Perhaps that was the biggest surprise of all; I’d never imagined having to decide between my dream job and my dream guy.
For the next four hours I watched episodes of House Hunters in the living room. I wanted something to take my mind off of things. Something that would keep me from obsessing over my job and what that meant about my future with Jacob.
It was seven-thirty by the time my father, mother and Tommy all got home from dinner. I'd seen more houses on TV than I'd ever even been inside in real life.
“Hey, Sweets,” my mom said, kissing the top of my head as she came in.
“Hey, Mom,” I replied.
“You thinking of buying a house in Boca Raton?” she said, stopping behind me and noting the setting of the episode I was watching.
I faked a laugh, but otherwise ignored her comment. “Did you guys see a movie today?” I asked.
“Yeah, your brother and I saw that new sci-fi one,” she said, her attention more on the show than answering the question. “The one with the robots.”
“How was it?” I asked, not really caring what the answer was but making conversation anyway.
“It was a little much for my taste, but ask your brother.” She shrugged. “I think he liked it.”
Tommy walked in and rolled his eyes at my TV program choice. He tucked a shoe box under his arm and headed upstairs to put it away.
“How was your day today?” my father asked, coming in last and shutting the garage door behind him.
“Good,” I said, waiting for the inevitable follow-up. My heart was sinking and soaring at the same time.
“How’d your breakfast with Caroline go?” my mother chimed in. Not the follow-up I was expecting.
“It was good,” I said with a shrug. “As always.”
“Are you doing okay?” my father asked. “You look like you might be sick.”
“I’ve actually got some big news,” I said, shifting around in the couch to face my parents. My father was milling around with the mail on the counter and my mother was still watching my TV show. Both of them perked up, both likely anticipating the same news.
“I heard back from ZephTech today,” I said. I was surprised my voice stayed steady when I felt like it should crumble to pieces. “They offered me a slot as an intern.”
At once both parents uttered different shrieks of excitement that together sounded like the shouts of a playground.
I stood when I realized they were coming over for a hug
and I embraced them both at the same time. My father was the first to offer a coherent sentence.
“Good job, sweetie,” he said. “Good job.” And when he released me and I saw the enormous smile engulfing his face I smiled too. There was a proud shimmer in his eyes as he beamed down at me.
It was the first pure happiness I’d felt all day.
“I’m so, so, proud of you baby,” my mom said. “You deserve it.”
“You really do,” my father said. “All your hard work. You’ve got to be ecstatic.”
“Yeah,” I said, not completely lying but also not entirely sure what I was feeling. Jacob was still weighing heavily on my mind.
“I wish you’d have come to dinner with us,” my mother said. “We could have celebrated.”
“We’re going to be celebrating this one for a long time,” my father assured her, his smile still high in his cheeks.
“Tommy,” my mother cried, summoning him to the living room. “You’ve got to tell your brother.”
“Tommy, I got that internship with the app company,” I said as Tommy descended the stairs.