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“Why are you still here?” He asked, frowning. “Usually you leave by five.”
Violet wasn’t sure what to say, so she settled on the truth. “I … had a job interview. It’s for somewhere out of state.”
“I wasn’t aware you were looking.”
“Well, with inflation, I have to have a roommate now, and I want a job I can afford to live on my own with.”
“Is that all? Is there anything I’ve done?”
“No, Dr. Jones. It’s only the pay, and I know you don’t control the yearly raises.”
Dr. Jones sighed. “You’re a great teacher, Violet. Losing you would be a step back for the department.”
“Thank you, but I’m not even sure I’m going to take it. The thing is … I like teaching. I like the kids here and I like you. But …”
“The pay isn’t enough. I completely understand.”
“I wish it was,” and Violet wished it hadn’t had to have been Lauren of all people helping her with it.
“Teaching is a forgotten profession, but a necessary one. I’ve gotten the school board to still offer pensions and good health benefits, but for so many it’s not enough. I won’t try to convince you out of it, but I will say we would be losing a top-notch teacher.”
Violet gave him a wobbly smile. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
Dr. Jones nodded. “Now, you go home. There’s no good reason for you to be here this late.”
Violet nodded, still unsure of what to do. But Dr. Jones was right. She needed to get home. She needed to tell Charlie about her interview.
~
Charlie
With Violet at work late for her interview, Charlie had a rare free night. His initial plan was to get some work done. Maybe he could code a few things or work on a few emails, but he found himself unsure if he could focus even though he was in his office at work, where he usually could focus easily.
Something felt so off about Violet’s opportunity, like there was a piece of it missing. He resisted the urge to look up the position and tried his best to focus on work.
It didn’t seem to help.
Eventually, he decided to look up Phoenix. Was it a safe city? Would she be okay there? Everything he read indicated she would be, but he wanted a reason to get her to stay He wanted something he could pull out of his back pocket to make her want to be with him.
But he didn’t find anyone. He was almost grateful when his phone rang, and he saw it was Lewis calling him.
“Hey, man,” he said, closing his laptop.
“Why did I just get off of the phone with Liv who is excited you and Violet are dating?”
“What?” Charlie said, ineloquently.
“Violet apparently told her you two were a thing, which is odd because you told me this wouldn’t happen between you two.”
“Liv found out from Violet? She told her?”
“At least try to deny it, Charlie.”
“I didn’t want to lie to you.”
Lewis groaned. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. It did. What I’m more surprised about is the fact Violet was willing to talk about it at all.”
