“I have an offer,” I said, then launched into a full-blown explanation of the Opal Serenity resort in Aruba. How few people the resort was inviting to celebrate their grand opening. That they wanted us both to attend—Macey could cover the event forRoamer’s Digest, and I’d share it on social channels.
Macey’s attention was studious, like a scholar examining a textbook. Intense. It shouldn’t add extra pressure to know she was really listening to me, but it did.
Once I finished my prepared speech, I took another sip of Bear’s cocktail. “So what do you think?”
“I think that sounds like an amazing opportunity,” she said.
Perfect. I could picture the check already. Then the deactivation of my social media account for three months. I’d use that time to figure a way to get out of this career forever and?—
“But you should take someone else.”
Wait.
I leaned over the table. “You’re saying you don’t want to go? To Aruba? For free? With me?”
My voice went embarrassingly higher with each question. Anyone would be crazy to turn down the offer. If there was one thing that bound the human race together, it was our love for free things.
“Correct,” she confirmed. “I’m not going on some press trip as your plus-one.”
The whiskey soured in my stomach. “You wouldn’t be my plus-one. We’re both being invited as part of the press team.”
“Thanks for the offer.” Macey stood for real this time, taking what remained of her drink. “But my answer is no.”
I watched her walk to the group of girls in the corner, feeling confused beyond belief. I wasn’t sure what hurt more: that the check I needed was still far away or that Macey had just rejected me.
5
MACEY
The Burrow Bitches
Ariadne: I was just looking up photos of Aruba. How did I not know it was so gorgeous?
Macey: I already said no.
Kira: The beaches look really nice though
Britney: you know what would look even nicer? seeing noah shirtless on that beach
Macey: Yeah, but then I’d have to be with Noah on the beach.
Ariadne: Oh darn, being on the beach in Aruba….
Kira: For free…
Britney: woe is macey
It was approximately 1:00 a.m. when I finishedthe article.
Technically, I finished the article days ago. Then Victoria emailed me a long list of changes I needed to make that she expected back by this morning. It’s like she thought I was a robot who didn’t need sleep to function.
The new article followed the pattern of everything I’d written forRoamer’s Digest. What started off as a funny, quirky, and full of whale-pun work of art had turned into a dry, 2000-word article about the history of whales in Fort Bragg. Not saying people didn’t care about whale facts, but what they cared about more was what it felt like to attend the Whale Fest.
Everyone wanted to live vicariously through others’ experiences. It was physically impossible to experience everything in this lifetime—I wanted to hike Mt. Everest’s base camp, swim with sharks in Australia, and touch down on the moon—but all those things wouldn’t happen for me. That was why writers were so important. We could pretend we were them for thirty seconds and transport ourselves to any corner of the world.
The last time I tried to explain this to my boss, she laughed and sent someone in my place to the local dessert bar opening. As someone who loves sweets, that crushed my soul. Ever since, I’d kept my head down and did whatever she told me.
When I graduated college, I thought I was so lucky to land the dream job immediately. My mother had been even more excited than me. When I told her I got the job, she sent me a bouquet of flowers so big, I had to buy a new vase for them.
