But even they didn’t know everything about her. Specifically, that she spent most evenings and weekends immersed in theGods of the Gatesfandom: tweeting about her OTP, writing and betaing and reading fanfic, chatting on the Lavineas server, and employing her vast enthusiasm and infinitesimal costume-construction skill to cosplay Lavinia.
One stray pic at a con, one slip of the tongue, and her reputation might suffer. She could devolve from an experienced professional into a silly fangirl in less time than it took for her to log a soil sample.
So she hadn’t attendedGods of the Gatescons. She hadn’t told work friends about her fandom. Not even friends she liked as much as Bashir.
The state regulators at her new job, though...
Well, the difference in culture couldn’t have been clearer. The personal and the professional were inextricable there. Intertwined in the most joyful and hilarious ways.
When she arrived in less than two weeks, she’d become the fifth person on their team of geologists. The third woman. Whenshe’d gone in to complete her I-9 last week, the other women, Heidi and Mel, had offered April a slice of the cake the team had brought to work in celebration of the women’s tenth anniversary as a couple.
Mel and the two guys on the team—Pablo and Kei—were in a freakin’ band together.A band. One that evidently performed for retirement parties and other gatherings in which their unique folk music talents couldn’t successfully be avoided.
They’re terrible, Heidi had whispered, her mouth half-hidden behind her water bottle,but they all enjoy it so much, we can’t say anything.
At that moment, in that dreary state-government-bureaucrat’s office suite, something taut to the point of snapping inside April had eased. Any remaining doubts had disappeared.
She’d made the right decision to change jobs, even with the pay cut. Even with the price of housing in the Bay Area. Even with the hassle of moving.
At her new workplace, she wouldn’t need to shield different parts of herself for fear of others’ disapproval. As of next week, billability no longer concerned her.
In fact...
It didn’t concern her now, either. Not anymore.
“Thank you so much for the invitation, Bashir.” When she hugged him, he patted her back tentatively. “I’m busy this weekend, unfortunately. I have to be at my new apartment, getting it ready for the move. But I’ll be back in town late next week. Can we do dinner then instead?”
When she pulled away, he smiled down at her, looking pleased. “Of course. I’ll check Mimi’s schedule and text you later tonight, after we get back from dinner at her family’s house. They live nearby, so I’m heading there now.”
Fuckbillability, she thought.
“I plan to spend the evening eating a room service burger and writingGods of the Gatesfanfiction,” she told him. “Your night sounds much more exciting.”
He blinked at her for a few seconds before flashing an impish grin. “You only say that because you haven’t met my in-laws.”
She laughed. “Fair enough.”
“When we have dinner, I want to hear more about your writing.” His head tilted; he was studying her curiously. “Mimi loves that show. Especially the pretty dude.”
“Marcus Caster-Rupp?” Honestly, it could be any one of a handful of actors, but Caster-Rupp was undeniably the prettiest dude of all. Also the most boring. So boring, she sometimes wondered how one man could be so shiny, yet so incrediblydull.
“That’s the one.” He directed a pained grimace at the heavens. “He’s on her freebie list. Every time we stream an episode, she’s always very insistent about that.”
April patted his arm. “Think about it this way: She won’t ever actually meet him. None of us will, unless we move to LA and start selling vital organs to pay for our haircuts.”
“Huh.” His expression brightened. “That’s true.”
Before leaving the site, they thanked the drill crew. Then, after she exchanged one last round of goodbyes with Bashir, he climbed into his car while she boosted herself into the driver’s seat of the truck. With a farewell beep, she headed toward her hotel, while he drove to his in-laws’ home.
With each mile she traveled, invisible tethers surrounding her seemed to snap free, leaving her oddly, giddily buoyant. Yeah, she still had a personal drilling rig operating in her skull, but a few glasses of water would take care of the headache, no problem.And so what if she had dirt all over her jeans? Even contaminated soil couldn’t sully the essential, joyful truth.
She caught a glimpse of herself in the rearview mirror. Her smile was so wide, she might as well have been starring in a toothpaste commercial.
And no wonder. No wonder.
This was her last day in the dirt.
She was starting now.
