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Ali reached up and touched a couple tears that had fallen to her cheek. It surprised her because it came with a mixed bag of emotions.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t feel as if I just got the chance of a lifetime.”
“Then maybe, my dear, that’s your answer.” Nolan’s words hung heavy in the air. “And if it is, that’s alright.”
Ali heaved a sigh. “Can I call you back?”
“You betcha. Love you, Ali.”
“Love you!” Ali disconnected the call and went back to reading the email. It was filled with a lot of talk about compensation and filling out paperwork and she quickly turned from it. There was only one thing she wanted to do, and it wasn’t sit there reading up on all the legal nonsense that came with her promotion. She had to take matters into her own hand before it was too late.
Ali’s phone rang and she grabbed it as she saw the name. “Hello?”
“Well…you didn’t respond to my text. I would hope by now you saw the email. Congratulations, Ali. Well deserved. I am so glad that you got this promotion because you will make a difference, I just know that you will.”
“Yeah, I saw the email…” Ali hesitated. “Are you available to chat?”
Julia laughed. “That is why I called you. I’m sure you are so excited. What’s the plan for later today? Going out and celebrating, I presume.”
“Actually, I’m outside your door now.”
“Well, you silly woman. Get on in here.”
Ali disconnected the call and opened Julia’s door. Julia jumped up and rushed over to her, ready to throw her arms around her, offer her another round of congratulations, and if they had some wine, she probably would have offered up a toast. However, as Ali approached her, her face fell.
“Uh oh. What’s wrong?”
Ali closed the door behind her and fell back against it. “This is the dream job. Everything I have ever wanted.”
“And yet, you look like you are about to be sick.”
Ali sighed. “Have you ever wanted something so bad that it wasn’t until you had it, that you realized you were going after the wrong dream?” Julia frowned and slowly shook her head. “It feels like we set out on this journey a lifetime ago. At the start, I was so excited to see what kind of new adventure I would be going on. And you have been great in pushing me to want this and supporting me beyond all things imaginable. And when I set out for today, knowing that the email would most likely come through, I was hopeful. I refreshed it, thinking that it would somehow bring the news faster. But then something shifted in my brain.”
“You weren’t happy when you got the job?” Julia inquired.
“It’s not that I wasn’t happy. I was glad to see that I was deserving of the job. But it’s hard when in the back of your mind, you’re wanting something more.” Ali shrugged. “You have your happiness. You’re married. You have a kid. You have two dogs. In my eyes, you have it all. And you have the career that you can thrive in. But…”
“You’re missing that extra piece,” Julia softly commented.
Ali nodded. “I know that by turning this job down it won’t give me everything I’m missing. I’ll have to do things to fight for that. I also know that if I go after the one person that I feel I’m supposed to be with, I will have hurdles. It won’t be an easy transition. There are still rules and most likely I will lose my job.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Julia commented, a sly smile on her lips. Ali grinned, and Julia threw up her hands. “You can’t choose who you love, right?”
Ali snickered. “No, unfortunately you can’t. Or fortunately.” She gave a breathless laugh. “But sometimes what’s hard is truly what matters the most. I can’t thank you enough, Julia, for pushing me to want this. And for helping me to see that I could obtain it. It wasn’t an easy decision, by any means.”
Julia shook her head. “I can tell how tormented you are about this decision. But I can’t fault you.” Julia smirked. “Even if I want to.”
Ali moved in and gave Julia a hug. “I will go down kicking and screaming, but I will also accept whatever fate the board hands me.” Ali turned and headed towards the door. She hesitated with her hand propped on the handle. “Will you give me a day before I regretfully turn down the position?”
Julia nodded. “Where are you going now?”
Ali shrugged. “To see if I’m too late for my true happiness.” She left the office and quickly walked to the elevator; a refreshing sigh escaped her. Now she just had to get to Jo and see where Jo’s heart was. However, when she got to her apartment, she was greeted with emptiness. There was a moment where she considered waiting outside and hoping that Jo arrived before she completely lost her nerve, but after fifteen minutes and being watched by multiple neighbors, she decided to head back home.
When she turned down her street, she spotted Jo standing on her porch. As Ali pulled into the driveway, she couldn’t rush to her fast enough. But she had to hold back. Just because Jo was there, didn’t mean that she was hoping for the same happy reunion that Ali had in mind.
“Jo? What are you doing here?”
Jo gave a weak smile. “I’ve been here for about an hour. I’ve gone over whether I should leave and just do this over the phone, but every time I considered leaving, I thought of a million reasons why I couldn’t.” Jo held her hands together and Ali stared at her, just desperate to hear what Jo had to say. “You have it all wrong?”
