Chapter Forty-Five
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Sam greeted her at Adrian’s door, and announced her arrival. ‘Hey, guys! Kya is here!’
The guys, Hugo and Roman, were carrying luggage down the hall and out to the garage. Adrian had already left for work. Sam was dressed for travel in her finest athleisure set, her face scrubbed clean and her hair in a bun.
‘Come in,’ she said. ‘Did you come to say goodbye?’
‘Yup!’ Actually, she’d come to hide and avoid Quinn. Real mature.
They were off to Tobago where they’d stay at a resort for a couple of nights then at a cottage owned by Roman’s grandfather. Sam had told them all this, in some detail, the night before. You’d never seen a girl look so tired, yet so luminous.
‘Want coffee?’ she asked. ‘I’m so hungover. I don’t know how you girls do it, night after night. I’d be dead, but I have no regrets. I had the best time. You should see the pictures! I know we said no pictures, still I took some. I’m dying to show Roman! It’s torture because we share everything—’
Kya seized Sam by the elbow, marched her to Hugo’s home office, and shut the door behind them.
‘Oh! I get it!’ Sam said, laughing. ‘You want to see the photos!’
She was already pulling out her phone.
‘No, I don’t,’ Kya said. She was sorry for the blunt tone, but they were short on time. ‘I want you to tell me exactly how you did it. Like, for real. Step by step, how did you build your brand and business?’
She didn’t want another inspirational pep talk. From one girl to another, she wanted the facts. How difficult was this undertaking? What were the odds of success? What obstacles would she be facing? How much would it cost, in time, in capital, and sweat equity? Seeing Sam, so radiant and happy, so free , on this terrible morning, Kya caught a glimpse of the person she wanted to be.
‘Oh … That makes much more sense!’ Sam tapped on her web browser instead of her photo app. ‘Come. Show me your analytics and we’ll work on a strategy to get from where you are to where you want to be.’
A solid twenty minutes later, when Hugo came tapping at the door, they had covered substantial ground. Kya walked her to the packed car. Sam renewed her promise to share the resources she’d gathered over the years. ‘Just reach out. Hugo has my number, or hop onto our group chat.’
Adrian had told her all about that epic group chat, and Kya would not be joining. ‘Thanks, and good luck,’ she said. ‘Let us know how it goes for you in Tobago, either way.’
Kya hugged her briefly, said goodbye to Roman, and then they were off to the airport.
The house was quiet when she took her bag to the bedroom. The original plan had been to collapse in bed and cry all day, but the idea no longer appealed to her. Now that she had a plan, she was feeling more like herself. Feeling like herself didn’t stop her from feeling lonely.
Kya made her way to the kitchen, Lucky trailing happily at her heels, her tail wagging. She filled the puppy’s water bowl and poured herself a cup of coffee. She thumbed through the task list Sam had left her with while heating oat milk in the microwave. An email alert popped onto her phone’s screen. A cry escaped her and ricocheted through the empty house.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Job Opportunity
Kya:
Hope this email finds you in good shape.
We’ve got a friend in common. Corinne Miller insists I hire you. I’m looking to expand my team; interviews are underway at HQ. If you’re interested, let me know when you can come in, the sooner the better.
Sorry about the shakeup at Ex-Cell. It happens!
Ron
Ronald J. Anderson, Senior Design Officer
AI.M Technologies, San José
AI in Motion
Little Ronny Anderson? Of all people! He was a good four years her senior, but the old college nickname had stuck. They’d had friends in common back then, as well. Most recently, they spent a week in Austin hunting down barbecue between conferences at SXSW. The new dad was easy-going, passionate about his work, and liked his ribs coated in sauce. He was an ordinary guy who happened to lead an award-winning design team at AI.M, an artificial intelligence development company.
Dizzy, Kya pressed her forehead onto the cool refrigerator door. She should be happy, overjoyed! She should at the very least be grateful. She couldn’t have asked for more. A job at AI.M would restore everything she’d lost, not the least her dignity. No one could laugh or look down at her then. No one could pity her. Artificial intelligence was the most dynamic field. Good or bad, it was the future. She could resume her blogging on her regular platform and be done with it. Why then was she having a panic attack? She stood with her forehead to the refrigerator, trying to regulate her breathing, until the milk boiled over in the microwave. She wiped up the mess and poured the milk down the drain. When she turned off the tap, the house was oddly still. Lucky was asleep in her bed in a sunny corner in the kitchen. The vintage analogue clock ticked the seconds. She knew what she had to do.
Within a half-hour, Kya had confirmed an interview on Friday with the understanding that it would be the first of many, as AI.M was notorious for its multistage hiring process. She did not care. Here, at last, was the lifeline she’d been waiting for. No matter how she felt, she would grab it and not let it go. Before she could talk herself out of it, she booked a flight home.
MIAMI TO SAN JOSE, TUESDAY 3:00PM, NON-STOP.
All that was left to do was inform her little circle. She sent a screenshot of her flight information to Adrian and Hugo. Got a job interview this week! Flying home on Tuesday to prepare.
Adrian replied right away. Wow! Congrats! Can’t wait to hear all about it. We’ll celebrate tonight.
A while later, Hugo responded with a thumbs-down emoji, followed by a winky-face emoji. Kya didn’t like it. If there was one thing she knew about her brother-in-law, his first instincts were always right.
She paced around the kitchen wondering how best to break the news to Quinn. Should she call her? Would she answer?
Going for this job meant there would be no trips in their immediate future. She’d be too busy jumping through the hoops and hurdles of the interview process. She would have to stay focused. Once she got the job, she likely wouldn’t have enough paid time off to take a trip for a while. Maybe Quinn could fly out west for a week or so. All this pointed to their great weakness. They had no fixed address, no permanent place to which they belonged. Quinn had a lucrative residency in Miami, and Kya’s old life was calling. Vacation was over. It was time to pack and go.
She decided to break the news via text. You won’t believe this. Corinne Miller came through! I have a job interview at the end of the week. Flying home on Tuesday. This is just a heads up. Talk soon?
Quinn didn’t respond. Not one word, not a single emoji. As time passed, Kya realized that Quinn had no intention of responding – ever. She would keep calm and carry on. Yet, here Kya sat, like an idiot, staring at her phone, twisted in knots over this girl.
Kya’s phone buzzed and she leaped for joy, only to come crashing down when she saw that it was Jon calling. And if she let one more of his calls go to voicemail, he would never speak to her again. She took the call.
‘Hey,’ Jon said. ‘It’s our last day here. I thought you might want to come and hang out. We could chill by the pool and talk.’
‘Where did you say you were staying?’
‘The Standard.’
That wasn’t very far from the house. She could bike there. ‘I’ll be right over.’
‘All right. Come through.’
Perfect. She had someplace to go and something to do – anything to keep her from obsessing over Quinn.
Jon met her at the hotel lobby. Liam had reserved their lounge chairs then left them alone to swim a few laps. They ordered iced coffees and settled back in the shade of umbrellas. It was a lovely set-up, the pool as blue as the sky above and the surrounding bay. Kya put her phone away and tried to soak it in.
‘This is a chic hotel,’ Kya said. ‘We’re unemployed. Shouldn’t we be dialling it down?’
‘Maybe, but I deserve it. Besides, YouTube keeps me afloat.’
‘You have a YouTube channel?’
‘Who doesn’t?’
She raised her hand. ‘Me!’
The wrinkle between his wispy brows creased deeper. ‘I review tech. I thought you knew?’
‘How would I know if you never told me?’
‘I might’ve mentioned it during lunch.’
‘Might have mentioned it? You should have sent me a link. Asked me to subscribe. Come on, Jon! I thought we were besties.’
‘I’ll be honest. I didn’t want my co-workers to know.’
‘I’m a random co-worker to you? You knew about my blog!’
‘Your blog is noble and good. I give honest reviews on our products and our competitors’ products. I think someone caught wind, and that’s why I got cut. Who knows?’
They would never fully understand why they were fired, and not the others. They could spin a multitude of theories, but the best thing was to let it go.
‘Actually, this is a great segue to what I wanted to talk to you about. Here’s my pitch for GIRL DECODED. It’s an app.’
Kya stirred her ice coffee with the straw. ‘Not another goddamn app, Jon. Why would anyone download an app if you can’t get a date or a deal on a designer bag?’
‘I hear you,’ he said. ‘But we would add value. Your blog, for one thing. My reviews, for another. Maybe a social media component in the future. Essentially, it’s a safe space for women to network, make friends, and get the information they need to make informed decisions. We pull together and make something new.’
Kya closed her eyes and tried to visualize it. For the first time, she could see it.
‘For a strong launch, we’d have to pull in good numbers straight away.’
‘A chunk of your followers would follow you. Plus, more than half of my YouTube followers are women.’
‘Why? Because you’re so cute?’
‘Because I’m not an obnoxious tech bro with a God complex.’
‘That’ll do it,’ Kya said. ‘What are your numbers?’
‘A half-million followers. Triple the views.’
‘A half-million!’
Her sharp cry startled the woman sunbathing in a nearby chair and earned her a sharp side-eye.
Jon nudged her. ‘I can’t help it if people love me.’
‘I guess not,’ Kya said. ‘What’s the name of your channel? I’ll look it up tonight.’
‘The Queer Code.’
‘I love it!’
‘It’s good, right?’
‘So, why are you giving it up? Why should our app be just for the girls, not the gays?’
‘The app can’t be another tech review channel. You can get that information anywhere. We need your brand.’
‘Hmm …’ Kya wasn’t convinced. ‘Let’s revisit this when we’re back on the West Coast. I’m booked on a flight out tomorrow.’
‘What’s the rush?’ he asked. ‘I’d stay, but Liam has to get back.’
She hadn’t wanted to bring up the interview, but she couldn’t lie to a possible future business partner. ‘I have an interview with AI.M.’
‘No shit? That’s a big deal.’
‘If I get it, sure.’
‘You’ll get it,’ he said. ‘Where does that leave us?’
‘It changes nothing,’ she assured him. ‘I have to work, can’t afford not to. But my future isn’t tied to a corporation. I want to build something, too.’
Jon was silent for a while. Finally, he said, ‘Too bad. Isn’t Quinn headlining Bonus Track on Tuesday, the concert on the beach? Last year Idris Elba dropped in and played a while. It’s always a vibe.’
This time when Kya closed her eyes it was to shut out all that awesome twinkling blue sea and sky. She felt too dark and ugly inside; it was too painful to gaze at. Kya had no doubt Quinn thought she’d booked the flight back to California on her last concert date on purpose, to drive home the point that she was moving on with her life. The interview wasn’t until Friday; there truly was no rush. She could prepare just as well from Adrian’s spare bedroom or Quinn’s living room floor. No wonder she hadn’t heard from her, and likely wouldn’t anytime soon.