Page 21 of Always Us

“That’s not a career. It’s just a thing I might do on the side.”

“It is a career. You can get paid for giving speeches. A lot of people do. And if you don’t want to get paid, you can donate your speaking fee to charity.”

“But it’s not really work. I actually liked doing it.”

Garret laughs. “Jade, do you hear yourself?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“This whole semester you’ve been trying to figure out what to do for a career. And I told you to find something you like doing. Something you had a passion for. This is it, Jade. What you did today is what you should do for a career.”

I take a moment to think about that. Could I really be a speaker? Could I go around telling my story to other people? If I did, I’d be helping people, which is what I want to do. And once I got past the nerves, I did like what I was doing today. It gave me energy. I could feel the energy from the audience. They actually listened to me. They wanted to hear what I had to say. And when that lady asked me to speak in March, I was excited about it.

“I think that might be a good idea.” I peer up at the snow again. “But I still don’t know what to do for a major.”

“What about psychology?” Garret says it like he’s already thought about this. “You like your psych class. You tell me about it all the time. And you liked the psych class you took at Moorhurst.”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with giving speeches?”

“You’ll be speaking to people who are struggling with a lot of different issues. Ones that aren’t the same as you had growing up. If you major in psych, you’ll learn about all those different issues. You’ll understand people better. And maybe you won’t just give speeches. Maybe you’ll work with smaller groups. Do workshops. Group counseling. I don’t know. I’m just throwing out ideas here.”

I’m getting even more excited because I like everything he just said. I would love to take more psych classes. I never even considered majoring in it, but what he said makes sense. A psychology degree might be the perfect fit for me and would be a good degree to have if I decide to help people like those women I met today.

“I need to think about this some more, but you might be on to something here.”

“Don’t overthink it, Jade. Just go with what feels right. And if what you did today feels right, then don’t question it. Same with your major. Go with your gut, not your head. Always works for me.”

I close my eyes and listen to the snow. People think it doesn’t make a sound, but if you listen, you can hear it crackling as it hits the trees.

“When did you get out of the darkness, Jade?”

My eyes flip open and I see Garret looking at me.

“Like when did you get completely out so that it was all light?”

I smile at him. “When I met you. When I got to know you and you made me feel like I mattered. Like I was worth fighting for even when I pushed you away. When you agreed to be my friend and didn’t force me to be more than that. Like I said today, I always had choices and those choices helped me get into the light so I could have a future and be able to support myself. But I was still lonely and afraid to get close to people. I still had darkness until I met you.”

He hugs me into his chest. “See? Another good speech. You just keep getting better and better with these.”

“And I didn’t plan that one either. I guess I should just wing it from here on out.”

A strong gust of wind blows, swirling the snow around our heads.

“Guess that’s the wind Ryan was talking about. You want to go inside?”

I lift my head up. “Can I have a kiss first? I love kissing you in the snow.”

“You can have as many as you’d like.” He cups his hands around my face and presses his warm lips to mine. It reminds me of when we kissed in the snow on our first date. I still get that same fluttery feeling I felt when he kissed me that night just over a year ago.

The wind blows again and I shiver. Garret breaks from the kiss. “You want to go inside now?”

“Yeah, the wind’s too cold.” I huddle next to him as we walk toward the house.

Ryan opens the door. “Jade, you might want to call Harper. She’s called twice since you came out here. I didn’t answer it but I saw her name on the screen.”

“Really? I hope she’s okay.” I race inside to the table to get my phone. “I’ll call her from the bedroom.”

Garret follows me in there. “I’m guessing it’s about Sean. You want me to listen in?”

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