Sawyer
Irub a hand against my forehead and try to focus on the guy on the other end of the line.
“—what was your name again?”
“Okay. Let me check one more place…”
“Listen, you’re not going to find anything on me there. I’ve been more of a freelancer for the past few years.”
“All right. Well…” I can hear him breathe in and out over the line.
I’ve been on the phone with this guy—and at least three others—all day. I tried to start calling them at 9 a.m. When it was starting to piss me off that nobody was answering, I got a hold of myself and realized that California is three hours behind.
I can’t take it anymore. The waffling has gone on long enough. I know this is a long shot, I know this is probably a pipe dream, but I’ve been chasing down leads all day and this is the closest I’ve come to getting anywhere, with anyone.
“Look—it’s Jason, isn’t it?”
“Yep, Jason!” He sounds so chipper.
“Are you under a huge pile of applicants for a job like this?”
“Well…” He hesitates. “Not really. But I do have a responsibility to properly vet all the candidates and make sure we’re making a fair choice according to all our laws and regulations—”
“Give me an interview. You won’t be disappointed.”
Jason doesn’t sigh out loud, but he’s probably a better man than I am. I’ve been calling all day. We’ve gone around about this a million times. “I’m not sure if you’re qualified—”
“Do you want to know the real story?”
That brings him up short. “What?”
“Here’s the real story. Here’s the real…
” I take a big breath and get my voice under control.
“The love of my life is going to work at Stanford. I almost lost her a few weeks ago because I got us involved in a…situation. Nobody was hurt—” Except maybe my cheekbone…
“But it made her lose faith in me.” This is by far the dumbest thing I’ve ever done to try to get a job interview.
“I’m trying to prove to her that I can be the kind of person she wants me to be. ”
“By working a graveyard security shift at our engineering building?”
“Jason, believe me when I say that I would work the graveyard shift at your public restrooms if that’s all you could offer me.”
“This is an entry-level position. I’m not sure exactly what kind of experience you had before—”
“Think of it as a long-term security gig. I can’t go into any more details than that.”
“You don’t have a criminal record, do you?”
“No.”
There’s a long pause. Then Jason makes up his mind. It’s nearing three o’clock, so it’s probably time for him to eat lunch. I’d want to get off the phone, too.
“I’ll tell you what.” My heart leaps into my throat.
“Write down this email.” He rattles off an email address and I scramble for a pencil, scribbling it down on the back of a receipt crumpled on the coffee table next to the couch.
“Go to our website, download the temporary employment application, and send it to me. When are you going to be in town?”
“Tomorrow morning. The flight lands before noon.”
“Well, there’s no need to rush into—”
“I can meet you at two.”
“Okay. You send me that form, you meet me at two, and we’ll see about a trial for a couple weeks.”
My chest practically explodes with happiness. “Are you serious?” It’s too loud, a shout that probably blows out his ears, but I don’t care.
Jason laughs out loud, the sound echoing over the line. “Look, you wore me down. I don’t think anybody has ever wanted this job more than you do.”
“Nobody has. I swear.”
“I believe you. Okay, Sawyer. Get that email to me, and I’ll see you—tomorrow at two, I guess.” He sounds a little disbelieving, but that’s fine. He doesn’t have to believe me now. I’ll prove it to him tomorrow.
“See you tomorrow.” Then I hang up before he can change his mind.
My hands tremble around my phone, and I toss it onto the couch cushions and stand up.
I can’t believe it. I’ve spent all day trying to sweet-talk people across the country into giving me a job, and some of them were worse than a late night security gig at the university.
I’m sure there will be other hoops to jump through.
I’m sure it will come along with plenty of its own bullshit.
But this is the best I could hope for. This is more than I can hope for. This is a fresh start.
The front door swings open and Aunt Linda comes in, a paper grocery bag in her arms. “What’s up with you?” A grin spreads across her face when she sees me.
“I’m leaving.”
Her mouth drops open a little bit. “You’re leaving? To go where?”
“California.”
“What?”
I tell her the story as clearly as I can, and by the end she’s laughing along with me. “Sawyer, that’s great news.”
Then my mood turns serious. “Are you sure?”
“Yes! I’ve always thought you should—you should get out of town. Go somewhere new. Somewhere nice.”
I run a hand through my hair. “Now might not be the best time, I guess.”
She looks me dead in the eyes. “Are you going to follow Zelda?”
Hearing her name sends a shiver through my core. I’m not sure if it’s fear or resignation or hope. Maybe all three. “Yeah. That’s what I’m doing. It could all crash and burn, but—”
“This is something you have to do. Even your dad will be glad to hear this.”
“What if he’s—what if he takes a turn for the worse?”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
“I shouldn’t leave, if—”
“You absolutely should.” My aunt looks past me.
“He’s doing better, these days. I don’t know why, but—” She shakes her head a little bit.
“He’ll want you to go. He thinks you should have gone after her weeks ago.
” A little grin creeps back onto her face.
“She’s down the street, and you’re going to follow her across the country. ”
“I thought I had more time.”
“We always think we have more time. At least you got wise about it before time ran out.”
“Wise—I don’t know about that.” We both laugh.
Linda moves into the house, dropping the bags of groceries on the kitchen island. “Help me put these away. Then we’ll go tell him.”