Page 77 of Bookworm
I should have been jumping up and down. Squealing. Fist pumping.
At the very least, I should be smiling.
But I wasn’t.
White noise hummed in my head and just about everything else Dr. Grolieur said was drowned out.
“Ms. Meyers?” the professor said.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, thank you!” I said, waking up from my stupor. “Wow, this is… wow. In full disclosure, Dr. Grolieur, I have a few offers on the table at the moment and I’d love some time to fully think them all over. Review all the offers before committing to one.”
Silence.
One beat. Two beats.
“Yes,” Dr. Grolieur responded finally after three full seconds of silence. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize you were applying elsewhere.”
I wasn’t. I didn’t.
I was partially bluffing. But also, it was the truth. I needed time to think. To look at the offer and weigh all my options.
“Yes,” I said simply. “I have a few offers I need to consider.” I didn’t owe Dr. Grolieur an explanation one way or another. It was foolish and short-sighted of him to think I wouldn’t have other interviews lined up. The sort of tunnel-vision thinking many ivy league academics develop over the years.
In the background, I heard typing and he cleared his throat. “Yes, of course you do. How silly of me to assume otherwise. I will put in writing our best offer and have it in your inbox soon. If you could let me know by Wednesday, I would appreciate it.”
“Wednesday,” I nodded. “I can do that.”
After a cordial goodbye, we hung up and I slipped back into the classroom as the last student was pressing his book together.
Adam was waiting right beside the door and his brows lifted in question.
I gave a small nod, still unsure how I felt about the job. “I got it,” I whispered.
Adam’s face split into a wide grin that didn’t quite mimic my own level of excitement. “Congrats,” he whispered. “I guess we’re moving to California, huh?”
His words hit me like a wave crashing ashore. “We?”
“If you’ll have me. There’s tons of universities I could teach at in California,” he added with a coy look across the room at O’Macklin to make sure he couldn’t hear us.
“You would do that… For me?”
Adam blinked, looking down at me like I was crazy. “Of course I would. You’re my Leia.” A tear slipped down my cheek and he reached up and caught it with the back of his index finger. “I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to cry in California. It’s happy and sunny all the time there.”
“Luckily we’re still in New England where it’s gray and morbid.”
Adam chuckled, shaking his head at me. “You’re a nut.”
“I am a nut… I didn’t officially accept the job yet,” I added.
His eyes widened. “Damn Harper. Playing hardball?”
I gulped. “Something like that.”
I needed time. Time to sort out my thoughts.
Adam turned off the video camera and packed it up as the students finished up their books. I still had to give my closing summary of the class, but I knew Adam had to return the camera to the AV Club before four p.m.
I watched him bounce out of the classroom with a wave goodbye at me and the students. He was truly excited for me.
