before the train announced it was preparing to leave. He waved before dashing on just as the doors were about to shut. Soon I was on the platform alone.
I walked back to my townhouse, feeling strangely at ease as I let myself in.
“I’m home!” I called.
There was no response. I wandered into the living room and discovered Evan asleep sitting up. I took the empty glass from his hand and turned the television off. I found a blanket and threw it over him as he slept soundly, deciding that he looked much more peaceful like this. It was too bad.
What the hell was I going to do now?
I went out onto the balcony off of our kitchen and let the cool air dance along my face. It wasn’t bitter, but it wasn’t super comfortable either. Perfect for trying to clear my head.
I didn’t know what to do. Did I have feelings for Sean or was it just the passion of the game we were playing? It was obvious he was concerned about me, but I was so defensive of people's intentions that I wasn’t sure if it was for my benefit or not. Leaving Evan would certainly be a good thing for the man. Or was Sean right? Was I so beaten down and hurt by my fiancé, my future family, and my coworkers that I couldn’t believe someone with actual good intentions?
I had expected our meeting to be much more awkward, but it had been easy to talk to him. I’d been able to talk to Evan like that once, hadn’t I? Sean had given me an out, but what would it mean if I took it? Was I finally admitting defeat and giving up on a relationship of seven years? Was I accepting that I couldn’t sort this out myself? The prospect of never going to a Quittero family dinner again was certainly promising, though.
But what about my job? And my student loans? Thinking like that was madness. I growled into the night, feeling like some things had been resolved only to be replaced with other issues. It was late, so I stopped overanalyzing and headed back inside, not bothering to rouse my sleeping fiancé and got ready to sleep by myself. Sleeping back to back was not much different than sleeping alone anyway.
***
I didn’t have to work the next day, so when my phone rang, I shot up to try to catch it. Russel never called me to pick up shifts, even though Evan constantly scolded him for not calling me first. I didn’t mind this poor treatment–I worked enough as it was. Evan never called me at work, either. He was too busy being grumpy and store hopping since his job had to do with compliance and company policies. Whoever this was had a purpose.
“Hello?” I tried not to sound too groggy.
“Hi, can I speak to Olivia Hale please?” It was a woman’s voice, very cheery for whatever time it was in the morning. I glanced at my clock. Nine-forty-five. I supposed I was the one being a bed head.
“This is her,” I answered politely. “How are you?”
“I’m doing well. My name is Chloe Richardson from the Rocky Mountain Press.”
I almost tumbled out of bed. I kicked the covers off and quickly dashed through my house to make sure Evan wasn’t home as the woman continued. “I’m sorry for taking so long to get back to you. We had over five hundred applicants for five intern positions.”
“Wow,” I crossed my fingers and shut my eyes as I listened. “That’s really impressive.”
“This is true, but my staff and I thought your application was impressive as well.”
I felt my body fill with joy, but waited for the official word. “Thank you.”
“We’d like to offer you one of the positions, Olivia,” Chloe said.
“OH MY GOODNESS!” I exclaimed. “Yes! I’d love to. What do you need from me?”
“I just want to confirm your address,” she answered. “I’ll be sending over a contract and a few other things to sort out. Most people take a leave of absence from their jobs if they have one. We’d love for you to start next month.”
I gave my address and told Chloe all of that sounded perfect.
“Great,” she said as we wrapped things up. “Oh, I forgot to ask, do you have any interest in working with one of my colleagues in our Aspen office? She’s looking for someone and would pay a bit more for the trouble of moving her way. There’s also an option to hire if you are both a good match.”
I thought about living in the mountainous resort town. As amazing as it would be, getting Evan excited about working in the Denver office was going to be hard enough.
“I’m going to say no for now. I hope you find someone for her, though.”
We ended the call, promising we would be in touch with one another soon. When her number disappeared from the screen, I let out a shriek of excitement and danced around my townhouse in my pajamas. This was it! This was when my life took a turn towards what I wanted. I wouldn’t have to work on some marketing blog! At least not yet.
Then I stopped cold. I hadn’t even talked to Evan about this. Had I expected not to make it like all the other writing contests I’d been involved in? He would not be happy about this. But it wasn’t like I’d be leaving Cash Value Market on a whim. It was a paying gig and I was only taking a leave of absence from my job. If this didn’t work out, I’d take the stupid corporate job, but I at least needed to be given a chance. I’d figure it out. For now, I would celebrate! Getting my foot in the door was only part of the challenge. Now I had to convince them to publish me.
