Nora said nothing. But she did recall the initial excitement she’d felt after Jane had first approached her about a new job opportunity.
Hailey wasn’t finished, and she did her best Nora imitation: “You should challenge yourself, Hailey! Put yourself out there, Hailey! Don’t be afraid of making mistakes or failing. If it doesn’t work out, you just brush yourself off and try again.”
“Is that all?” Nora asked.
“No. Seriously, Mom. You can’t preach one thing and do another. Last year, you talked me into running for student council. I really didn’t want to do it, but I did it for you and Dad.”
“And you won.”
“More importantly, I met Josh.”
Nora’s stomach dropped at the thought. It was one thing to make new friends, but Hailey had been infatuated with the boy since their first meeting after school. The feeling seemed to be mutual. Nora had thought their friendship would have waned by now, but no such luck. Despite her misgivings, Nora knew relationships at Hailey’s age were normal, even healthy, and would only help her daughter grow; it was puppy love, and it would pass.
“There’s Josh now!” Hailey said. “Just pull to the curb, and I’ll walk the rest of the way with him.”
The school was up ahead, close enough for Nora to see a long line of cars at the drop-off area. Nora drove to the curb as requested.
Hailey grabbed her backpack, opened the door, and jumped out. “Thanks, Mom.” Before shutting the door, she peeked her head back inside the car and said, “You’ve got this, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Nora watched them walk away. When they glanced her way, Nora waved. Hailey waved back, but Josh kept his hands in his pockets—too cool to let anyone see him waving at Hailey’s mom? She wasn’t sure what his deal was, but she knew that whenever he was at the house, he went out of his way to avoid talking to her or David. Maybe she needed to try harder to interact. Or maybe not.
Fifteen minutes later, Nora was at work, making her way to her office when she noticed a cloud of colorful balloons hovering above Marianne’s cubicle. She peeked inside and saw OFF THE CLOCK and OFFICIALLY RETIRED signs taped to her desk and computer screen.
“Wow,” Nora said when Marianne looked her way and smiled. “Looks like time really does fly when you’re having fun.”
Marianne laughed. “Despite my permanent smile, I thought this day would never come.”
Nora did her best to hide her surprise. Marianne had such a positive attitude and was always eager to help anyone who needed it.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Marianne said. “I enjoyed working here, but—”
Nora stopped her. “No need to explain. Congratulations. I’m going to miss seeing you around here.”
“Thanks. That’s very sweet of you to say.”
When another employee stopped in to wish Marianne well, Nora continued to her office, which was basically a larger cubicle with a view of the parking lot. Another perk of the promotion she’d received a few years ago was an administrative assistant named Amanda who was standing at her desk, sorting through her mail. In her twenties, Amanda was energetic and smart. She helped with scheduling and arranging meetings with other department managers.
“Good morning,” Amanda said. “Did you see that Marianne is retiring?”
“I did.” Amanda was great at multitasking, and she could talk a mile a minute while doing so. “Can you imagine spending thirty years of your life in this place?”
The question caught Nora off guard. Of all the questions she’d been asking herself this past weekend, that wasn’t one of them. And yet it should have been.
“Maybe that’s most people’s long-term career plan,” Amanda went on. “It’s just not mine.”
“What is your plan?” Nora asked, genuinely curious.
“Well, working here, wonderful as it is,” she said, “is merely a chance for me to learn some basic skills before I move on.” She tilted her head. “TMI?”
“No. Go on. Please.”
“Okay,” she said with renewed excitement. “I thought a lot about career planning while I was studying, and I discovered jobs like this one will help me better understand my interests and skills until I find the right path for me.”
She had Nora’s interest. “So you’ll simply hop from place to place until you find a career path that suits your interests?”
“Exactly. One that fits my personal circumstances.” She stopped sorting and met Nora’s gaze. “I just can’t imagine ever settling, feeling stagnant. If I’m not learning and growing, that’s when I’ll know it’s time to move on.”
“Thanks for your candor,” Nora said.
“You’re welcome.” Amanda placed a small pile of unopened mail in front of Nora and held on to the rest, which would be opened, stamped, and filed away. Amanda stopped and turned around. “Oh! One more thing.”
Nora waited.
“Last Friday, as I was walking to my car after work, a man approached me. I can’t lie. The parking lot was nearly empty by then, and I was a little nervous. That is, until he said he knew you and was a friend of the family.”
“That’s odd.” Nora’s heart thumped against her ribs. “Did he give you a name or a business card, anything?”
“No. He asked how your son was doing. I told him Trevor was fine. He wondered how you were doing, too. Again, I told him you were fine.” Her head tilted. “Are you fine?”
Nora tried to slow her breathing. “And then he left?”
“Yes. He just walked back to his car and drove off.”
“Did you happen to notice what kind of car he was driving?”
“No. Why?” Amanda looked suddenly worried, as if she might have done something wrong. “The interaction made me feel horrible, because I never stopped to consider how you might be doing after everything that happened.”
Nora forced a smile. “Trevor and I are doing fine, just like you thought. Thanks for letting me know. If he comes by again or you see him, let me know, okay?”
“I will.”
After Amanda walked off, Nora took a moment to collect herself. She thought about calling the police, but what would she say? She needed proof that he was stalking her. Next time she spotted him, she would use her phone to snap a picture. She went to the window and stared down at the parking lot. No dark sedan.
After returning to her desk, she checked her schedule for the week. Every day was filled with meetings.
Staring blindly at the heaps of paperwork that wouldn’t get done when most of her time was sucked up in meetings, Nora turned her thoughts to Marianne and how excited she was to leave this place. And what about Amanda? Her passion and determination to find a fulfilling job that excited her reminded Nora of herself ten years ago.
What the hell am I doing?
She was being offered a job that fit all her aspirations and more. More time for her children’s extracurricular events due to flexible hours, more time spent on work she found enjoyable and exciting, and more money, which was icing on the cake. She picked up her phone, found Jane Bell’s number, and made the call.