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“Um, I won’t be home for dinner. Chase is picking me up. We’re going out to eat.”
“Oh, okay.” She looks down at her fingers. That’s her make-me-feel-guilty look. The look that says I don’t spend enough time with her.
“I’ll be home early, we’ll talk then.”
“No, you go out and have fun. You’re only young once. We’ll talk in the morning.” With that, she takes her coffee and heads outside on the back deck to water her plants.
Normally, news like this would be cause for an immediate phone call to Brenda. But, since it’s not even nine in the morning, I’m not willing to take that risk. She’s worse than I am in the morning, and I’m not too fond of dying. So, I decide to send a quick text. If she’s sleeping, she’ll see the text when she wakes up. If by some miracle she’s awake, she’ll text back right away.
*Got an interview 2day! Call me when u wake up*
I hit send on my phone and make another cup of coffee. As I place the cup on the Keurig, my phone rings. Wow, Brenda must have to work early today. I pick up the phone on the second ring.
“Hey, girlie,” I answer.
“So, spill the beans,” she chides.
“NOAA,” I say proudly.
“Cool. What time?”
“One o’clock.”
“I’m working a swing shift today, come by after the interview.”
“Sure, you know I’ll need to talk,” I say with a laugh.
“We’ll have lunch.”
“Okay, I’ll see you later.”
“Cool, bye,” and she’s gone. I make my way upstairs to find something appropriate to wear for a life or death interview.
I pull up in front of the dark glass building at a quarter to one. Easily finding a parking spot, I lock up the Jeep and head in through the double doors. Once inside, I scroll the wall to see where suite 202 is. I walk down the hallway until I find the correct suite. Taking a deep breath and smoothing my skirt, I walk in, having no clue what to expect. I walk over to the reception area.
“Hi, I’m Olivia Barrett here to see Michael Norris,” I state with confidence.
“Yes, he’s been expecting you. Please follow me.” I follow her through a set of doors, turn left, then another set of doors. She leads me into what looks like a conference room. “He’ll be with you shortly.” I nod my head, then she turns and leaves me to wait alone.
Just as I get myself settled, he strolls through the door. He’s young, not more than thirty five, tall with sandy hair. I stand as he reaches across the table. “I’m Mike Norris, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Olivia.” His voice is kind and welcoming as he shakes my hand. I smile back at him. “Please, have a seat.” He motions to one of the chairs, and I sit back down.
“I have looked extensively at your résumé, and I must admit I’m impressed with your academic record,” he says, while looking over what appears to be my résumé. Wow, he’s impressed with me? I know my grades are good. They had to be for me to keep my scholarship. “What makes you want to work for NOAA?”
His expression is pleasant as he waits for me to respond. I go into a rehearsed speech about how I fell in love with the ocean and want to help rebuild the beaches, and so on. He appears interested in everything I have to say, which I think is a good sign. He nods his head in all of the right places. Once I finish with my soliloquy, he looks back down at the papers in front of him.
“We have several positions available. One is a fellowship, which could lead to a doctoral program through the NOAA. This would be research based. There are other positions in the field as well as some in house assignments. What are your thoughts on these?” he asks.
“They all sound appealing, although I would really like to do field work.” I hope my enthusiasm comes through. “But, I would be up for anything.”
“When can you start?” He catches me by surprise. I am expecting the, ‘we’ll call you’ sendoff. He wants to know when I could start!
“Any time after this weekend,” I reply, trying to keep my excitement in check.
“Great, the field job is yours if you want it. It’s a mid-level position with tremendous opportunities for advancement. There will be extensive amounts of travel with this. Will that be a problem?”
“No, not at all,” I almost can’t contain my glee.
He pulls out a folder from his briefcase. He goes into specifics about responsibilities and salary. The job will take me all over the island, with most of the work being done on the South Shore in Nassau and Queens. Wait, what? “Can you come in for an official orientation tomorrow?”
