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Violet woke up in Charlie’s room. She felt drained, as if she dreaded her interview later in the day. She shouldn’t, since it was a chance for her to be independent, but there was something about how Charlie had looked at her that broke her heart.
She didn’t get to talk to him much, since she needed extra time to look nice for her virtual interview after work. She only had time for a quick breakfast with Charlie and then had to rush out the door to get to her school.
Violet had a busy day planned. Her interview was later, and she was planning on having lunch with Liv to catch up. This was her perfect opportunity to tell Liv about the job.
Violet’s morning was a blur of teaching and helping students. By the time lunch had rolled around, she had managed to forget some of her anxieties.
Their plan was to meet at a small sandwich shop in walking distance to Violet’s school. Since Liv had to drive, Violet always arrived early. She waited out front until she saw Liv pull into the parking lot. Her anxiety returned when she saw her friend.
Violet had so much to catch Liv up on.
“Oh my god, why is traffic so bad?” Liv said when Violet met her in front of the shop.
“It’s mainly the lack of public transportation.”
Liv sighed. “You’re right and I hate that you’re right. How is your day going? Anything fun happening?”
Violet bit her lip as she joined the line. Her first thought was about the fact she and Charlie had slept together. Then she figured she should go for the easier item first. “Um, someone reached out to me about a job.”
“Wait, really? What kind of job?”
“It’s sort of in education, but not on the front end. It’s more of an office job, but it pays $80,000.”
“Wow. That’s almost double what you make now.”
“I know.”
Liv was beaming. “That’s amazing!”
“I agree,” Violet said, “But the only catch is that it’s in Arizona.”
Liv’s smile faded, as the shock of Violet’s news washed over her. “That’s … exciting?”
“It is… but I don’t know if I would want to leave.”
The conversation paused for a moment while both of them ordered their food.
“I know how trapped you’ve felt in this job,” Liv said, once they were done. “You love it, but your real dream is making enough money to be independent.”
Was it? It should have been - but teaching had done something to her. It had shifted something to make her almost whole.
Well, except for money wise. She was still depending on Charlie, after all.
“Yeah, it is. And it’s technically in education. Just more on the data side.”
“That kind of stuff was what you were going for when you first started college. Maybe this is for the best.”
“Yeah, maybe it is.”
“I can’t believe I’m asking this, but did you tell Charlie?” Liv asked. “Are you helping him pay bills?”
“I did," Violet said. She tried not to think about the look on his face. “He was supportive about it.”
“Wow,” Liv said, “You already brought it up to him? This isn’t like you. I almost want to get you a cake for communication.”
“Charlie and I like strawberry," Violet said, smiling ruefully.
“Wow, you guys have even got cake flavors in common," Liv said. “If it weren’t for your history together, I’d say you should date him.”
