I glance up at the tank to find Ginger delicately nibbling his birthday treat. He’s a little jealous of Angel but I don’t feed into that.
“That good, huh?” I say to my fish.
He zips back to the other side, his fins full on display. His fabulous tails swishes and ripples through the water as he makes a quick turn around the tank, like the flowing chiffon of an elaborate dance costume. It was until Ginger Jr. that I learned that only male bettas had the impressive plumage, not females, but the name had already stuck.
DudeWheresMyTardis:I’m not sure if it’s good or bad. Bad, I think.
WeepingAngel:Oh no, why?
DudeWheresMyTardis:I was offered a position on a new contract. Here, locally. More money. The team is amazing. The project is fascinating. (I can’t tell you more about it. If I do, I’d have to kill you.)
WeepingAngel:God, you’re right. This all sounds terrible. I’m glad you made it through the day.
DudeWheresMyTardis:Har-har
WeepingAngel:Talk me through this. How is this bad weird?
DudeWheresMyTardis:I was just about to take a break before I moved again. See some of the country.
I hesitate. I almost ask about meeting her but chicken out.
DudeWheresMyTardis:It feels like time for me to move on.
I have stayed in El Lugar two years already. Usually that’s my max. I know a few weeks don’t seem like a big deal, but Grandma Sue and Grandpa knew best.
WeepingAngel:Is that what you want? Really? Because the way you talk about that town makes me think you might like it just a little.
I do like it. That’s the problem. I like it here too much.
DudeWheresMyTardis:I just don’t like to get too attached to people. You know what I mean.
WeepingAngel:How much longer would you have to stay?
DudeWheresMyTardis:Just a few weeks.
WeepingAngel:And you think in that amount of time something would change from the last two years?
DudeWheresMyTardis:I don’t know …
Here comes the part I didn’t want to talk about, but I need help fleshing out at least one part of my hesitation.
DudeWheresMyTardis:There is one other thing. The chief engineer of this project is this guy I have a sort of crush on.
WeepingAngel:Nathaniel? The super genius hottie?
I blink at the screen. Heat burns my cheeks.
DudeWheresMyTardis:Oh. Have I mentioned him before?
I didn’t think I’d ever named names…
WeepingAngel:Once or twice. The Coffee Shop Incident. *eyeroll emoji* But this makes sense. You got it, you got it bad …
DudeWheresMyTardis:Ugh. I sort of do, yes.
WeepingAngel:Listen. You have to do what you feel is best, but this opportunity sounds amazing. This team is the one you’re talking about all the time too, I assume? It would be great for your career and it would be super interesting work. You like your house and your town. It sounds to me like there are a ton of pros and one sort of vague con. It’s just a few weeks. You could hang on for a little bit longer.
She’s right. Well, except for the list of cons. My control over the illness is wobbly but I can keep going up to the mountain to discharge. I’d just need to be extra careful. I could make it work.
