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When I broadened my search, I found even more opportunities. A small bakery called Cake My Day was also looking for marketing help—someone to handle their social media, specifically. There were a lot of part-time offerings from small businesses. If I combined enough of them…
I wondered if I could even start my own little marketing consulting firm. A one-woman operation that handled different tasks for organizations too small to hire a full-time marketing manager.
Annie had been completely right. My opportunities had widened considerably when I looked beyond my initial parameters. I felt much more optimistic about this, especially because I knew a lot of other Beasley busin
ess school grads were even more ambitious than me and wouldn’t be going for these small, part-time jobs.
Satisfied, I closed my laptop. I’d needed this surge of confidence.
I heard the door open and Margie stepped in, a smile on her face. I went up to kiss her, hugging her tightly.
Things were looking up.
16
MARGIE
Working at Leah Hensley’s animal rescue was an absolute blast. It was a no brainer, of course—I basically just had to take care of animals all day. It was hard work, but it was important. I learned a lot about caring for special needs animals, as well as some of the wildlife we cared for before transferring them to wildlife rehabbers.
Leah and Jean were easygoing and fun to hang out with, since they weren’t that much older than me, and Jean herself had gone to Beasley. It helped that they were also queer ladies, so that was something we’d bonded over early on.
I was still getting used to the whole “being gay” thing. Or bisexual, I supposed, though no label felt truly correct. Someone suggested that I was asexual, or demisexual, and though they kind of fit, I wasn’t sure about them, either. I supposed that words were at best, approximations for how I really felt. What really mattered to me was that I was in love with a woman, and that made me not-straight.
I was just finishing cleaning the bird cages. I’d managed to bond with Denise, an Amazon parrot, pretty early on, which had impressed Leah because she’d been previously abused and didn’t like humans much. She watched me as I scrubbed the bars of her cage, gently letting out soft squawks.
“Cleaning up after you is hard work,” I said, though I felt good about what I did. I loved all the animals here. I couldn’t have been happier.
After I finished making sure they had fresh food and water, I left the birds and made my way down to the living room. The funny thing about this rescue was that it was in Leah and Jean’s house. It was strange that my workplace was someone else’s house, but I liked how casual it was.
Leah was sitting on the couch with a cat on her lap, scratching its ears and checking her cell phone. She looked up when she saw me.
“Taking a break?”
“Yeah,” I said, sitting down next to her. “Just finished up with the birds.”
“Nice. I’m still amazed that Denise likes you so much.”
I shrugged. “Me too.”
“It’s probably your demeanor,” said Leah. “I think birds are particularly sensitive and like people who are gentle and predictable.”
“That makes sense,” I said, always glad to get into animal talk with Leah. It was great to have another animal nerd to nerd out with.
Jean walked into the room just then, along with another Beasley student who helped out part time, a girl named Maureen. Maureen was sweet, and we’d chatted a bit. She was a potential friend.
Right now, though, she was gathering her things, ready to head out. We waved at her, and Jean sat on the couch opposite us.
“The heat really gets to me,” she said.
“Totally,” said Leah.
There was a comfortable silence as we all enjoyed the air conditioning. The barn out back, where a lot of other animals were kept, was cool enough for them, but didn’t have A/C. But I liked being there. It was nice to be surrounded by all the animals. I found the sounds and smells comforting, somehow. I was one of those people who clearly liked animals better than people, or at least, was more comfortable with them than my own species.
I closed my eyes and leaned back, listening to Jean and Leah talk about some event they were planning. I realized they sounded just like any married couple.
Part of the reason I liked working here was because I got to see an actual married gay couple being happy and doing their own thing. I knew plenty of other queer people my age, but actual grown-up adults, who had jobs and paid bills… I didn’t run across them that often. It helped me see a possible future for myself, one where I was as happy with my life as they were.
Though I was pretty happy with my life to begin with. Living with Brianne was a blast, and my life at Beasley had improved dramatically. I loved this job, and would probably try to continue working part-time with them during the school year. Life was great.
