Chapter 24
“Then, while the glue is still wet, you use this vice and press the cover and bindings together, letting the tool do the heavy lifting for you.” I turned the crank, demonstrating on a copy of Wuthering Heights I’d found at a flea market in Maine over the weekend.
It wasn’t worth thousands or anything, but it would turn a decent profit and it was the perfect book to demonstrate on.
The class of eleven students at Dartmouth leaned in, watching as I turned the crank and let the copy of Wuthering Heights sit there.
“Okay,” I said, smiling at Anna Jorney who was sitting in the front row. “One by one, bring up your books and try on the vice.”
Anna hopped out of her seat, cradling her copy of a .50 worn out hardcover I’d bought for the class at a yard sale. She had single handedly gathered ten of her peers who were interested in the class and together we convinced Dr. O’Macklin to hire me for a one-day class on book restoration.
Since I wasn’t sure exactly what to charge, he got a good deal and Adam filmed the whole class for me so that I could put together a pitch reel to send to other universities. I used the entirety of my payment for this class to buy additional materials and each student got a hardcover inexpensive book to work on so they could have before and after pictures of just what book restoration can do to invigorate a weathered, dusty old book.
One by one, the students used the vice to press their newly restored hardcovers onto their books. Adam brought the camera closer, getting some tighter shots of me working with the students and he winked at me from over top of the lens.
My interview with Stanford went so well last week that I’d had a second interview on Monday. Nerves jostled in my belly every time my phone rang or buzzed. I should be getting a call any moment now one way or another to let me know if I got it.
Even if I did get the job, it wouldn’t start until next school year, giving me time to finish the gig at Brown.
But still, I wasn’t sure where that left Adam and me. Elijah had hit the nail directly on the head and as soon as I told Adam about the potential job at Stanford, he encouraged me to send in a cover letter that same night.
But the thought of moving cross country and leaving not only Adam, but also Dad and Addy and my siblings all over again made my stomach swirl with nerves.
I’d done that once in my life. Packed up and left my family. Twice if you count me leaving my Mom, stepdad and brother in London. I didn’t want to do it again. But I also couldn’t pass up a job as good as this.
Adam set the camera on the tripod and it continued filming the students as they one by one used the vice, then crossed over to me where we were out of view of the shot.
He slid his arm around my waist, tugging me against him. “Hey,” he whispered. “This is great. The students are loving it.”
I nodded, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth. They all did seem to really like the class. I glanced over my shoulder where O’Macklin sat on his laptop. He didn’t seem to be paying a lot of attention to the class itself, but every so often he’d look up and give me an encouraging smile.
“They are, aren’t they?” I remembered my first time taking a book that was almost disintegrating and cleaning it up. I felt so powerful. So at peace. Like anything could be fixed with just the right amount of time and patience and glue.
“I think you really have something here,” Adam said. “You could teach this as a masterclass yearly in so many places. You could travel to all the universities and it would be cyclical, too because the grad students would phase out every couple of years.”
I nodded. “That would be fun.” But was it enough to earn a full living on? Was it enough to keep me here with Adam?
“Hey,” he added quietly and bumped me with his hip. “We’re going to be fine. You and me. No matter where you end up.”
I gave him what I hoped was a convincing smile. I wanted him to be right. But I just wasn’t convinced long distance relationships could work. I was already dreading going to Rhode Island for a few months. The thought of Adam and I finding time to fly across the country to see each other physically made my stomach hurt.
“You don’t believe me that it’s going to be fine, do you?”
“Am I that transparent?”
“Only to people with eyes.” Then leaning down, his lips brushing my ear, he whispered, “You know how I know everything’s going to be fine?”
With a sigh, my head fell against his shoulder. “How?”
“Because I love you. You’re the Obi-Wan for me.”
I grinned against his shoulder. “Yo-da one for me, too,” I said in return.
“See? We can’t lose. Not with the force of our love on our side.”
I groaned and buried my face in his shoulder. “I have another hour of this class and bad Star Wars puns are not going to get me through it.”
I felt the bounce of his shoulders with his chuckle. “Okay, okay, get back in there, Professor Meyers.”
Professor Meyer.
I’d never seen myself teaching prior to meeting Anna that day in the coffee shop. But I had to admit, this felt right.
I’d been teaching this masterclass for four hours already and the whole thing flew by.
It was fun. And I felt the same sense of peace I’d felt the first time I restored a book.
Like I was right where I belonged.
And yet, in a week, I would pack up and leave… again.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket and when I looked at the screen, a sharp breath pinched my lungs.
California.
“It’s Stanford,” I said.
Adam’s eyes went wide. “Go,” he whispered, indicating to the hallway.
Clearing my throat, I called out to the class as I crossed toward the door. “I’ll be right back,” I said to the class. “If anyone needs me or has questions, I’ll be right outside the door for a few minutes.”
The students nodded and I excused myself, answering the call. “Hello, this is Harper Meyers.”
“Ms. Meyers, this is Dr. Grolieur from Stanford.”
“Dr. Grolieur, hi,” I said as though I didn’t know exactly who was on the other line when I saw the California area code on my phone.
“I’m going to cut right to it—we’d like to officially offer you the position here at Stanford.”
“You… you what?”
“I’m sending you an email right now with the official offer, including our salary offer and a relocation fee.”
I should have been thrilled.
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.
Ready to leave his home state.
His job.
His family.
All for me.
I loved him. And no matter what road I took from this fork, I knew I wanted to travel it with Adam.
All that was left was choosing the path.