Now, she could technically go out and find a woman to hook up with anytime she wanted, except Marin wasn’t a hookup kind of woman. That wasn’t how she wanted to experience the pleasure of a woman’s body for the first time. Also, she couldn’t even begin to contemplate dating before she’d said the words “I’m a lesbian” out loud for the first time.
She had to come out to the people in her life, including her family. She’d just seen them all at Christmas, but she hadn’t been able to get the words out. It wasn’t the right time, or maybe she just wasn’t ready. Now she had a reprieve while she settled into her new life in Vermont. She wouldn’t see her family in person for a few months, but she needed to make plans to tell them.
Soon. In the meantime, she’d start her new job. She’d find a house. She’d make some friends here in Vermont, find new hobbies, maybe even join a local pride organization.Thenshe could date. Hopefully that would all happen quickly, though, because after so many years of fantasies, Marin was fairly desperate to kiss and touch someone she felt a real attraction for.
She wanted a girlfriend, a life partner, awife. Honestly, she could hardly wait. Dating was her top priority, just as soon as she’d taken the steps to get herself ready.
With a sigh, she settled on the sofa and reached for the throw blanket she’d left there earlier. Maybe she wasn’t lonely so much as she missed having someone to talk to. Were those the same thing? She missed casual conversation, but she treasured these moments when she got to decide exactly what she wanted to do and when she wanted to do it.
She put on her glasses and scrolled Instagram on her phone for a few minutes to unwind before she started reading. She’d followed several accounts for house-decorating inspiration, and one of them had just posted a swoon-worthy photo of a home library. Okay, that was something she’d love to have.
Intrigued, she clicked on the post to see more photos. Built-in bookshelves. Were those expensive? She loved the look of them. Who cared if she mostly read on her Kindle these days? Maybe she could purchase print copies of her favorites to fill the bookshelves. A whole wall of sapphic books! Imagine?
She smiled. Oh yes, she could imagine it. She could see herself sitting in a cozy chair with her new girlfriend. As she swiped to the next photo, her gaze caught on an image of the influencer cozied up, reading with a dog nestled beside her. Hmm.
A dog? Yearning stirred in Marin’s chest. Suddenly, she remembered how many times she’d begged for a puppy when she was a little girl. Her childhood best friend, Jenna, had dogs at home, and Marin had loved playing with them. She’d always wanted one of her own, but her parents had been staunchly anti-pet. Andrew had been the same.
“A dog,” she murmured to herself. Yes, she should get one. As a bonus, she’d have someone to talk to at home without sacrificing any of her newfound freedom. Suddenly, she wanted a dog almost as much as she wanted a girlfriend, but one was certainly easier to obtain than the other.
She googled “getting a new puppy,” and her feed flooded with articles advertising everything you needed to know about bringing home a new puppy ... except where to get one. Then the websitefor the local animal shelter caught her eye. That was as good a place to start as any. Marin clicked on it, her gaze immediately drawn to a photo of puppies.
As it turned out, the shelter had a litter of five-week-old lab mixes that would be looking for homes soon. Marin tabbed through the photos, feeling a rising sense of excitement.
Getting a divorce, starting a new career, coming out ... those were all changes made to reward her adult self. But a puppy? This would be a gift to her inner child, and little Marin was long overdue to have a puppy.
Chapter Three
Anxiety twisted in Marin’s stomach as she stood before her bathroom mirror, putting the final touches on her makeup. She hadn’t expected to be this nervous about her first day at her new job. She was only an adjunct professor, teaching two classes. The stakes were relatively low, but regardless, shereallywanted today to go well. It was a big deal, walking away from her former career and dipping her toes into something new.
She wanted to succeed, both at Northshire University and with the other ventures she was pursuing here in Vermont. It was time to make her mark. As she’d learned two years ago, tomorrow was never guaranteed. Blowing out a breath, she returned her makeup pouch to the drawer beside the sink and walked to the living room for her purse. As she picked up her phone, she saw a text from the new contact she’d saved yesterday.
Charlotte Danton: Good luck today!
Charlotte Danton: PS this is Charlotte in case you didn’t save my # yet
She smiled as she also noticed a flurry of activity in her sibling group chat. Her brother Jed had been the first to wish her luck, but the rest of her siblings had chimed in soon after. Even a few of her nieces and nephews had texted, wishing her well. How sweet. She sent quick thank-yous to everyone, then tucked her phone into her purse and walked outside to her car.
Marin was grateful she lived close to the campus, especially since she didn’t have an office there to use between classes. Technically, she and two other adjuncts had been assigned an office to share, but it meant each of them only really got to use it for office hours or meetings. Other than that, she would do all her prep work and grading at home.
She parked in the faculty lot, then picked up her briefcase to begin the walk to Ziegler Hall, where her classes would be held. Today, she’d be teaching Introduction to Statistics, which was held on Mondays and Thursdays. On Wednesdays, she had a three-hour-long course—Data Analysis Using Statistical Software.
Next semester, she hoped to pick up more classes to supplement her income, but two classes were enough to ease her back into the workforce for now. With her settlement from the accident, she would be able to buy her new home outright instead of having a mortgage, which meant her living expenses would be relatively small.
Still, she hoped to eventually be a full-time professor, if her injuries allowed her to push that hard. She had to stay in tune with her body and be mindful of her limitations. Thinking in terms of flare-ups and pain management was still a relatively new concept for her.
It was brutally cold outside this afternoon, and she felt it in every one of her healed fractures but particularly in her right thigh. The January breeze bit into her cheeks and whipped through her hair. Consequently, Marin arrived at Ziegler Hall feeling windswept and sore. She ducked into the ladies’ room to touch up her appearance, then took the elevator to the third floor and walked to her classroom.
She blew out a cleansing breath as she made her way to the lectern at the front of the room. This was something she’d always wanted to do, and she couldn’t wait to see the classroom filled with young faces. She wanted to show them that statistics weren’t boring, that they could be exciting once you learned the power behind them.
The first student, a young woman in a pink puffy coat, entered the room and gave Marin a shy smile. She returned it with a friendly wave.
Ten minutes later, the classroom was filled with eager students. Well, “eager” might be overselling the level of enthusiasm Marin saw on their faces, but she was enthusiastic enough for all of them.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” she began. “I’m Professor Easterly, and I presume you’re all here for Introduction to Statistics?” She swept her gaze around the room, seeing a few students nod. No one got up and left. “Good. Now, I’m not sure if I should admit this to you or not, but this is my first semester teaching.”
She raised her eyebrows for effect, hoping for a few smiles or even laughs in response, but the students mostly just stared, looking bored.Yikes.Tough crowd.
“I’m a statistician by trade, and I spent twenty years working at a financial firm in Manhattan, so not only am I here to teach you some interesting ways you can work with numbers, but I can also introduce you to potential career options. Please come see me during office hours if that interests you. I’d love to help.”
