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He chuckled. “Of course. He called to ask me about your dissertation, your work ethic and to get an update on everything you’ve been doing since you were in his class. Academia is a much smaller world than you think.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize…” My voice trailed off, wondering if he was upset with me.
“It’s a good thing, Jolie,” he said gently. “It’s one of the reasons I decided to offer you Ellen’s position. You’re going to have a lot of offers once you get serious about sending out your CV. You’re a brilliant scientist who’s going to do great things. I can think of a dozen universities that would be lucky to have you on their staff. I hope you decide to stay here, but I’ll understand if you find something more exciting.” He paused. “That pays more.”
We both laughed.
“Why is Ellen leaving?” I asked curiously.
“Her fiancé got a job in California and she’s going with him.”
“Oh. That surprises me. But good for her.”
“It probably happens more than you think. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the people we love.”
His words gave me pause.
Was I the kind of woman who could follow the man I loved to another city?
Could I leave a job here in St. Louis and follow Boone to Nashville?
Not that he’d asked me to go with him, but I couldn’t deny I was in love with him. There was no going back as far as my feelings went, so it was strange that until this moment, I hadn’t even considered Nashville an option. He hadn’t brought it up either, though, so maybe he wasn’t as into me as I was him.
“Jolie?” Dr. Matello was looking at me expectantly and I’d been so lost in thought I hadn’t heard what he’d said.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“There are also some new grant opportunities I heard about, if you’d like to discuss the options?”
“Oh. Yes. Absolutely. Thank you.”
I put Boone out of my mind and focused on what I needed to do right now.
He’d be gone soon, and my future suddenly looked a lot brighter than it had.
When it was all said and done, I’d worked too hard to give up my dreams for a man.
No matter how I felt about him.
Right?
* * *
I’d just gottenhome when my phone rang and Boone’s name flashed on the screen. The timing was perfect since I had a lot of exciting news.
“Well, hey there, handsome,” I said by way of greeting.
“Hey, babe.” His voice sounded funny.
“Are you okay?” I asked cautiously. “You don’t sound good.”
“No, I’m good.” He cleared his throat. “In fact, better than good. My brother got the results of his scans back today.”
It took a second for his words to sink in and my breath caught as I realized what that meant. “Oh my god. Does that mean it’s…goodnews?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“Babe…” I didn’t even know what to say. This was the best possible news and my eyes filled with tears of happiness. I knew how upsetting this had been for Boone and his whole family.
