Page 56 of One Day

Weight has been pressing down on my shoulders since Saturday. The long list of potential internships on my phone burning a hole in my pocket as a reminder I lied to my mom. Not intentionally, but a lie by omission, nonetheless. Every day I don’t tell her the truth is another day I’m leading her on.

If I hadn’t been such a coward, I would have called her back that night and fixed everything right then and there. Instead, I’ve been drowning myself in Sonya. Her presence is a soothing balm to my guilt, providing the perfect distraction to avoid telling my mom the truth, and the longer we keep at it, the easier it is to delay the inevitable. The closer I get to finding an internship in Michigan, the sooner I’ll have to finally tell my mom I’m not coming home. It should ease some of the growing panic in my chest, but the more I think about it, the worse it grows, and that’s all I can think about on my way to my advisor meeting.

When I reach his office, he’s on the phone but waves me in, pointing to the empty chair across from his desk. Covering the receiver with his hand, he greets me. “Hey, I’ll just be a minute longer.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I settle into the chair and let my bag slip to the floor, waiting for him to finish his phone call.

True to his word, he’s placing the phone back in its cradle, not even a minute later. “Sorry about that. My wife was panicking over a dinner party we are hosting this weekend.”

“No sweat,” I tell him. “I appreciate you making the time to see me this week. I know it was kind of last minute.”

He waves me off, crossing his hands together over his torso as he leans back in his computer chair. “That’s what I’m here for. I take it you’ve had a chance to look over the internships. What are you thinking?”

“I’m a little worried about the whole thing,” I admit, running my thumb along my jaw as the nerves bundle together in my chest.

Professor Abbott has been my advisor since the beginning of the year after my previous one retired. Having to grow this relationship all over again sucked at first until I quickly realized he was a better fit for me. Having done everything from small-town law to big-city, he’s made a great effort in laying out all my options for me. And as much as the future scares me, I know whatever I decide, he will help me find the best path forward.

“I’ve worked back in my hometown with the town lawyer the last few summers. My mom is hoping that I’ll come home to do that again this year.”

“And you don’t want to do that.”

I shake my head. “I don’t think it’s the right move for me moving forward. As much as I appreciate what working there has given me, and it’s a lot, my intention has never been to go home and do small-town law after I finish law school. I’m just worried about how she’s going to take that, especially since I accidentally agreed to it again.”

He eyes me carefully, a question written in his brows. It’s one of the things I’ve grown to love about having him as my advisor for the year. He feels like a friend while still being able to be my superior and giving me a guiding hand as I navigate through this part of my life. “How do you accidentally agree to something?”

A short laugh falls from my lips. If I could go back in time, I would force myself to listen to every word my mom said instead of daydreaming about a certain brunette who is still filling my every thought. It doesn’t seem like thinking straight is in the cards for me where Sonya is concerned. And truthfully, I’m not sure I want to think clearly when it comes to her.

“I might have been thinking about a girl,” I admit, running my fingers through my hair with a nervous laugh. “I haven’t exactly corrected her yet. I thought it’d go over better if I had something worked out before I brought it up again.”

“Okay, then, let’s get that worked out for you,” he says, reaching for his mouse. “I’m assuming you went over the list I sent over, picked out the ones that piqued your interest?”

I nod my head and pull my phone out, pulling up the list he sent over, when the email at the top of my inbox catches my attention. Mr. Richard’s name is bolded, and my stomach drops again after reading the subject line with the offer to come work with him. It shouldn’t upset me as much as it does. I did this to myself, and now I have to deal with the consequences.

“Walker?”

“Yeah, sorry,” I say with a shake of my head, scrolling down to his email. I pull it open, eyeing the long list of suggestions he put out for me based on what he thought would be a good fit. Internships here in Michigan to one’s in New York, when I thought the idea of following Flynn for the summer to her hometown would be a good idea.

“I don’t think I’m going with any of the New York ones. I want to stay local if I can help it. Millboro would be great, obviously. I’ve got my apartment here, but I’d be willing to commute to Rosenthal or Detroit if needed,” I share, scanning the list of internships. “And I think I want to continue in the family law direction.”

He grabs a pad from the stack he keeps on his desk, along with a pen, and makes note of everything before looking up. “You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, Walker. You work hard, get good grades and we’ve already perfected your resume and cover letter. I’ll reach out to some of my contacts, see what we can get done here for you. You’re sure about not wanting to pursue any of the New York options?”

“I’m sure,” I say without hesitation. New York is too far away. Anywhere that isn’t Michigan suddenly feels impossible. I want to be here, where Sonya is. I’m so in over my head that I don’t think I even realized another summer without her might kill me until right now.

He nods his head, underlining Michigan before clasping his hands together in front of him and leaning forward on the desk. “Okay, Michigan it is. You’ve got anything else you want to go over while you’re here?”

“No, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that was everything.” I rub my hand down my thigh, scooting forward on the chair. “Thank you for all your help with this.”

“Again, what I’m here for,” he says, smiling at me. “Don’t worry about anything else, alright? I want you focused on this. I’ll get your foot in the door, and then you’re going to sell yourself the way we worked on.”

“Sounds good,” I say, pushing up to my feet after grabbing the strap of my bag and draping it over my shoulder. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon, Walker,” he says, leaning back in his seat as I step out of his office and into the hall. A weight lifts off my shoulders knowing that I am only a few steps away from the future I’ve always hoped to have. Even if it feels like the brick has been tied to my heart and dropped to the floor, bringing my thoughts straight back to my mom.

As if on cue, my phone starts vibrating in my pocket. Pulling it out, I study the photo of us taken at her gallery showing at Christmas. My reaction should be to answer it immediately. The me a few weeks ago would never hesitate to pick up, but the me in this moment still doesn’t know what he’s doing. Despite all that, after another second of hesitation, I answer the phone and bring it to my ear.

“Hi, Mama.”

“Hi, Peach! How are you doing?” Her voice is cheerful as always, and it settles my wasted heart. “Has Mr. Richards reached out yet? I ran into him again, and he said he was going to send off an email.”

---