39 Gemma
J ames’s revelation that he cheated pretty much ruins the entire city of San Francisco for me. It was bad enough before, since almost all my memories of this place are with James. But it’s way worse now, with the added knowledge that James was sleeping with someone else for who knows how long in our relationship. And he probably went to the same places with her, too.
I love Kiara and Val, but I can’t get over the fact that the entire reason why I moved here in the first place was for a job I got with James. I need a big change in my life. Fast. I need to go somewhere else, to live a life that’ll make me happy.
I don’t expect the NYC job to be still available, nor am I really interested in it, but for the next few weeks, I routinely check in with Evelyn to see if there are any other positions I can apply for. One that’s ideally on the West Coast so I’d still be close to my friends and family.
“A job is available down in Irvine, in Orange County,” Evelyn says one day, making me perk up.
I’m from Irvine, and my parents still live in the house I grew up in. The area is quieter and more suburban than San Francisco, and as a teenager, it seemed like the most boring place on Earth. But now, the very prospect of moving back to my hometown, of being closer to my parents and all the familiar restaurants and stores of my childhood, is comforting.
And thankfully, now that I’m an adult, I can drive up to LA whenever I get sick of suburbia. Or at least, I should be able to, in theory. It’s been several years since I last got behind the wheel, but hopefully it’ll all come back to me. I’ll worry about driving and other logistics later, after I actually get the job.
“Great!” I say excitedly. “I’ll apply for the position—”
“This office is more visual media based than text, though,” Evelyn cuts in. “So you’ll be working as a multimedia journalist, rather than a staff writer. The job doesn’t quite match your qualifications, but maybe ‘Modern Love in Focus’ will give you an edge, since you conducted the interviews and Citrine liked it so much. I’ll put in a good word.”
“That’s fine,” I say. “Thank you, Evelyn.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Because I don’t want to blindside them if I do get the job, I stop by my friends’ apartment after work to broach the possibility.
When I finish telling them everything, from my discovery about James to this new job, Kiara and Val stare back at me with wide eyes. They both look devastated for me, and Kiara cries.
Finally, Val says, “I think this move will be great for you. You’ll be closer to family, and it’ll still be a relatively fresh start, since you haven’t lived in the area for, what, more than ten years? You would be getting your own place, though, right? Not that there’s anything wrong with living with the parents.”
I nod. “Oh, definitely. Maybe not right away, since I’ll need to save some money first. But this job comes with a pay bump, so I’ll eventually be able to move out and get a small studio for myself.”
Kiara squeezes my shoulder. “That’d be so amazing, Gemma. Okay, yeah, I approve. Let’s manifest this move for you!”
I gratefully squeeze Kiara’s hand.
“Besides, Orange County isn’t that far,” Val says. “You’ll come visit us, right?”
“Yup, it’s not bad at all. I’ll still be in California. And of course! We have a wedding to plan! If I do move, you two should also visit me in SoCal. We have Disneyland, Joshua Tree, LA, San Diego… oh, and we’re closer to Vegas and Mexico!”
Val rubs her hands. “Oh, man, yeah, we’ll be visiting all the time after the wedding, then. You’re going to get so sick of us.”
I laugh. “Never! You guys will always be welcome at my place, no matter where I live.”
I apply and interview for the position. A few weeks pass without any news, and I’d assumed I didn’t get the position when I get a call.
“Gemma?” It’s Evelyn.
Since we communicate primarily via email, I know something must be up. I hold my breath as she continues speaking.
“Congratulations,” she says. “You got the job.”
My move to Orange County is as smooth as it can be. Thanks to the onrush of newly minted college graduates looking for jobs in the summer, I manage to find someone to replace me at Ms. Chang’s fairly quickly. Of course, I didn’t have to, but after all the kindness she and her husband showed me while I lived with them, I didn’t want to leave without finding them a replacement.
Like I told my friends I would, I move back in with my parents, who love having me around again. Mom and Dad fuss over me like I never left for college. And, unlike when I was younger, I let them, thinking back to how nervous Ms. Chang and her husband were about sending their daughter off to school. Of course, now that my parents are older, I fuss over them, too, helping out around the house whenever I can and making sure they’re taking care of themselves .
Surprisingly, the most challenging thing about the move is getting a car, which I need right away since my new office is on the opposite side of town from our house. I have to rely on my parents and rideshare apps for the first few weeks, but we finally manage to get a good deal on a used car thanks to a family friend from church. And I still remember how to drive. Somewhat. Obviously, I need a lot of practice to get completely used to maneuvering a car again, but thankfully I can take local roads to get to work.
The Irvine office is slightly bigger than the one in San Francisco and is located in a bungalow built in the typical Southern Californian orange roof and white exterior Spanish villa style, rather than being in an office building in the middle of a city. The staff is bigger, too, covering events, lifestyle, real estate, and entertainment in not just Orange County but also the greater Los Angeles area.
It’s my first time fully working with a team to create multimedia content, rather than just writing assignments on my own. It’s invigorating and challenging, all at once, and I often find myself working longer, later hours than I ever did in San Francisco because of all the new skills I have to learn on the go. There’s a steep learning curve, but I enjoy everything even more than I thought I would.
If I’m being totally honest, though, the best part of my new job is not the work itself. It’s the fact that I have higher pay and better health insurance. Which is great because boy, do therapy bills add up, especially when you have a lot to work on like I do.
In November, six months after I moved back in with my parents, I get a studio apartment for myself in a nearby city that has cheaper rent than Irvine. Even a tiny studio of my own seems like a big upgrade after all the places I’ve lived in the past year or so. It’s my first time having my own place, without any parents, lovers, or roommates… ever . And that makes me so happy I don’t know what to do with myself.
I manage to get very affordable pieces of furniture from Ikea, even finding a small orange sofa to put at the foot of my bed, in honor of Clementine. As great as Clementine was, this is one couch I hope I’ll never have to sleep on.
When I’m finally all moved in, I sit on my bed and take a few quiet deep breaths. Somehow, I made it. I made it out of San Francisco and finally have my own place to call home.
I’m all by myself, but for the first time ever, I’m okay with it. Or at least, I think I’m starting to be.