Page 78 of Boyfriend
Abbi chews her lip, then shakes her head. “That job is in New York, though. If I hated it, I’d be in a good location to look around for something better.”
“But you’d also have a pricey lease,” Dad points out. “You might not feel like you could quit.”
Abbi blows out a frustrated breath. “Yeah, I did think of that.”
“What if we don’t try to plan Abbi’s life before at least feeding her pizza?” I suggest, reaching for her hand. It’s surprisingly warm for someone who’s just been outside.
She interlaces her fingers with mine and squeezes.
“What’s the other job?” my sister asks, because nobody in this family knows when to shut up.
“That’s, uh, something that came up unexpectedly.” She slips her hand from mine and takes a big gulp from the water glass that’s on the table in front of her.
“Unexpectedly?” Now my interest is piqued.
“I had this internship last semester,” she says.
“At the flannel place,” my dad offers. “Great slippers, by the way.”
She flashes him a tiny smile. “That’s the place. They asked me if I’d interview with the whole family today, for a permanent job. And we talked for two hours, which is why I’m so exhausted.” She takes another gulp of water. “But it was a really good meeting, and they gave me an offer letter and everything. There’s even a signing bonus.”
“Nice,” I say, because I don’t want Abbi to work for a sexual harasser.
“No way!” my sister yelps. “That’s amazing. You wouldn’t have to move to New York.”
“Right,” she says, giving me a quick sideways glance. “But I still have a couple of resumes in various places. I haven’t made up my mind yet. It’s a tiny company, so it feels risky to me in other ways.”
I take a big bite of pizza and chew. It’s really good. But I feel unsettled all of a sudden.
Abbi might stay in Burlington. That idea is just starting to sink in when my sister pipes up again.
“Omigod! If you’re still in Vermont, you can come to my wedding! This is great!”
Uh-oh. Fuck. I never even told Abbi the date of Lauren’s wedding. And now I can feel her eyes on me. Her gaze is giving me a sunburn all of a sudden.
“She should come to the wedding either way,” Dad says. “Nobody goes to the office Memorial Day weekend. Why isn’t Abbi on the guest list, Weston?”
“We uh…” I swallow a bite and try to figure out what to say.
But Abbi finishes my sentence. “We thought I might be moving.” She licks her lips nervously. “Like, frantically unpacking my new apartment before my job starts the following week.”
“But not if you’re staying in Burlington,” Lauren points out. “Tell us about this job.”
Abbi’s face is suddenly flushed. “Well, the daughter of the founders wants to create a whole new business line for younger shoppers. But it’s a big deal for them, so it would happen slowly. I’d spend the first year learning about their supply chain and working on logistics.”
“That’s fun,” Stevie says.
“It does sound like fun,” I grunt. So why haven’t I heard about this? Not even a single word?
Abbi puts down her slice of pizza and wipes her fingers on her napkin. “Excuse me a second.” She gets up from the table and heads toward the back of the place, where the bathrooms are off a dark little corridor.
And even as my family watches me with curious eyes, I stand abruptly and follow her. “Abbi, wait,” I say as I practically chase her across the big room and toward the bathrooms beyond.
She halts in the corridor and turns around. Even in the dim light, I can see her eyes are troubled. “What, Weston?”
“What the hell is going on here? You didn’t tell me about that interview. And now it’s already a job offer? But it’s a big secret? You haven’t been answering my texts.”
“My week was crazy. The job was kind of sudden,” she says. “And honestly? I thought you’d be weird about it. Kind of like you’re being right now.”
