20. Joey
Monday morning felt like the start of a new lifetime, not just a new week. I rolled out of John”s arms, out of bed and into a world where my life was my own, where decisions lay before me like flowers ready to be picked and arranged, and where I was the one in control.
I”d fallen asleep the night before early, tucking myself in and drifting off after kissing John goodnight in the kitchen and leaving him there. I was exhausted—it turns out that reclaiming your life from your family years beyond the point where you should have done it takes a lot of effort.
But it had been worth it.
I was free, and the ring gleaming on my hand felt more like a prism opening up bright new vistas ahead of me than like the shackle that Evan”s ring had been.
In the kitchen, I made coffee and whipped up a couple omelets, putting one into the microwave to stay warm for John. And then I watched the clock. I had calls to make, but it wouldn”t do to bombard anyone first thing on a Monday morning. I sat at the kitchen table with the laptop John had loaned me, and made a list.
1. Job. Call Elodie, interview? Call Tennessee and reject offer. Nicely.
2. Clothes. Talk Mama into shipping my things. Or plan to go pick them up. Road trip? Would Sammy want to go?
3. Call Clara to thank her.
4. Plan a wedding?
I wasn”t sure about that last one. John had proposed. And I thought it was pretty close to a real proposal, at least for me. He”d said words I didn”t think anyone else would ever improve upon, and I already knew it was pointless trying to fit any other man into the mold I”d made of him as the perfect guy.
But there was the small question of whether I”d pushed John into the whole thing. And whether he might one day resent me for it.
I was sitting with my chin in my hand, contemplating additional list items, when John appeared, walking toward the kitchen down the hallway to the back of the house. He looked adorably sleepy, his hair mussed and his face ruddy with dreams.
”Why”d you let me sleep so late?” he asked, but there was no venom in his voice.
”I thought you might need it. You were up late?” I wasn”t sure if he had been. I only knew he hadn”t been in bed when I”d woken up to use the restroom around midnight. Maybe he”d come to bed and gotten up, unable to sleep?
”I was, yeah.” He took the chair across from me, looking around as if he”d never seen his own kitchen before.
”Everything okay?” I asked. My stomach clenched. Something was wrong. I could feel it. Could he have been up late thinking about what a stupid idea it was to propose to me? Was he realizing that saving me had ruined his own life? I pushed the ring around on my finger as I waited for his answer.
His hand caught mine, righted the ring. ”I”m so glad you”re here,” he said quietly. ”That we got this time.”
I squinted, trying to see past the worry lines on his face and to the heart of the matter. ”Me too.” Was he about to tell me it was all over?
I braced as his eyes met mine. ”Do I smell bacon?”
Almost everything inside me relaxed. A reprieve. But was he only delaying telling me the truth?
”Yeah. I made you an omelet too.”
”I would”ve proposed years ago if I”d known it would mean breakfast would be ready when I woke up every day,” he joked, his face finally relaxing into the familiar expression I knew and loved.
”Don”t get used to it,” I told him, retrieving the plate from the microwave and setting it in front of him. ”I”ll be working soon, hopefully, and then might not have time for much beyond a cup of coffee and a kiss.”
He raised an eyebrow and shot me a look that suggested he was thinking exactly what I was—that kisses tended to lead to other things. Good things. Hot things.
”Thanks,” he said, accepting the fork I handed him. I retook my seat across from him. ”So work, huh?”
”I”m going to call Elodie at ten and ask if we can start exploring some of the openings she mentioned.”
”Private sector, then,” John said, a half-smile on his full lips.
”The work they”re doing is so exciting and it has direct impacts on human medicine.” The excitement I felt at the idea of finally doing the kind of work I”d always dreamed of threatened to bubble out of me.
”That”s awesome,” he said. ”I”m proud of you.”
I let the words sink in and then tumbled around in them for a moment—like a lottery winner rolling around in dollar bills. It was gratifying, and John”s pride and support were everything I”d never gotten from my parents.
”Thanks,” I said. It was almost ten and my hands were itching to make the call. John was busy eating the food in front of him, so I stood, carrying my phone to look out on the back yard while I dialed.
”Elodie Masters,” Elodie answered.
”Hi there. It”s Josephine Baxter. How are you?”
”Good, Josephine. How are you?”
”I”m great. Listen, I”m calling to see if you really think there might be a position there for me. I would love to talk more about any opportunities you know about.”
”Your timing is amazing,” she said, my heart surging as she spoke. ”My lab assistant is leaving at the end of the week to move across the country because of a family issue. You”d be a perfect replacement if that sounds interesting to you.”
”Really?” I might have sounded a tiny bit too happy about what was potentially another person”s misfortune. ”I mean, I hope everything is okay.”
”I don”t suppose you”d be able to come in this week to learn the job from her and give her a chance to hand off?”
”This week?” I echoed, immediately wishing I sounded less surprised and more professional and polished. ”Yeah, er. Yes, that could work.”
”Really? That would be incredible.”
I bounced on my toes as I waited for her to continue.
”We often do a probationary period when we bring in someone new. You”d get a good chance to really see the work you”d be doing in a condensed amount of time this week. I might be able to have the HR department write a contract with a shortened probation.”
”Which would mean...?”
”Sorry. Yeah, I”m just excited that you”re coming in. Not making myself clear. Once you”re through probation, all the benefits kick in, like health insurance and your retirement savings and stock options.”
”Stock options?” I asked, walking back to the table where I”d left the laptop, thinking maybe I should be writing this down. John”s eyes met mine and widened when I said these words.
”Yes. They”re a part of the compensation. There will also be a bunch of paperwork—the contract and the non-compete and all that good stuff. I can talk you through all of it, but I”ll send over a preliminary offer this morning if you like. Just give me an hour or so to bribe the head of HR to fast-track it.”
”Oh my gosh, that would be amazing.”
”Josephine, I”m really glad you called.”
”Me too. Thank you so much for the opportunity.”
I hung up a different person than I”d been from when I”d picked up the phone. I was a different person than I”d been the day before. Or two weeks before.
”You got a job,” John said, his voice holding something like awe.
”I got a job,” I agreed.
He slid out of his chair and grabbed my hand, tugging me into a hug and then spinning me around. ”I”m so proud of you, baby.”
I buried my head in his shoulder, breathing in the familiar and comforting scent of my best friend, my fiancé, my soul mate. God, I hoped we were for real. I couldn”t imagine life without him now that I”d found him.
But when I pulled back, his face still held a look I didn”t know. I shook my head at him, waiting for my mind to piece together the expression, but nothing came. ”I still feel like there”s something wrong,” I told him. ”You promise everything”s okay?”
The look vanished immediately and John beamed at me. ”Promise. Nothing a trip to the gym can”t fix.”
”Ooh, yes. If we make it a quick one, I”ll come,” I told him. ”I want to be back when my offer comes in.”
”Let”s take two cars,” John suggested, that dark cloud dropping through his eyes again. ”I”m probably going to be there a while, and then I”ve got to stop through the foundation offices and make sure everything is set for launch this week.”
”Launch?” I asked.
”Hockey camp starts Wednesday,” he said, but his face was grim, nothing like the smile it usually held when he talked about his foundation.
As we got ready and I followed his big black truck to the gym, I told myself that whatever was going on with him would solve itself. Or he”d work through it at the gym or the office. I hoped it was true, but something in my gut wasn”t sitting right. I vowed to get to the bottom of it when he came home.