Page 48 of My Infatuation with Isabella

“Why am I not surprised?” Keith chuckles, throwing his arm over mom’s shoulder and pulling her into view of the camera.

“So, what’s the big news,mi niña?” she asks.

“Tommy and I just got an incredible job offer.”

With my excitement brimming over, I tell them about our new job. Keith doesn’t understand how we got it, so we explain that whole mess up, leaving out the most embarrassing bits. My mother is almost in tears, and she doesn’t stop telling me how proud she is. Hearing the happiness in her voice almost pushes me to tears. After they hang up, I call Cat. She’s at the airport, waiting for her flight to Cambodia, and she starts screaming and jumping for joy, not caring about all the people around who stop to look at her like she’s crazy. God, I miss her. I would’ve loved to have her here right now.

She introduces Tommy and I to her travel buddy, Jean-Pierre. He’s an artist she met in a gallery in France, and he seems to have the same love of traveling as she does. The call ends on a bit of a low note because she tells me that they’re going to be staying in a rural village for a few months, so she won’t have cell reception or internet. I’m sad that she won’t be able to listen to our show when it starts airing, but life is taking us both on two different paths and we each have to spread our wings to fully embrace that path.

“She looked so happy,” I say to Tom when I end the call.

“She’s living her best life. Of course, she’s happy. Is it just me or did that Jean-Pierre guy seem...sort of into her?”

“He was definitely staring at her a lot. But she said they’re just friends. If there was something more going on, she would’ve told me by now. I don’t think she wants another relationship just yet. Scott did a number on her. He had good intentions, but he went about it all wrong. I don’t think she’s emotionally ready to open herself up again.”

I say this with a deep level of understanding because I, too, have lived through the turmoil of love. It isn’t easy to get over heartbreak. But at least there is a silver lining to this cloud. Airing my pain somehow got me this incredible opportunity, and I’m going to grab the bull by the horns and make the best of it.

“I have a good feeling about this job, Tom,” I say, sliding into the passenger seat of his car. “I feel like this might be what we were looking for. We were floating around with no purpose. We were job-hopping and indecisive. We didn’t know where we were going in life, but actually, it seems like every job was preparing us for this moment...like working at the circus or Build-A-Bear. It’s like I know why that was our path now.” My smile is so wide my cheeks are starting to hurt. “We started at a hardware store, Thomas, and in a few weeks, we start our own radio show. What a long way we’ve come.”

“And what an exciting road we have ahead.” He reaches over to squeeze my hand. “I can’t wait to start this next chapter with you. Are you ready?”

“More than ready.”

8. Dylan

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