Page 35 of David's Love

“You what? What are you doing in New York?”

Her concern is thicker than the table.

“I got a, um… A job interview?”

“You’re not sure?”

“That’s why I called to talk to you.”

I feel bad about involving my mother in this, but I need her help to pull it off.

“What kind of job is this? And why does it have to be in New York?”

Bafflement doesn’t even begin to describe what beams in her voice.

“It’s one of those corporate jobs.”

“In New York? You’re moving to New York? You haven’t even finished school.”

She sounds more aggravated with every word she pushes out.

“Hear me out. And don’t panic. The job itself won’t be in New York. If I get this job…” I add, hitting a snag.

Maybe this is crazy.

Maybe this will only bring unwanted attention to me.

“Please tell me more.”

I suck in a long breath and continue.

“I need to know what kind of job it is,” she says before I have the chance to speak.

“It’s a regular job. In a corporation.”

“Elizabeth.”

I screwed it.

“It’s a job that pays good money. Someone at school showed me the ad. They’re looking for executive assistants.”

“Has that person applied?”

“No. That’s why she suggested I should give it a try. The money is good, and there is upward mobility.”

“What happened to your dream of traveling around the world and studying archaeological dig sites?”

“We both know that won’t pay much money?”

“What about your book? You said you wanted to become a writer.”

She got me. I said so many things, and here I am lying about a job that doesn’t exist so I can go meet a man I should have no business meeting in the first place.

‘Shame on you,’the voice inside my head mocks.

I wave her off, grinding my teeth.

The thing is, I don’t want to come off like some clueless person who’s vacillating between things.

---