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“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Brian says the words a little too quickly. I look away so that I avoid seeing what is in Brian’s eyes, and I know exactly who the commissioners are going to appoint to the director position at the EMA.
“Damn it. I’m never going to get away from her now, am I?”
“Not if she doesn’t run in the other direction when Maya pins it on her.”
* * *
Margot
“What do you think? I think it’s perfect and so do the commissioners. They looked at your resume, and the fact that you were a dispatcher before getting your degree helps too. In fact, they’re wanting to offer you the job and want me to give you the offer.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Birch Harbor wants to offer me the position of EMA Director.” Something I didn’t even know I wanted until Maya told me about it.
“Of course I’m not kidding. I’m being serious. They think there’s a lot that you can bring to the table. I mean, you’ve been working dispatch in the biggest city in Arizona for the past year while you got your master’s degree and you helped them completely change their protocols for emergency situations.”
“How did the commissioners find out about that? Hmm… Maya? How did they get a copy of my resume?”
“I may have had something to do with it, but the offer is genuine. The commissioners think you’re exactly what we need in Birch.”
“I’m going to need some time to think about it.” Still, I know that I’m going to take the job. The chance to be back in my hometown is something that I can’t pass up. I knew the minute I crossed the county line that I wouldn’t want to leave again. It was like a breath that I was holding since I left suddenly vanished and I was able to breathe freely again. Even thinking about going back to Arizona is putting a sour taste in my mouth.
But Jake…
“The look on your face says that you’ve already decided. Good. Now for Megan’s part.” Maya looks at the brunette woman who is sitting next to me and waves a hand. “Go on, tell her.”
“Okay, so my dad died last year, and we haven’t been doing anything with his house so you can move in there until you decide what you want to do. It’s already clean, and it comes fully furnished so you don’t have to worry about anything like that. And we’ll work with you on the rent until you get up and on your feet.”
I don’t know what to say.
When I moved to Arizona, my mom decided that it was time to move to Florida and officially retire. Which meant that I have nowhere to stay except the hotel, and the kindness from a woman I haven’t talked to since I left means a lot.
“So what? You’ve just figured out my move back to Birch without even talking to me about it first?” I know that I should be angry at Maya, but the woman has pretty much thought of everything. Well, everything except for the fact that I have all my belongings in Arizona.
“Yeah, pretty much. I even called a moving company who said they could have all your stuff here in the next few weeks. They were really reasonable. Brian just assumed that I spent the money on a spa weekend for us or something.” Maya says it with a mischievous smile.
“Oh my God, you can’t do that. I can pay for the move myself. I’m not a broke college student anymore.”
“No, but if I let you go home to pack everything, you might start to second-guess yourself, and then you wouldn’t come back to Maine. And I don’t want you to leave. Oh, and I’m not taking no for an answer.” Maya reaches over and squeezes my hand, tears in her eyes. “I love you, Margot. And I’m glad you’re home. I wish you didn’t need to leave in order to find yourself.”
“Thank you, all of you. I want this.” And I really do. There is so much that I’ve learned being away from Birch while I finished my degree. The first of which is that I’m more than just my father’s daughter. It’s time that I show the people I left behind what I have become… what I can do and what I’m capable of.
“The commissioners’ meeting is going to be this week. Do you think you can be there with me so that we can get you officially appointed? Or do you think that you’ll need more time?”
“No. I’ll be there. Honestly, if it were able to be done tomorrow, I would be all about it. But I know there’s a reason for waiting. Is there anything I need to work on until it becomes official?”
“No, you should be fine until you officially start. But I’ll warn you now, everything is really outdated. There have been years that the EMA department hasn’t spent any of their funding. And you’re pretty much starting from scratch. So you can kind of mentally prepare yourself for that if you want. The sheriff’s department is going to assign you a liaison to help get all the protocols where we need them to be. And you know the National Academy standards for dispatch already, so you’re covered there.”
We finish talking about work and they begin to fill me in on all the gossip I’ve missed since I’ve been gone. Most of it I already heard from Maya during our video chats, but I don’t stop them from telling me all over again. I’ve missed this, the feeling of sitting around a table with women who want nothing more than to sit with me and enjoy the day. I missed being able to sit silently with them and know that they aren’t thinking I’m anything less than what I am. There’s love around the table, enough love to make the time that’s passed feel like it never happened at all.
By the time we leave the coffee shop, several hours have been wasted just talking and laughing about almost nothing. Abby had to go work her shift, and then I realize that it’s almost four in the afternoon. The whole day’s been taken up, and I feel better than I have in a long time. There is something about Birch, the feeling that life will wait for you to finish. In Arizona, everyone rushes from one thing to the next, unable to pause and take a breath when they need to.
After Megan leaves, only Maya and I remain in the coffee shop. Sighing, I push myself up from the table. “I should probably get you home to your fiancé before he says I abducted you and took you to Arizona.”
Maya doesn’t even say anything; she simply smiles at me, and we leave the coffee shop with matching smiles on our faces.
Windows down in the car, we sing along to the radio on the drive back to the home that Maya has shared with Brian since her attack. The small and rustic-looking house sits at the end of the street, and I love the serenity of the picture. Brian doesn’t have to worry about the two boys that he and Maya are raising together getting into trouble because there is no one else at the end of the street with them. I feel a pang of jealousy at the happiness my friend has. I want that one day. Not that I want Maya’s life, but just a similar happiness for myself.
As we pull into the driveway, I notice that Jake’s truck is still there, and I decide not to go into the house. “I love you, girl. I’ll see you later. It seems like I have a lot to figure out about the move.”
