Page 89 of Paradigm

“No, babe. I can’t work from here on my visa unless it’s an American company.”

“Right. Of course.” She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m a little confused.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I haven’t decided officially, but I’m thinking about taking it. I just wanted to talk to you about it first.”

“Okay.” Arlowe nodded. “And you told him that you’re here for, like, the next three and a half months, so you’d start after that?”

“Uh… No. I’d need to start sooner.”

“Sooner?”

“Yes. He’s leaving the university at the end of the school year, and he wants the groundwork laid for the software by the time he’s done so that he can start working full-time with at least part of it ready.”

“Eline, what are you telling me right now?” she asked, backing away from her a bit, not wanting to but needing the space.

“If I accept the job, I would be leaving within the next couple of weeks.”

“Weeks?”

“Yes. I could ask him if I could start in a month because I need time to relocate, but he said he was hoping to move quickly.”

Arlowe let go of the hand that she was still holding.

“Arlowe…”

“You can stay for months, but you’re going to go back early? We’re working on your visa, Eline. Violet talked to the lawyer again today. We have candidates applying. We’ll start reviewing applications and doing interviews soon. We have to do it right, but things are already moving.”

“I know, and I still want to go through with that.”

“But you’re moving home and taking another job?”

“I didn’t tell him directly about what’s going on here, but I got the impression that he needs a lot of help initially, and then he’d be able to build out a full engineering team if this thing is successful. I wouldn’t leave him without help, but I would come back if and when the visa gets approved for me here. I might just need to stay there to hire my replacement.”

“Why can’t you just stay here while we work through this together?”

“Well, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?” Eline asked back, using the expression that Arlowe had taught her years ago.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Arlowe, you left.”

“We agreed that with me leaving, it made sense for us to end things.”

“Yes, but you left because you had to go, and now you’re upset that I’m leaving for the same reason.”

“I’m upset because you don’t have to go. Not yet, anyway. I had to leave at the end of the semester because I had another semester to start back here in order to graduate. You have close to four months before you have to go, but you’re choosing to leave instead of staying and having at least that time together, even if we can’t work out how to get you to stay for longer in time.”

“Arlowe, it’s a great opportunity.”

“That you really have to take right now?” She stood up. “God, Eline… I know this isn’t how you wanted us to begin again, but for fucks sake – you could move in with me. Hell, you can marry me and live here. I know you don’t want that, and I’m not trying to pressure you, but you can at least stay for the next four months while we work this visa thing out and have time together.”

“I can come back,” Eline replied.

“Yeah, in months or years, depending on how this new, great opportunity goes for you over there.”

“Arlowe, I want to live here.”

“Then, why are you leaving?”